Who was/is Lalo Guerrero ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
Lalo Guerrero
Lalo Guerrero Lalo Guerrero is a legend of Chicano music. His son, Mark Guerrero, says on his website: “Lalo Guerrero is rightfully recognized as the “Father of Chicano Music” because no other Chicano artist has come close to writing and recording more great songs in virtually every genre of Latin music, in- cluding salsa, norteña, banda, rancheras, boleros, corridos, cumbias, mambos, cha cha chas, socially relevant songs, swing, rock & roll and blues. He has also created children’s music, comedy songs and parodies, in addition to being a world-class singer. Generations of children in Mexico and the U.S. grew up with his ‘Ardillitas’ (squirrels), and his paro dies such as ‘Tacos for Two,’ ‘Pancho Claus,’ ‘Elvis Perez’ and ‘There’s No Tortillas’ have brought laughter to Chicanos and people of all races and ethnicities. His songs about Cesar Chavez and the farm workers, the braceros, martyred journalist Ruben Salazar, and the plight of illegal aliens have chronicled Chicano history and in- spired his people.
He’s the only Chicano I know of who has written songs that have become standards in Mexico.” Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Guerrero, Jr. was born on December 24, 1916 in the Barrio Libre section of Tucson, Arizona. Lalo’s mother taught him how to play the guitar. At the age of 17, he moved to Los Angeles where he made his first recordings under the supervision of Manuel Acuña. At about the same time Guerrero founded his first band, Los Carlistas, with whom he toured the West Coast club circuit and repre- sented Arizona at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. He started recording for Imperial Records in the latter half of the 1940s and appeared in several Holly- wood movies, notably ‘Boots And Saddles’ with Gene Autry and ‘His Kind Of Woman’ with Robert Mitchum. Lalo led his own orchestra in the 1950s and scored his first smash hit in 1955 with The Ballad of Pancho Lopez, a parody of the Walt Disney song The Ballad Of Davy Crockett, followed in 1956 by Pound Dog, Lalo’s comedy answer to Elvis Presley’s smash Hound Dog.
Guerrero had his own night club in Los Angeles during the sixties where he performed regularly on stage until he sold the club in 1972. He then moved to Palm Springs and although he never really left the music scene, he didn’t perform as much anymore. 1995 saw the children’s concept album ‘Papa’s Head,’ a successful collaboration of Lalo Guerrero with Los Lobos. 2005 saw Guerrero collaborating with Ry Cooder for Cooder’s concept album ‘Chavez Ravine.’ Guerrero passed away on March 17, 2005, shortly after the record- ings with Cooder were in the can...
Marc Mittelacher in August 2020
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The Right To Rock - The Mexicano And Chicano Rock'n'Roll Rebellion 1955-1963 (CD)
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