El Chicano
Originally known as the VIP's, East LA's El Chicano were at the forefront of the 70's "Conga Funk" movement, which included bands such as War, Malo, and eventually Tierra. Their sound, like early Santana, is a mixture of rock, funk, soul, jazz, and Afro-Cuban salsa.
Their biggest hit was the title track to their 1970 debut, Gerald Wilson's "Viva Tirado". A regional hit in LA at first, the instrumental gained steam and found ears in the east coast. This led to El Chicano performing at the legendary Apollo Theater, becoming the the first Chicano act to do so.
MP3: "Viva Tirado" by El Chicano
from Viva Tirado(MCA/Kapp, 1970)
MP3: "Spanish Grease" by El Chicano
MP3: "Sabor a Mi"
from Revolucion(MCA/Kapp, 1971)
MP3: "Tell Her She's Lovely" by El Chicano
from Cinco de Mayo(MCA, 1974)
posted by Chris C. @ 9:52 PM
9 Comments:
Love El Chicano. My uncle back home in Scotland turned me on to them. Nice!
Thanks rich. Officially the quickest comment ever. Cool
Your welcome m8, cool blog btw ;)
I remember hearing "Viva Tirado" in 1970 when I was (gulp)12 years old. At the time it seemed so exotic to me and unlike anything else on Top 40 radio. Great to hear it again. I highly recommend two other bands from around the same time who were similar...one was a band called Malo who had a semi-hit with "Suavecito". I've long since lost the vinyl but I remember a band called Azteca from around the same period who were great also. Great blog! Thanks!
clay, I'm actually planning a Malo post. Good stuff. I've heard Pete and Coke Escovedo's Azteca before but I can't find any of there stuff. Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment.
very cool! thanks chris, for keeping my ears diverse!
hei yo sonic - ee'r eagerly awaiting yor nui post...
please post...
we luv ya...
Everyone can hear El Chicano on October 14th 2007 at the Gibson Ampitheatre in Los Angeles. They will be performing with Los Lobos, Tierra and War among others for the fundraiser for the esteemed Garfield High School, whose auditorium burned down earlier this year. This music is legendary in that not only is awesome, but it set the pace for much of the latin pop sound to come. El Chicano remains enthusiastic about carrying on the sound and I remain a loyal ticket buyer whenever they are playing!
Top quality customer service; I am going to unquestionably revisit to your blog for further material.
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