As randomly chosen by survey* on Mastodon, our next spotlight is on number 511 on The List, submitted by mfennvt.

This is the first album from the amazing band Los Lobos (“The Wolves”); the band’s original name (“The Wolves of the East of Los Angeles”) was shortened following this release.**

The album features primarily traditional Mexican folk music with a Chicano rock flair, about a decade or so after the Chicano rock genre really exploded in the East L.A. scene. Though the band would soon evolve to become a part of the punk/college rock scene, gaining a lot of attention and a Grammy with their next release (the 1983 EP …And a Time to Dance), this album essentially captures them in their humble beginnings as a popular wedding/party band. As per the percussionist/vocalist (and later, guitarist) and founding member, Louie Pérez: “If you were married between 1973 and 1980 in East L.A., we probably played your wedding.” So, friends, anyone here have a Los Lobos wedding story to tell?

Los Lobos is still alive and kicking, having just celebrated their 50th anniversary last year! In 2025 we’ll be treated to a documentary on the band, featuring interviews with the likes of Tom Waits and Cheech Marin, so keep an eye out (see the trailer for Native Sons here).

Happy listening!

• Songlink: Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles – (Just another band from East L.A.)
• Discogs: Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles – (Just another band from East L.A.)
• Website: Los Lobos

*The survey choices that led to this spotlight were “We can beat them, for ever and ever”, “Oh we can be heroes”, and “Just for one day”, following the earlier survey that had “I, I wish you could swim”, “Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim”, and “Though nothing, nothing will keep us together”. The last phrase was the winning selection, so the survey result was translated as picking the first album in The List with one of the phrase’s words in the title, the matching word here being “just”.

**Band/album name as per Wikipedia and Discogs. It’s possible this is totally wrong, as I’ve seen conflicting info on whether or not they were always just called “Los Lobos”, and what the actual name of this album is. For what it’s worth, Apple Music has it listed as “Los Lobos – Del Este De Los Angeles (Just Another Band From East L.A.)“.

https://1001otheralbums.com/2024/07/21/los-lobos-del-este-de-los-angeles-just-another-band-from-east-l-a-1978-us/

#1001OtherAlbums #1970s #ChicanoRock #folkMusic #LatinMusic #LosLobos