Los Lobos

Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band. 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.

Originally the band played only American Top 40 songs, but began experimenting with the traditional Mexican music they listened to as children. This leading the band to switch genres and started performing at hundreds of weddings and dances between 1974 and 1980. Eventurally, they took notice of the popular groups on the Hollywood music scene, and added influences of rock to its sound.

In 1983, the band released an extended play entitled ...And a Time to Dance, which was well-received by critics but only sold about 50,000 copies. In the summer of 1984, their first major label album, How Will the Wolf Survive? was released.

In 1987, they released a second album, By the Light of the Moon. Also, 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.

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 released The Neighborhood in 1990,and the creative and wildly experimental Kiko in 1992. 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 their bestselling record Papa's Dream on Musico. The band also scored the film Desperado. The album track "Mariachi Suite" won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. In 1996, they released Colossal Head. 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 released This Time in 1999 and reissued 1977's Del Este de Los Angeles. In 2000, the Cancionero: Mas y Mas boxed set was released. In 2002, the band released their next album, Good Morning Aztlan and, then, 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 and the album's lyrics deal with Louis Perez's childhood in East Los Angeles. The album is told in the first-person, with each song serving as an episodic step.

In 2009, the group released an album of Disney covers, Los Lobos Goes Disney Also in 2009, the group participated in a tribute album to the late Doug Sahm, Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm. In August 2010, the group released their first album of new material in 4 years, entitled Tin Can Trust, which features two Spanish-language tracks.