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Historically, Little Joe joined David Coronado and his Latinaires in late 1954; and in September 1956, Sunny and three classmates formed The Sequins, a street corner doo wop group. Four months later, they changed their name to The Galaxies and it was not until May 1957 that Sunny and Rudy Guerra formed Sunny and the Sun-Glows.

Little Joe recorded his first 45 rpm single as a guitarist in 1958, the same year that Sunny wrote and recorded “Just A Moment.” Since then, the two Grammy Award winners have been the two constants in Tejano music.

Today, after 38 albums, over a dozen compact discs and countless compilation long-play vinyl albums and compact discs, Sunny has a new production that’s proof Mr. Little Brown Eyed Soul is better than ever.

The CD, “Brown Brother of Soul,” starts out with “Back in Love Again” in which Sunny brings the Motown sound back to live.

A hidden gem in the second cut, “What’s Your Name,” is “Your Tender Lips,” and it’s a surprise because it’s not even listed in the song list. This is a song that was originally recorded by The Clovers then covered by the Catalinas and the Royal Jesters in 1964. The difference is that the 1962 Don and Juan hit is improved on by the harmonious voices of Sunny and Johnny Hernández and the fact that it sounds so old school.

“I wanted to keep the feeling and not make it modern because that was the whole idea of the doo wops. I also brought in two former Sunliner Band members, Pete Ojeda, bass; and George González on guitar, to keep that realistic oldies effect,” Sunny said during an interview at this Northeast San Antonio home.

It may have been a hit for the Righteous Brothers in 1965, but again Sunny and Johnny plus the addition of Rubén Ramos go into third gear and tackle “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.” In the process, their unique beautiful blend of voices and great brass musical arrangement throughout the entire tune make this the standout song in this production.

The Sunny penned “Just A Little Bit Mo” is as good as any American mainstream soul hit and this tune features the incomparable old-time groove vocal style that made him rule when the Sunliners reigned. His voice is in fine form, the lyrics are catchy and it is easy to sing along to.

He also wrote a rhythm and blues oldie aimed at the California market and that’s “I’m Not Ready to Say Goodbye.” It’s a soulful tune about a man, who after loving a woman so much and after having her so close, cannot accept that he is losing the one he loves the most. As the lyrics go, “Tell me my darling. What did I do wrong? I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to say goodbye.”

Sunny’s unmistakable voice also dominates Sonny Ace’s “Pledging My Love,” than he shifts into a higher gear with “A New Life,” another of his new compositions.

“Everything I own is on my back. I’m leaving the one I love and I’m not turning back. I’m looking for a new life that I can call my own. I’m looking for a new place that I can call home” gives listeners a taste of the great lyricist that Sunny has become. Music-wise, this song sounds like a brass-laden Tower of Power tune.

“My inspiration for this song was one of my sons, Jerry, because he creates routines to music with his body, he then sells the routines to high schools and colleges. He is also involved in motion pictures that include gymnastics. So he’s always off doing something like that. That’s where ‘A New Life’ came from,” Sunny revealed.

“Baby, Baby, Baby,” which Sunny also wrote is along the same line as Doug Sahm’s “Why, Why, Why” or “Crazy, Crazy Baby” in a throwback to the late 1950’s Westside Sound – Farfisa organ and an alto sax solo by Ernie Cansino – in what will surely become another Sunny standard.

Sunny then breathes new life into Bo Diddley’s “I’m Sorry,” a 1959 classic with great saxophone sounds and guitar licks. This is one of those dreamy jams during which couples could stand on the same tile, hold each tight and sway back and forth in what would be a genuine slow dance.

“Them Changes” highlights the brass section in what sounds like a soulful 1970s funk tune and “Baby I Love You,” sung in duet with Albert “Tiger” Díaz, is a smooth catchy easy going lilt.

If you like Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears and other 1970s brass heavy bands, you’ll love “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” Once can also hear a touch of Jimi Hendrix psychedelic guitar as Sunny shifts into a growly-voiced hard rock mode and that worries some of his fans because in the early 1970s, Sunny was operated for nodes and Jimmy Edward, just known as Little Jimmy, had to fill in to honor many of Sunny’s artistic commitments.

