Los Lobos Biography

Los Lobos burst onto the mainstream music scene with their remake of the classic “La Bamba” in 1987. Drawing from a variety of musical influences and sounds, including R&B, Spanish and Mexican music, and country, members David Hidalgo, Steve Berlin, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, and Louie Perez created a sound that was unique and long lasting.

Los Lobos released a series of albums in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, but it was How Will the Wolf Survive? in 1984 that helped to establish their strong fan base and also gain positive recognition from the critics. Over the next few years, Los Lobos released a number of albums, each of them moderately successful: By the Light of the Moon (1987), La Pistola y El Corazon (1988), The Neighborhood (1990), and Kiko (1992.) The group then celebrated their twenty-year anniversary with Just Another Band from East LA, which included some of their most popular singles, a few rare tracks, and live tracks. In 1995, they released Music for Papa’s Dream, a children’s album. In the year following, Los Lobos scored the film Desperado, and released Colossal Head, and then temporarily disbanded to pursue independent projects.

In 1999, Los Lobos reunited and recorded This Time, their first album for Hollywood Records, and then re-released Del Este de Los Angeles. Cancionero: Mas y Mas was released in the following year, and after that, in 2002, Good Morning Aztlan, on Mammoth Records. In 2004, to celebrate thirty years in the business, Los Lobos performed two shows in San Francisco and used them to create the album and DVD Live at the Filmore. Notable albums since that time include: Wolf Tracks: The Best of Los Lobos (2006); Tin Can Trust (2010), and Disconnected in New York City (2013.)

Today, Los Lobos continues to perform and record with its original lineup plus the addition of Enrique Gonzlez on drums and percussion. The group’s latest album, Gates of Gold, arrived in 2015, the same year that Los Lobos was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.