Los Lobos ("The Wolves") are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.
The Mexican-American roots-rock group Los Lobos has been performing and releasing records since the second half of 1970s. Los Lobos released an independent LP in 1978 and an EP in 1983. More than three decades have passed since Los Lobos released their debut album titled Just Another Band from East L.A. Their first major-label, critically acclaimed release was 1984's T-Bone Burnett-produced How Will the Wolf Survive? The film Colors includes "One Time, One Night" in the opening credits although the song was not included on the soundtrack album. In 1986, members of Los Lobos appeared alongside Tomata du Plenty in the punk rock musical Population: 1. In 1987, they released a second album entitled By the Light of the Moon. In the same year, they recorded some Ritchie Valens covers for the soundtrack to the film La Bamba, including the title track which became a number one single for the band. In 1988 they followed with another album, titled La Pistola y El Corazón featuring original and traditional Mexican songs.
Originally, they called themselve Los Lobos del Este (de Los Angeles) ["The Wolves of the East (of Los Angeles)"], which was a play on the name of a norteno band called Los Lobos del Norte and the fact that they (Los Lobos del Este) were from east L.A. The name was quickly shortened to Los Lobos.
The band's first noteworthy public appearance occurred in 1980 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles when they were hired by David Ferguson and CD Presents to open for Public Image Ltd. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the band toured extensively throughout the world, opening for such acts as Bob Dylan, U2 and the Grateful Dead.
Los Lobos returned with The Neighborhood in 1990, and the creative and wildly experimental Kiko (produced by Mitchell Froom) in 1992. In 1991, the band contributed a lively cover of "Bertha", a song which they often performed live, to the Grateful Dead tribute/rain forest benefit album Deadicated. In 1994 they also contributed a track, "Down Where the Drunkards Roll", to the Richard Thompson tribute album Beat the Retreat. In 1993, they performeed "Feliz Navidad" on the film Sesame Street Stays Up Late!.
On the band's twenty-year anniversary they released a two-CD collection of singles, out-takes, live recordings and hits entitled Just Another Band from East L.A.
In 1995, Los Lobos released the prestigious and bestselling record Papa's Dream on Music for Little People Records along with veteran guitarist and singer Lalo Guerrero. The band also scored the film Desperado. The album track "Mariachi Suite" won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and stands as their last Grammy Award to date (the other two Grammy Awards were in the category of Best Mexican-American Performance in 1983 and 1989 for the song Anselma and the album La Pistola y El Corazon).
In 1996 they released Colossal Head. In spite of the fact that the album was critically acclaimed, Warner Brothers decided to drop the band from their roster. Los Lobos spent the next few years on side projects. The band contributed along with Money Markto the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization performing "Pepe and Irene."
Los Lobos signed to Mammoth Records in 1999, and released This Time. Mammoth also reissued 1977's Del Este de Los Angeles. In 2000, Rhino/Warner Archives released the Cancionero: Mas y Mas boxed set.
In 2002, the band released their Mammoth Records debut, Good Morning Aztlan; they released The Ride in 2004. The Ride featured artists such as Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack and Elvis Costello covering Los Lobos music along with the band.
Los Lobos released its first full-length live-show DVD Live at¨the Fillmore in 2004. The DVD captures the band's act over a two-day period in July at the famed San Francisco venue.
In September 2006, Los Lobos released The Town and the City (Mammoth Records) to much critical acclaim. The album's lyrics deal with Louis Perez's childhood in East Los Angeles while the music portrays complex and original soundscapes reminiscent of their previous release Kiko. Cartoonist Jaime Hernandez did the artwork for the album. The album is told in the first-person, with each song serving as an episodic step.
In 2007, the group performed the song "Billy 1", Bob Dylan's cover from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid album, recorded in I'm Not There soundtrack. Also in 2007, they accepted an invitation to participate in Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard), contributing their version of Domino's "The Fat Man".
In 2009, the group released an album of Disney covers, Los Lobos Goes Disney (Disney Sound/Walt Disney Records). Also in 2009, the group participated in a tribute album to the late Doug Sahm, Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard).
In 2010 Cesar Rosas and David Hidalgo were featured artists in the Experience Hendrix Tour. On August 3, 2010 the group released their first album of new material in 4 years, entitled Tin Can Trust, through Shout! Factory, which features two Spanish-language tracks.
Los Lobos is currently touring (2011) and upcoming dates have them sharing the stage with artists like Taj Mahal (musician), Eric Clapton, Los Lonely Boys and includes dates abroad in Europe and Australia
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