Hopefully, the music icon, who has been inducted into numerous hall of fames takes heed of their concern and not abuse his voice during live performances.

“Not to worry, I only did it this once for the recording,” he assured us with a sigh of relief.

A special treat for this living legend’s fans is that the Brown Brother of Soul will celebrate his 68th birthday, CD release and his 55th year as a vocalist with a big bash at Graham Central Station where he, Rubén Ramos and Johnny Hernández are expected to perform most of the tunes in this recently released CD.

Jimmy Edward and Joe Bravo will also join Sunny on this Thursday, September 8 concert. For more information, go to www.sunnyozuna.com.

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Ruco Villarreal accomplished and achieved much during the late 1950s and up to the early ‘70s. However, he is just another of many unrecognized vocalists.

“Back then, no one wrote about Latin musicians,” the 75-year-old pioneer said referring to the lack of exposure for local and regional Hispanic artists in the San Antonio Express-News and San Antonio Light.

“Therefore the main reason for not getting any respect and no one being aware of what I did in my era is because there is no documentation of our genre – that is until you came along in the early 1980s.”

In all due fairness, Ramiro Burr was also instrumental in giving local talent publicity through his column in the San Antonio Light. The difference is that yours truly continues to bring recognition to the members of the older artistic community.

The fact about Ruco Villarreal is that he was able to carve a successful career with only a total of three vinyl long-play albums while it took others forty to fifty plus albums to establish a name for them-selves. He was also the first Tejano orchestra singer to perform at KCOR’s 1st Hispanic State Fair on July 17, 1983. Other artists on this bill were Miguel Aceves Mejia, Angelica María, Yolanda De Rio, Federico Villa, Leo Tropical and Taxi Band. In addition, Villarreal was the first, the last and only Tejano to perform at the prestigious Villa Fontana during the late 1960s.

Sharing a bit of his musical history during an interview at Rocko’s Art Welding, Villarreal said he was born Abelardo “Abel” Aguilar Villarreal in the same house, on Saltillo Street, that his eleven siblings were born in. It was also here that each night, the San Antonio-native would listen to XEQ and XEW on his father’s shortwave radio.

“My first musical influence was the bolero. That’s why my first recording (“Yo Vengo a Decir Adios”) was a bolero. I also like listening Andres Huesca, a blind harpist who played with Los Costeños plus how Gilbert Urquiza played electric guitar.

“I was a little boy when my father, Alberto, bought a two-line accordion for my brother Beto. However, he wasn’t interested so I would take the accordion out from under the bed and mastered it without one lesson.”

Villarreal was nine when Father Calletano Romero of San Juan Evangelista Catholic Church nicknamed him “Ruco” because of his thick heavy manly voice.

Three years later, Villarreal and Raúl “Boom Boom” Sánchez, on bajo sexto, formed an unnamed duet. In 1950, Juan Fuentes, claves; and Paul González, maracas; joined their still unnamed group.

At 15, Villarreal learned to play trumpet, added Miguel Balderas on saxophone and Gabino González on upright bass and Neto Arizmendi on drums plus Veco on backup vocals. The photo of this group also features Police Officer González and Martín Sáenz, the owner of El Gancho Club, which was located on the corner of El Paso and Navidad streets.

In 1951 they recorded their first 78-rpm single for México Records. However, they now had to come up with name for his group and he chose Conjunto San Juan in honor of the church the family attended.

All this transpired while he was still a student at Lanier High School, where one of his classmates was La Prensa’s Tino Durán.

Two more 78 rpm vinyl singles followed on Jaimé Wolfe’s Rio label. “By the late 1950’s, I was already performing in West Texas, Chicago, Indiana, Ohio and New Mexico – way before Little Joe and Sunny Ozuna toured in those states.

Villarreal’s brother Fransico a.k.a. Pancho joined the group in 1962 and by the mid 1960’s, Villarreal and his conjunto was in the same league as Paulino Bernal and Manuel “El Sargento” Guerrero with releases on the Lira, Cometa and Bravo labels.

“Then came the transition, I took up the saxophone, I added two more saxophones, three trumpets and two trombones to the band. I kept the accordion, but we turned into an orchestra and I became the first to start doing cumbias and change the direction of Tejano music.”

