El Chicano

by Alex HendersonOver the years, El Chicano has often been compared to Santana and, to be sure, there are a lot of parallels. Both are from California (although different parts of the state), both are led by Mexican-Americans, both have recorded in English as well as in Spanish, and both have favored a very eclectic and unpredictable mixture of rock, soul, funk, jazz, blues, and Afro-Cuban salsa. Further, there is no getting around the fact that El Chicano (whose Spanish name means the Chicano or the Mexican-American) has been heavily influenced by Carlos Santanas outfit. Nonetheless, El Chicano has a style of its own and Santana isnt the bands only influence. Over the years, El Chicano has been affected by everyone from Chicano soulsters like Cannibal & the Headhunters and Thee Midniters to Latin soul-jazz favorite Pucho to salsa heavyweights such as Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and Mongo Santamaria. El Chicanos members were not only affected by the Mexican-American experience, they were also well aware of what Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians were doing on the East Coast and in the Caribbean. El Chicano, which was originally called the V.I.P.s, was founded in East Los Angeles (a heavily Mexican-American area) in the late 60s. The bands original members included co-founder/leader Bobby Espinosa (organ, electric keyboards, acoustic piano, vocals), Freddie Sanchez (bass, vocals), Mickey Lespron (lead guitar, vocals), Andre Baeza (congas), and John De Luna (drums). Along the way, El Chicano had more than its share of personnel changes; members who didnt join until the 70s included Ersi Arvizu (lead vocals), Hector Rudy Regalado (timbales, vocals), Max Garduno (congas), Danny Lamonte (drums), Brian Magness (bass), Joe Perreira (bass), Jerry Salas (lead vocals, guitar), Rudy Salas (guitar), and Steve Salas (lead vocals), among others. (The Salas brothers went on to join another East L.A. band, Tierra, which was an El Chicano spinoff and is best-known for its hit 1980 cover of the Intruders Philadelphia soul ballad Together). After creating a buzz in East L.A. in the late 60s, El Chicano signed with MCA in 1970 and recorded its debut album, Viva Tirado. The instrumental title song, which was written by jazz pianist Gerald Wilson, was released as a single and became El Chicanos biggest hit; the recording reached number 28 on Billboards pop singles chart and number 20 on its R&B singles chart. On regional L.A. charts, Viva Tirado spent about 12 weeks at number one. Viva Tirado (which was inspired by Mexican bullfighter Jose Ramon Tirado) was a rarity; in the 60s and 70s, one rarely saw any type of jazz instrumental — straight-ahead, fusion, soul-jazz, or otherwise — climbing that high up the national Billboard charts. When a jazz instrumental became a hit single in the pop or R&B markets, it was the exception instead of the rule. While the Viva Tirado single didnt make El Chicano national superstars — they were never as big as Santana — the band did acquire a loyal cult following and was especially popular in the Mexican-American neighborhoods of the southwestern United States. After the Viva Tirado LP, El Chicano went on to record several more albums for MCA, including 1971s Revolucion, 1972s Celebration, 1973s El Chicano, 1974s Cinco, 1975s The Best of Everything, and 1976s Pyramid of Love & Friends. El Chicanos second biggest hit came in 1973 when MCA released the brown-eyed soul classic Tell Her Shes Lovely as a single. Nationally, the tune (which features Jerry Salas on lead vocals) wasnt a major hit; Tell Her Shes Lovely only reached number 40 on Billboards pop singles chart and number 98 on the magazines R&B singles chart. But in Mexican-American neighborhoods, the song was huge — among Chicano Baby Boomers, Tell Her Shes Lovely was as popular as Wars big 70s hits. El Chicanos contract with MCA ended in 1976; that year, the band recorded its first post-MCA album, This Is...El Chicano, for the independent Shady Brooke label (where the L.A. residents enjoyed more creative control than they had during their six years at MCA). The bands next LP, Look of Love, was released on Musidisc in 1977; then in the early 80s, El Chicano briefly recorded for Columbia, which released the romantic blue-eyed soul tune Do You Want Me as a single in 1983. Although not a national chart-buster, the song became a minor hit (primarily in Mexican-American areas). El Chicano didnt do a lot of recording in the 80s or 90s, but the band made a long overdue return to the studio with 1998s Painting the Moment. Released on Thump, that CD marked the return of original lead guitarist Mickey Lespron, who had not recorded with El Chicano since the 70s.