chicano rock

Today’s the day the music – and Ritchie Valens – died

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newspaperToday marks the sad anniversary of “the day the music died,” the February 3, 1959 airplane crash that took the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock. Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to La Bamba from a phonetic cheat sheet.

Click for music videos of Chantilly Lace from the Bopper, Peggy Sue by Holly and the actual Valens La Bamba recording sessions, plus a Don McLean performance of The Day the Music Died.

Mas…Today’s the day the music – and Ritchie Valens – died

Today is the day the music (and Ritchie Valens) died

by

newspaperToday marks the sad anniversary of “the day the music died,” the February 3, 1959 airplane crash that took the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock. Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to La Bamba from a phonetic cheat sheet.

Click for music videos of Chantilly Lace from the Bopper, Peggy Sue by Holly and the actual Valens La Bamba recording sessions, plus a Don McLean performance of The Day the Music Died.

Mas…Today is the day the music (and Ritchie Valens) died

RIP Jesus ‘Chucho’ Perales, Chicano rock pioneer (video)

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chucoyoungJesus “Chucho” Perales, a founding member and guitarist with Mando & the Chili Peppers, a band considered to be among the very first of the Chicano rock ‘n’ rollers in the mid-1950s, died Sunday. He was 78.

My San Antonio writes:

The Chili Peppers were the first Mexican-American group to appear on American Bandstand. The group toured the country, played Las Vegas and performed with Ritchie Valens, the Champs and Duane Eddy. The band’s album, On the Road with Rock N Roll, recorded in 1958, is a collector’s item.

He received his first guitar, a Gene Autry model, when he was 8 from Alfred Flores Sr., owner of Alamo Music. By 14, Perales was playing rough joints with pioneering conjunto musician Valerio Longoria.

Jesus “Chucho” Perales was born on Christmas Day 1935.

Mas…RIP Jesus ‘Chucho’ Perales, Chicano rock pioneer (video)

Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

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bigritchievalensHappy birthday, dead Ritchie Valens, born this day in 1941.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock.

Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to his biggest hit record from a phonetic cheat sheet.

And then he died.

For your Ritchie-listening pleasure, we are pleased to feature two versions of La Bamba, the original 1958 “keep the tape running” recording sessions, and then the actual hit record.

Everybody scream now:

RITCHIE!!!!

Mas…Happy Birthday Ritchie Valens, Pocho Pride of Pacoima (music videos)

Great pochos in rock history: The Premiers ‘Farmer John’ (video)

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The Premiers were an American garage band in the 1960s, best known for their 1964 hit, Farmer John.

The band was formed in 1962 in San Gabriel, CA by brothers Lawrence Perez (guitar) and John Perez (drums), and neighbors George Delgado (guitar) and Frank Zuniga (bass).

They practiced in the Perez brothers back yard, encouraged by their mother, and soon started drawing crowds to their rehearsals. They were discovered by Billy Cardenas, who managed and produced other Chicano bands in the East Los Angeles area and won the group slots supporting artists such as Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Chris Montez.

Mas…Great pochos in rock history: The Premiers ‘Farmer John’ (video)

Rage Against the Machine is 20 but many fans are still clueless

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Rage Against the Machine’s debut album turns 20 this week and their legacy is still shrouded in confusion and ignorance. Back in the day, the band stormed the mainstream scene with angry Chicano rock, only the mainstream never noticed the Chicano part.

Chicano rock? You mean Santana..?

What always strikes me about Rage is how little so many of their fans know about their music or message. Recent failed VP candidate Paul Ryan is the personification of that ignorance. He claimed that Rage is his favorite band. Rage’s guitarist, Tom Morello was outraged by this and replied that Ryan is part of the machine the band has been raging against the last 20 years.

Well, no shit! But how could Ryan be so confused…?

Mas…Rage Against the Machine is 20 but many fans are still clueless

Konichi-wa, homie, from Japan’s cholos, lowriders y Chicano rappers

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Invasion, “Asia graffiti & lifestyle magazine,” writes:

Two parts of Chicano hip-hop culture in particular have become popular in Japan:
the music, and the cars. When the Japanese do Chicano rap, they still rap in Japanese
instead of English, Spanish, or some mixture of the two. But the beat, the clothes
and the look are quite matched.

Peep this short video of Japanese lowrider hydraulics:

Mas…Konichi-wa, homie, from Japan’s cholos, lowriders y Chicano rappers

Ollin rocks your shamrock for Día de San Patricio

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East L.A. pochos  Ollin channel Irish band the Pogues in Ollin’s Tenth Annual St. Patrick’s Day Pogues tribute at the Satellite in Silverlake tonight. And for us that’s a good excuse to feature this video as well as the super cool poster for the show (below.) Mira! The shamrock and the chile share the musical and artistic stage. Also we get to use this green font. Meanwhile, what is the deal with the Irish in Mexico?

Mas…Ollin rocks your shamrock for Día de San Patricio

Remembering Ritchie Valens, superstar pocho pride of Pacoima

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Not a sailor

Today marks the sad anniversary of “the day the music died,” the 1959 airplane crash that took the lives of rock stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Valens, from the L.A. suburb of Pacoima, was born Richard Steven Valenzuela and some consider him the father of Chicano rock. Pocho Valens didn’t espeak Espanish, so he sang the lyrics to La Bamba from a phonetic cheat sheet.

Click for music videos of Chantilly Lace from the Bopper, Peggy Sue by Holly and the actual Valens La Bamba recording sessions, plus a Don McLean performance of The Day the Music Died.

Mas…Remembering Ritchie Valens, superstar pocho pride of Pacoima