Los Lobos

Famous for their modern rock take on the traditional Mexican music of their heritage, Los Lobos first began during the early-'70s when singer David Hidalgo and drummer Louie Pérez met at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California. The two boys were amazed to discover they weren't alone in their love of cult acts like Fairport Convention and Randy Newman, and began writing and recording songs using a borrowed reel-to-reel tape recorder. Soon, they brought fellow students Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano into the fold. The band played at numerous weddings and dances, and by 1977, they recorded their first album, Si Se Puede! during odd hours, since all of the members still had day jobs at the time. Unsatisfied with the typical Top 40 radio fare played by most of the bands in their scene, the members began experimenting with the traditional Mexican music they grew up with. Before long, Los Lobos had discovered their signature sound. They were signed to Warner Brothers records and began releasing albums with slow but steadily increasing popularity. Their 1983 EP ...And Time to Dance provided them with enough money to buy a touring van. Then, a turning point happened in 1987, when the band was tasked with recording the soundtrack to the movie "La Bamba." Their rendition of the title tune rocketed to number one, and they quickly followed it with La pistola y el corazón, an album of Mexican traditionals the following year. They would dabble in movies again in 1995, scoring the sleeper hit "Desperado," and though Los Lobos would be dropped from their label in 1999, they signed with Mammoth Records that same year to release This Time. They produced their first full length concert DVD, Live at the Fillmore in 2004, and were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.