Ramón Ayala
Encyclopedia
Ramón Ayala is a Mexican-American musician, composer, and songwriter of norteño and conjunto music. Known as the "King of the Accordion," Ayala has recorded over 105 albums for which he has received four Grammy Awards. Additionally, Ayala has been featured in thirteen movies. A legend of norteño music, Ayala is one of the most recognized and best-selling artists of this genre of Mexican-American music, breaking many sales records along the way.
After moving to Reynosa, a border town in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the talented musician met Cornelio Reyna at a cantina called "El Cadillac" and formed Los Relampagos Del Norte; the group soon made a self-titled debut album which featured the hit single "Ya No Llores." in 1963. For the next eight years, Los Relampagos Del Norte tore up the musical charts by revolutionizing/reinventing norteño music, a genre that was then considered exclusively cantina music. Ramon Ayala and Cornelio Reyna livened the music and lyrics in order to reach and appeal more people. The talented duo recorded a total of 20 albums and leaving behind many classics such "El Disgusto", "Devolucion", "Mi Tesoro", "Tengo Miedo" and many others.
In 1971, Cornelio Reyna decided to leave Los Relampagos del Norte and make a transition to the mariachi genre. At the time, many music experts felt that Ramon Ayala's short career was doomed since Cornelio Reyna was the voice of Los Relampagos Del Norte and he was just the accordion player. Surprisingly enough, Cornelio Reyna's mariachi career was mediocre at best and never again did he reach the same levels of fame once experienced while in Los Relampagos Del Norte.
Ramon Ayala set out to prove that he could make it on his own and formed the legendary band, Ramon Ayala Y Los Bravos Del Norte in late 1971. By early next year, Ramon Ayala was growing and already making a name for himself with his new vocalist, Antonio Sauceda. The latter had a similar singing style and voice tone as Cornelio Reyna which proved to be perfect for Ramon Ayala as it made a smooth transition for his playing style. After once again cementing his name at the top of norteño music, Ramon Ayala suffered the loss of his lead singer. Sauceda became a born-again Christian and decided to join a seminary to devote his life to God. The loss of Antonio Sauceda proved to be the best thing to ever happened to Ramon Ayala as he was forced to find another lead singer and that is were Eliseo Robles comes in. Robles was at the time playing in another band called Los Satelites De Fidencio Ayala, Ramon Ayala's brother. Robles decided to join Ramon Ayala and together they forged a partnership that artistically surpassed all others and that to this day still remains as the premier perfection of the genre. They created a style that became the standard for norteño music. During the Eliseo Robles years, Ramon Ayala Y Los Bravos Del Norte crushed album sales in Mexico and the United States mainly due to their ability to produce hit after hit such as "Un Rinconcito En El Cielo", "Chaparra De Mi Amor", "Tragos Amargos", and others.
Lighting struck again and in the mid-80's Ramon Ayala found himself again without a lead singer. Ego problems from Eliseo Robles are thought to be the main reason for his bizarre departure from the band. Ayala set out to look for another lead singer, his fourth in his career, and found his man in Antonio Coronado. Coronado's career and future with Ramon Ayala looked like it was going to be as successful as the Eliseo Robles years but he also had an ego problem and only recorded eight albums before leaving the band in 1992.
The next year, Ramon Ayala celebrated his 30th anniversary of his career with the arrival of his 5th and current lead singer, the friendly Mario Marichalar. With Marichalar's arrival, Ramon Ayala modified his style once again which is something that hasn't set too well with his fans. Once mainly known and successful for heart-felt ranchera and cantina-style songs, Ramon Ayala's new style proved to be too bland and soft as he now tries to appeal to a younger generation that doesn't seem to accept him.
Career
Ramón Ayala, the son of local musician Ramón Cobarrubias, began playing his favorite instrument, the accordion at the very young age of six years. Inspired and supported by his parents, he performed in different public places to help his modest family. Ramón Ayala's first band experience was a group called Los Jilgueros de Marin; he later joined Los Pavoreales.After moving to Reynosa, a border town in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the talented musician met Cornelio Reyna at a cantina called "El Cadillac" and formed Los Relampagos Del Norte; the group soon made a self-titled debut album which featured the hit single "Ya No Llores." in 1963. For the next eight years, Los Relampagos Del Norte tore up the musical charts by revolutionizing/reinventing norteño music, a genre that was then considered exclusively cantina music. Ramon Ayala and Cornelio Reyna livened the music and lyrics in order to reach and appeal more people. The talented duo recorded a total of 20 albums and leaving behind many classics such "El Disgusto", "Devolucion", "Mi Tesoro", "Tengo Miedo" and many others.
In 1971, Cornelio Reyna decided to leave Los Relampagos del Norte and make a transition to the mariachi genre. At the time, many music experts felt that Ramon Ayala's short career was doomed since Cornelio Reyna was the voice of Los Relampagos Del Norte and he was just the accordion player. Surprisingly enough, Cornelio Reyna's mariachi career was mediocre at best and never again did he reach the same levels of fame once experienced while in Los Relampagos Del Norte.
Ramon Ayala set out to prove that he could make it on his own and formed the legendary band, Ramon Ayala Y Los Bravos Del Norte in late 1971. By early next year, Ramon Ayala was growing and already making a name for himself with his new vocalist, Antonio Sauceda. The latter had a similar singing style and voice tone as Cornelio Reyna which proved to be perfect for Ramon Ayala as it made a smooth transition for his playing style. After once again cementing his name at the top of norteño music, Ramon Ayala suffered the loss of his lead singer. Sauceda became a born-again Christian and decided to join a seminary to devote his life to God. The loss of Antonio Sauceda proved to be the best thing to ever happened to Ramon Ayala as he was forced to find another lead singer and that is were Eliseo Robles comes in. Robles was at the time playing in another band called Los Satelites De Fidencio Ayala, Ramon Ayala's brother. Robles decided to join Ramon Ayala and together they forged a partnership that artistically surpassed all others and that to this day still remains as the premier perfection of the genre. They created a style that became the standard for norteño music. During the Eliseo Robles years, Ramon Ayala Y Los Bravos Del Norte crushed album sales in Mexico and the United States mainly due to their ability to produce hit after hit such as "Un Rinconcito En El Cielo", "Chaparra De Mi Amor", "Tragos Amargos", and others.
Lighting struck again and in the mid-80's Ramon Ayala found himself again without a lead singer. Ego problems from Eliseo Robles are thought to be the main reason for his bizarre departure from the band. Ayala set out to look for another lead singer, his fourth in his career, and found his man in Antonio Coronado. Coronado's career and future with Ramon Ayala looked like it was going to be as successful as the Eliseo Robles years but he also had an ego problem and only recorded eight albums before leaving the band in 1992.
The next year, Ramon Ayala celebrated his 30th anniversary of his career with the arrival of his 5th and current lead singer, the friendly Mario Marichalar. With Marichalar's arrival, Ramon Ayala modified his style once again which is something that hasn't set too well with his fans. Once mainly known and successful for heart-felt ranchera and cantina-style songs, Ramon Ayala's new style proved to be too bland and soft as he now tries to appeal to a younger generation that doesn't seem to accept him.