The 2010 Tejano Roots Hall of Fame inductee had become so famous that the famous Zuniga promoters would fly the group to Chicago for gigs at the renowned Aragon Ballroom.

When HemisFair ’68 ended in October and KCOR owner Raúl Cortez opened the prestigious two-story Villa Fontana in the Pearl Pavilion parallel to the mini-monorail tracks where 95 percent of its club-goers where from Mexico. The other five percent were from Central and South America.

“Although we were often on the same with Augustine Ramírez, Roy Montelongo and Latin Breed, we were not considered a Tejano band and our recording were heard on KCOR, we were hired to be the house band and from six to 9 p.m. we packed the house for seven straight years. Jesse Borrego Sr. y Las Cuatro Espadas would open to pull in the people that frequented the remaining outdoor food booths.”

Villarreal’s brother Pancho had quit and joined Rudy and the Reno Bops when in 1972, “Avioncito De Papel” on Falcon Records hit the airwaves, elevated Villarreal to megastar status and young girls would drool and throw themselves at him during performances when he sang love ballads in that unique voice of his. Women were also attracted to his Elvis-styled sideburns, mustache, shoulder-length hair and his virile macho looks didn’t hurt either.

“I was a parrandero, callejero, borrachito, marijuano, peleatista y mujeriego when I met Annie González in May 1974” Villarreal said of his faults and habits.

She was 17, he was 37 and in spite of all the protests, warnings and against all odds, the blue/green eyed red-head, she chose Villarreal over her parents.

“Once she came into my life, I changed. I settled down and I left my old life behind.”

Fast forwarding to 1985, the 75-year-old pony-tailed pioneer decided to call it quits while he was at the height of his career and performing at the Kelly AFB, Lackland AFB, Randolfo AFB and Fort Sam Houston NCO clubs. He never had a problem with musicians playing musical chairs because his initial requirements was that they all hold down full-time jobs, be married and not smoke or drink on the job.

“By now there were too many orchestras, the money wasn’t there and when my musicians got older, one by one they started to quit. So I told them that our December 31, 1985 gig at the National Armory in Hondo, Texas would be our last gig – and that was it!”

Villarreal learned to weld early in his youth and by 1970, he owned his own business, Rocko’s Art Welding, four doors down from Joe Posada’s house on Ceralvo Street.

“We create metal art and we also do fences and railing and that’s why I’m still in business,” he said. They say money can’t buy one good health or happiness so the three to $4,000 they made per week could not buy a cure for his wife’s stomach cancer.

“When I sensed Annie’s imminent death and felt she was going to die, I lay down with her and an hour later, she stopped breathing. She passed on at 52, but she gave me the best 30 years of my life,” Villarreal recollected.

Three years ago, Villarreal proved his lasting popularity mostly senior citizens filled Pueblo Hall to its full capacity to relive the late 1950s to ‘70s. That night, club owner Mary Jane Parrilla ran out of beer three times.

Villarreal continues to have the full support and love from his son and five daughters – Abelardo Jr., Olga, María Elena, Rita, Rosa and Elena.

So what’s next?

“Now I’m going to take verses I wrote for her – ‘You changed my life from black to white, you who transformed me from bad to good’ – record them and dedicate the compact disc to my wife.”

The now grandfather of 24 and great-grandfather of 31 also plans to buy the Falcon and Teardrop records masters to release a ‘greatest hits’ CD.

“That’s what’s in the immediate future,” a still working youthful Villarreal said in closing this interview.

Rico De Barrio seems to have risen from the ashes of Tejano old school vocalists who recently passed on and were reincarnated by him.

The 34-year-old truck driver never dreamt of being a singer. In fact, he didn’t even know he could sing, but it seems he was destined to carry on the “Westside Sound” torch. And his personal image fits the music to a tee.

It all started after he befriended his childhood music idols, Dimas Garza and the Royal Jesters.

“I grew up listening to the music of the Jesters, but I never imaged that I would be singing with them one day,” Rico said during a press conference with several print medium reporters.

It all came about after listening to a radio spot advertising a Chicano oldies concert.

“If I had changed the radio dial, I would not have heard the announcement and I wouldn’t be a musician today,” he continued.

