Download Free Los Lobos * Songs

Los Lobos music biography continued...

rock. Los Lobos (Spanish for "the Wolves") formed in the late 1970s to play weddings and bars in the members' East Los Angeles neighborhood. The band, consisting of Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, David Hidalgo, and Louie Perez, got their first full-time gig in 1978, playing at a Mexican restaurant in Orange County. That year they also released their debut album, Just Another Band From East L.A. Eventually, Los Lobos starting playing in the clubs in Hollywood and caught the ear of Blasters saxman Steve Berlin, who saw to it that they were signed to a record deal. The result was ...And a Time to Dance, a divergent collection of dance songs including the 70-year-old Mexican Revolution song "Anselma," which won a Grammy in 1983 for Best Mexican-American Performance. Berlin joined Los Lobos for Will the Wolf Survive? a much praised album whose title track later became a country hit for Waylon Jennings. Something even bigger was in store for Los Lobes when they agreed to record several songs for the soundtrack of the Richie Valens' biopic La Bamba in 1987. When the title track reached #1 on the Billboard charts, Los Lobos were instantly elevated out of bar band/ critics' favorite status, and into the ranks of leading pop/rock bands.



Though future albums did not duplicate the commercial success of "La Bamba," the band won Grammys for a 1988 Spanish-language album and for their contribution to the film Desperado. They also released a children's album in 1995. After two studio albums in the late 1990s underperformed, the band signed to Mammoth Records for 2002's Good Morning Aztlan and 2004's The Ride. Respected with in the industry, Los Lobos have been guests on albums by Ry Cooder, Elvis Costello, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Roomful of Blues, and Paul Simon. Besides La Bamba, their music has been used in the films Eating Raoul, The Mambo Kings, Alamo Bay, and Chan Is Missing. Indeed, Los Lobos are one pack of wolves that have had an appetite for success.