Texas Tornados
Encyclopedia
Texas Tornados is a Tejano
band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.
, Flaco Jiménez
, Kevin West,Cesar Chavez, Augie Meyers
, Jorge "Pac-MAN" Diaz, and Doug Sahm
performed in front of a San Francisco audience, they all knew the genuine bond they felt in their music could probably be taken to another level. After they initially performed as the Tex-Mex Revue, they took the title Texas Tornados, after Sahm's song and album of that name.
Another account of the group's birth says they formed when record company executives looking to cash in on regional music sales approached Sahm and Meyers around 1990, and they brought in longtime friends and collaborators Fender and Jiménez. Sahm had released albums under the name Texas Tornados as early as the 1970s, some featuring Fender or Meyers. Jiménez and Meyers played on Sahm's Atlantic Records
debut in 1971. As Fender once said "You've heard of New Kids on the Block
?, we're the Old Guys in the Street".
Individually, this quartet has had major success. San Benito
-native Freddy Fender was a cross-over success story around the world with hits like "Before the Next Teardrop Falls
" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
".
Flaco Jiménez has played with acts ranging from the Rolling Stones to Dwight Yoakam
. He also is known as the "Father of Conjunto
Music" (Flaco plays the Conjunto accordion).
Augie Meyers has shared the stage with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band
and Bob Dylan
. He's also a member of the Texas Music Hall of Fame. Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers were both members of the 1960s pop-rock band the Sir Douglas Quintet
, with hits such as "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino" to their credit. Meyers' signature sound on the Vox organ was a prominent feature of the band's sound. Sahm, Meyers and Jiménez are from the San Antonio area.
The band's 1990 debut was recorded in both English and Spanish versions. The Texas Tornados were asked to perform all over the world at places like the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton
, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, as well as regular appearances at Farm Aid
and the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show. They won a Grammy Award in 1990 for "Best Mexican/American Performance."
Among their other albums is Live From The Limo, this was the last album to be recorded that featured the complete lineup, as Sahm died in 1999, the year of its release. Fender, who had health problems in later years, died in 2006. Their 2005 Live from Austin album was a recording of a 1990 performance on the TV series Austin City Limits
.
People sometimes refer to their lyrics as Spanglish
because of the mixture of English and Spanish in the same song, in addition to pronouncing the Spanish lyrics in an American accent, which is evident in their hit, "(Hey Baby) Que Paso". An example is the lyric: "Don't you know I love you / and my corazón is real?", where the word corazón (Spanish for "heart") is improperly pronounced ˌkɔrəˈsoʊn, with an obvious American accent, instead of koɾaˈson. The band's self-titled debut album was offered in Spanish and English-language versions.
's Bismeaux Records on March 2, 2010.
Playing together again for the first time since the ‘90s and feeling what Shawn calls “the Tornado vibe,” the group enlisted Shawn to take over and “drive the bus” for their first album in over a decade. His goal for the record was “to keep it a straight up Tex-Mex rock and roll record.” When they first began recording, Shawn was very pleased but not surprised to hear them “sounding like they are playing at the top of their game.” He states, “When you hear this record, you hear why they are the legends they are.”
Shawn Sahm has been around the music since he was 13 and was the perfect person to entrust with preserving the Tornado’s legacy. He fine-tuned each track according to the group’s feedback giving each detail serious attention. Throughout the process, he insisted to all of them, “It is not done until you are happy.” For the release of the album, Ray Benson’s label, Bismeaux Records in Austin, was an obvious choice. Shawn comments, “Everyone knew they had a great record and they felt it would be important to go with someone who understood the legacy of the Texas Tornados. I knew Ray was the right guy. They have been friends for a long time. If anyone understood the legacy of the band, it was Ray.”
“Having known the original Texas Tornadoes, I was delighted when Shawn brought me the tracks of the NEW Texas Tornadoes CD,” said Ray Benson. “Besides the wonderful Freddy Fender songs recorded shortly before his passing, Augie, Flaco and Shawn have recorded an album true to the Tornados sound and vision. I am honored to present their CD on Bismeaux Records for old fans and I am sure a host of new ones, too.”