Rico was referring to becoming Garza’s protégé and studying under the master vocalist until he perfected Garza’s style and emotional vocal delivery.

Fast forwarding to late 2010, after both Garza and Óscar Lawson of the Royal Jesters passed on, Garza’s widow, promoter Juan Mendoza and fans encouraged him to produce his own compact disc. The result is “From the Shadows of the Legends.”

Wild Bill Riley introduces the first track as though he was introducing an oldies tune on KONO. Then Rico kicks off with a medley of seven blues tunes, which include his own “Parolee,” which appropriately follows “Framed.”

Riley also introduces the second cut, a medley of low rider oldies favorites. The biggest surprise is Rico full rich voice that is reminiscent of the late 1950s and ‘60s that it will send chills up the spines of those that experienced this era.

“Get Down and Do the T” is Rico’s personal tribute to Rudy Tee of the Reno Bops and the rocking original tune will induce listeners to do the James Brown.

“Yo Si Te Voy a Querer” is another Rico penned tune and his voice evokes nostalgic memories of Sunny of the Sunliners singing “Cariño Nuevo.”

The original tunes continue with “No More Foolish Pride,” a song many men will relate to since the theme is about losing a woman due to foolish pride.

“This CD features several new songs, but with the old style,” Rico said of the four new tunes that sound as authentic and good as any oldie classic.

“Sugar Baby” is a forgotten gem originally recorded by Swinging Mike Martínez that Rico revives and makes his own as he continues to give everyone a trip down memory lane.

Of course Rico would be remiss if he didn’t pay tribute to his mentor and he does so with “Love Me” and “I Want to Be Loved,” than he launches into “Breaking up Is Hard to Do”

The once reluctant singer brings the CD to a close with the autobiographical “Rico Del Barrio.” It begins with “I’m Rico from the barrio, they call it el hueso de San Anton. They say I’m crazy because I walk through life wearing Stacys and I wear a tando hat. It doesn’t really matter where I’m at.”

With lyrics like that, this reporter doesn’t doubt that this tune will become the national anthem for Chicano low riders and pachucos (cholos in California) all over the nation because it reflects pride in their unique look.

Back in the day, pachucos took pride in looking good by starching and ironing their dress shirts and khaki pants to look trucha, neat and as sharp as a pin. On weekends, they would give their style a touch of class with a tailor made zoot suit. That’s a far cry from today’s youth who wear loose pants so low that they could unexpectedly fall off without warning.

While Rico Del Barrio (of the hood) prefers to be incognito and maintain a high level of mystic, this writer also did his CD photography.

Rico, who is also very popular in California, will bring his soulful vocals to the Edgewood Theater for an oldies show also featuring Roy Head of “Treat Her Right” fame, Archie Bell and the Drells, best known for “Tighten Up,” plus Joe Jama and Ernie Garibay on Saturday, October 29.

When it comes to musical parodies in Tejano music, the first name to pop up is Wally González, yet he is another of Tejano music’s pioneers long overdue for recognition.

He is important because he influenced Nick Villarreal and other novelty singer/songwriters to follow the same music vein. However, the 71-year-old living legend’s roots were in hard core música de acordeon.

González, who was four, when he used to spend all his nickels on the jukebox, says his father played harmonica and that, accompanied by Arturo Garza on guitar, he started playing accordion at school assemblies at twelve.

“I loved music so much, I dropped out of the seventh grade to work with Mario Sáenz of Los Gavilanes,” González said.

The then Weslaco-based group recorded two singles with Ideal – “Tus Recuerdos Estoy Viviendo” and “No Te Vayas Deteniendo” – and the latter was recorded by Los Dinos (Bernal BE-2013) in the mid-sixties.

“This was followed by five to six long-play vinyl 33 1/3 albums at a rate of about one per year and this, plus hits such as ‘La Apasionada,’ ‘Frijolitos Pintos’ and “La Del Moño Colorado,’ which made Billboard’s charts, created a great demand for us to tour all over California at a time when label-mates Los Alegres de Teran were also very hot,” González said.

When not on tour, González worked in the Falcón Records warehouse taking, filling and shipping out orders. Along the way, he fell in love and married the former Rosa Poncio. This union produced Leslie, Abelardo, Beatriz Salinas and Yolanda Ocha.

