Photo Credit: The Mavericks’ Raul Malo (Instagram)
The Mavericks’ frontman Raul Malo, whose rich voice defined a band that brought Latin flavor to country music in the 1990s, passed away on Monday.
Raul Malo, quintessential lead singer of the Mavericks, the group that boldly brought Latin flavor and rock vibes to country music since 1989, passed away on Monday. No cause of death has been announced, but Malo revealed back in June that he was battling Stage 4 colon cancer. He was 60.
The Mavericks split up in 1999, but reformed in 2015 and toured regularly. Malo co-wrote many of the band’s biggest hits and also worked as a solo performer and member of the supergroup Los Super Seven. As a solo artist, he released nine albums; with the Mavericks, he released a dozen studio efforts, the most recent being 2024’s “Moon & Stars.”
“Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul’s orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy,” the band wrote on Instagram. “Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself.”
The group released their self-titled debut album in 1990, following it up two years later with From Hell to Paradise. But it was their 1994 release, What a Crying Shame, that broke through the mainstream, with hits like the title track and “There Goes My Heart.” Their popularity increased throughout the ‘90s, even scoring a major country hit with “All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down,” which won several CMA awards.
However, the band split in 1999, and Malo embarked on a solo career. He released albums through 2023 across multiple genres, often backed by an orchestra. The Mavericks reunited a few times in the 2000s, signing with Big Machine Records and enjoying another successful run with regular tours and several albums under their belt.
In 2024, Malo announced his illness. The Mavericks played the latest of their annual concerts at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium just a few days before his passing.
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