In addition to the featured members, the recordings include Tornado original musicians Louie Ortega, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa. Flaco Jiménez states, “The groove is back.”
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.
History
The initial combination of musicians of the Texas Tornados happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance. After Freddy FenderFreddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
, Flaco Jiménez
Flaco Jiménez
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is a Tejano music accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. Jiménez's father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music. He began performing with his father at age seven and recording at age fifteen, as a member of Los Caporales...
, Kevin West,Cesar Chavez, Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
, Jorge "Pac-MAN" Diaz, and Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm , was an American musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music...
performed in front of a San Francisco audience, they all knew the genuine bond they felt in their music could probably be taken to another level. After they initially performed as the Tex-Mex Revue, they took the title Texas Tornados, after Sahm's song and album of that name.
Another account of the group's birth says they formed when record company executives looking to cash in on regional music sales approached Sahm and Meyers around 1990, and they brought in longtime friends and collaborators Fender and Jiménez. Sahm had released albums under the name Texas Tornados as early as the 1970s, some featuring Fender or Meyers. Jiménez and Meyers played on Sahm's Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
debut in 1971. As Fender once said "You've heard of New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...
?, we're the Old Guys in the Street".
Individually, this quartet has had major success. San Benito
San Benito, Texas
San Benito is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 24,250 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of Country and Tex-Mex music icon Freddy Fender. San Benito celebrated the 100th anniversary of the naming of the city April 3, 2007. The post office was named Diaz...
-native Freddy Fender was a cross-over success story around the world with hits like "Before the Next Teardrop Falls
Before the Next Teardrop Falls (song)
"Before the Next Teardrop Falls" is an American country and pop song written by Vivian Keith and Ben Peters, and most famously recorded by Freddy Fender.-Song history:...
" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" is an American country and pop song recorded by Freddy Fender. It is considered by many to belong to the swamp pop idiom of south Louisiana and southeast Texas that had such a major musical impact on Fender.-Song history:...
".
Flaco Jiménez has played with acts ranging from the Rolling Stones to Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
. He also is known as the "Father of Conjunto
Conjunto
Conjunto literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is...
Music" (Flaco plays the Conjunto accordion).
Augie Meyers has shared the stage with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. He's also a member of the Texas Music Hall of Fame. Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers were both members of the 1960s pop-rock band the Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
, with hits such as "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino" to their credit. Meyers' signature sound on the Vox organ was a prominent feature of the band's sound. Sahm, Meyers and Jiménez are from the San Antonio area.
The band's 1990 debut was recorded in both English and Spanish versions. The Texas Tornados were asked to perform all over the world at places like the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, as well as regular appearances at Farm Aid
Farm Aid
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, held to raise money for family farmers in the United States...
and the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show. They won a Grammy Award in 1990 for "Best Mexican/American Performance."
Among their other albums is Live From The Limo, this was the last album to be recorded that featured the complete lineup, as Sahm died in 1999, the year of its release. Fender, who had health problems in later years, died in 2006. Their 2005 Live from Austin album was a recording of a 1990 performance on the TV series Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
.
People sometimes refer to their lyrics as Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
because of the mixture of English and Spanish in the same song, in addition to pronouncing the Spanish lyrics in an American accent, which is evident in their hit, "(Hey Baby) Que Paso". An example is the lyric: "Don't you know I love you / and my corazón is real?", where the word corazón (Spanish for "heart") is improperly pronounced ˌkɔrəˈsoʊn, with an obvious American accent, instead of koɾaˈson. The band's self-titled debut album was offered in Spanish and English-language versions.
2010 - Esta Bueno!