After Sáenz and he split up in 1966, González formed his own conjunto and started writing novelty tunes that struck a chord with people from the West Coast to Kansas and Florida.

“Vicente Fernández share the same birthday, February 17, 1940, but while his songs make people cry, my tunes make people laugh,” González said with a laugh.

“In the process I named myself ‘Wally’ because what I composed was bilingual and I started writing self-effacing songs such as ‘El Kojak del Valle’ by poking fun of my own lack of hair. I also took popular hits, such as Julio Iglesias’ ‘El Rebelde’ and converted it into a parody tune.”

That’s why many refer to him as the Weird Al Yankovic of conjunto/Tejano music. “Ella Trae Los Pantalones” is his take-off on a Gilbert Pérez based on his own imagination.

“It’s more than comedic lyrics because every line in my songs rhyme. In addition, I also write about real life occurrences and issues, like ‘El Chupacabra’ and ‘La Leyenda del Pajaro Grande,’ a big bird that many people in Eagle Pass and Mexico claim to have seen. What I did for this song is to go to The Monitor, bought all the newspapers containing articles on this mythical bird, read them and turned the news story into a song.

“My thing was to put a smile on people’s faces. People would listen to my songs, laugh out loud and that motivated me to continue write these types of tunes. And many were songs, as ‘Tire Mi Suegra Al Rio,’ they could relate to. I never had a mother-in-law, but if I had, I would have loved her a lot.

Other hits were “Las Crisis,” “El Taco Kid En CB,” “El Cobarde del Condado,” “Las Mujeres y Las Novelas,” “Mi Lowrider” and “Que Me Entierren En Wal Mart” to name a few. No one, no fad, no soap operas, national craze, situation or national chain store was off-limits.

To inject the right tone or feeling in to his tunes, González alternates between six accordions, set to six different tones to sound like organs — including a one-line, nine button old Hohner squeezebox plus a modified tiny toy accordion.

The result is that in 1983, Texas Monthly Magazine did an article on González and this led to David Letterman’s talent coordinator calling to request a promo kit, but that was the extent of it. During his noteworthy career, the conjunto cult hero achieved fame, however fortune eluded him.

“I never had a manager and I can’t say I suffered a few slumps during which I worked as a gas station attendant and I had just enough to live on. Nonetheless, I feel proud of all I have done to make people happy. It’s my therapy and that’s my pay,” González said with a satisfied smile as his hazel-looking brown eyes twinkled with pride.

On a sad note, it is frustrating to know that this music icon – whose heart and soul is into making people happy for half a century — has yet to be inducted into any Tejano or conjunto music hall of fame. Enough said.

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Photos and story by Joseph Martinez

“The Jazz Poet Society”. A collection of poetry lovers, Eduardo Garza Heads the group to share thoughts and ideas every Tuesday at the GIG on 2803 n St Marys street.

The pace was quick and non-stop. As soon as one person was finish there was another starting.

Back ground music was provided by the Jazz Poetry Band, featuring T-Bow.

Eionifer-Skyhawk, wearing a plaid kilt, came to the microphone with a free form style of poetry. Feeding off the audience’s spoke of buses, transfers and how life doesn’t always goes the right way.

With the ukulele in hand Lori Simpson recited “Even Blonds Gets the Blues” Short–n-Sweet A Lovely poem

Miss Valerie Thibodeaux-Mony Introduced as “La Mariposa Negra” (the Black Butterfly) Came out, With a certain flair, reciting an original poem, Echo of the Blues, a heartfelt poem to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

How many are here, How many have left, How many are now gone, as a survivor as well. She gave thanks to the friendly San Antonia’s. Who’s helped her with her new life. This was the theme of her poem.

Joyous Windrider, life is a avocado. Was the poem she picked, A Quaint comparison and some unsettling truths about everyday life.

The night was filled with wide ranges of different styles poetry. Funny, sad, happy, and some time just plain ..weird. But hey, that’s what makes it wonderful. It would be boring if all you had was vanilla ice cream all the time ; Don’t ya think?.

In closing if you want to a throwback to the late sixties styles. If you want to feel like you spent the night with Jim Morrison from the Doors. Look up the Jazz Poet Society.