Augie Meyers and Flaco Jiménez reunited with the son of Doug Sahm, Shawn Sahm in a new recording that includes five previously unreleased vocal performances from the legendary Freddy Fender. The collection, entitled “Esta Bueno,” includes new songs written by Fender such as the swamp pop ballad “If I Could Only,” an instant new Tornados-style classic written by Doug and Shawn Sahm “Who’s to Blame, Señorita?” and several Augie Meyers songs recorded for the first time by the Tornados, such as “Velma from Selma” and “My Sugar Blue.” The album was produced by Shawn Sahm and was released nationally by Ray BensonRay Benson
Ray Benson is the front man of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.In 1970, Benson, a Jewish native of Philadelphia, formed Asleep at the Wheel with friends Lucky Oceans and Leroy Preston. The group relocated to Austin in 1973 after a suggestion from Willie Nelson .Since then, the group has...
's Bismeaux Records on March 2, 2010.
Playing together again for the first time since the ‘90s and feeling what Shawn calls “the Tornado vibe,” the group enlisted Shawn to take over and “drive the bus” for their first album in over a decade. His goal for the record was “to keep it a straight up Tex-Mex rock and roll record.” When they first began recording, Shawn was very pleased but not surprised to hear them “sounding like they are playing at the top of their game.” He states, “When you hear this record, you hear why they are the legends they are.”
Shawn Sahm has been around the music since he was 13 and was the perfect person to entrust with preserving the Tornado’s legacy. He fine-tuned each track according to the group’s feedback giving each detail serious attention. Throughout the process, he insisted to all of them, “It is not done until you are happy.” For the release of the album, Ray Benson’s label, Bismeaux Records in Austin, was an obvious choice. Shawn comments, “Everyone knew they had a great record and they felt it would be important to go with someone who understood the legacy of the Texas Tornados. I knew Ray was the right guy. They have been friends for a long time. If anyone understood the legacy of the band, it was Ray.”
“Having known the original Texas Tornadoes, I was delighted when Shawn brought me the tracks of the NEW Texas Tornadoes CD,” said Ray Benson. “Besides the wonderful Freddy Fender songs recorded shortly before his passing, Augie, Flaco and Shawn have recorded an album true to the Tornados sound and vision. I am honored to present their CD on Bismeaux Records for old fans and I am sure a host of new ones, too.”
In addition to the featured members, the recordings include Tornado original musicians Louie Ortega, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa. Flaco Jiménez states, “The groove is back.”
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Regional Mexican Regional Mexican Albums Regional Mexican Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like mariachi, norteño, banda and Duranguense, which are frequently considered regional Mexican. The chart features only... |
|||
| 1990 | Los Texas Tornados | Reprise | |||
| Texas Tornados Texas Tornados (album) Texas Tornados is an album by supergroup Texas Tornados, released in August, 1990, through the record label Reprise Records. In 1992, the track "Soy de San Luis", earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album.-Track listing:... |
25 | 154 | |||
| 1991 | Zone of Our Own | 50 | |||
| 1992 | Hangin' on by a Thread | 5 | |||
| 1994 | Best of The Texas Tornados | ||||
| 1996 | 4 Aces | ||||
| 1999 | Live from the Limo, Vol. 1 | Virgin | |||
| 2005 | Live from Austin, TX | New West | |||
| 2010 | Esta Bueno! | Bismeaux |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Who Were You Thinkin' Of" | Texas Tornados |
| 1991 | "A Man Can Cry" | |
| "Adios Mexico" | ||
| "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone" | Zone of Our Own | |
| 1992 | "Guacamole" | Hangin' on By a Thread |
| 1996 | "A Little Bit is Better Than Nada" | 4 Aces |
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Who Were You Thinking Of" | D. Gorton |
| "Rosa de Amor" | ||
| 1991 | "Adios Mexico" | Sherman Halsey Sherman Halsey Sherman Halsey is an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey has produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists such as Tim McGraw, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, BB King, Michael Bolton, Dwight Yoakam, and many... |
| "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone" | ||
| 1992 | "Guacamole" | Thom Oliphant |
| 1996 | "A Little Bit Is Better Than Nada" | R. Brad Murano/Steven T. Miller |