User:AJona1992/Los Dinos
Selena y Los Dinos | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Corpus Christi, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Tejano Latin pop Mexican pop |
| Years active | 1984-1995 |
| Labels | Freddie Records Cara Records QP Productions EMI Latin |
| Past member(s) | Selena (deceased) Abraham Quintailla III Suzette Quintanilla Rena Dearman Rodney Pyeatt Mike Dean Del Balint Ricky Vela Roger Garcia Joe Ortega Pete Astudillo Joe Orgeda Mike Orosco Chris Pérez Arturo Meza Don Shelton Freddie Corea |
Selena y Los Dinos were an American Tejano band. There were eleven people in the band. Selena was the vocalist, her sister Suzette Quintanilla played the drums, their brother A.B. Quintanilla III played the base and Selena's widower Chris Pérez played the guitar. Ricky Vela and Joe Ojeda were the keyboardist of the group. While Pete Astudillo was the backing vocalist. The group was founded by Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. in the early 1980s, the father of Selena, Suzette and A.B. Abraham was a member of his band called "Los Dinos" in the 1960s and 1970s. He left the band to support his family.
Selena y Los Dinos went through many record labels. Many people did not believe Selena would be successful. This was because she was a female lead single in a music genre that was dominated by males. Their debut album was released in 1984 when Selena was twelve years old with Freddie Records. Their 1986 LP record, Alpha, helped the band to be discovered by Rick Trevi, the founder for the Tejano Music Awards. Selena won the Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1987 and for eight years after that.
After releasing four more LP records, Selena signed a recording agreement with EMI Latin. Selena was marketed as a solo artist, however her band continued performing with her during her concerts. On March 31, 1995, Selena was killed by Yolanda Saldívar, a friend and ex-employer for her clothing stores. The band then disbanded and told the media that they would not seek another singer.
Band members continued on in the music industry. Pete Astudillo became a solo singer in 1993 and his most successful single in his career, "Como Te Extrano" (1996), was a tribute song to Selena. A.B. formed another group called the Kumbia Kings in 1999. Chris Pérez and Joe Ojeda formed another group together and called it the Chris Pérez Band in the same year. On April 9, 2005, the band reunited for a tribute concert called Selena ¡VIVE!.
History[change | change source]
1960s-1984: Forming the group[change | change source]
In the 1960s, Abraham Quintanilla, Jr., joined the Los Dinos band while in high school. Band members were high school classmates who performed a music genre called doo-wop. They did not know any Mexican music. Because doo-wop was a popular genre for white Americans, the band was not very popular. After his youngest child, Selena, was born in 1971, Abraham quit the band to support his family.
One day after work, Abraham began playing a guitar. He taught his oldest child, A.B. Quintanilla III, to play it. Selena came in the room and began singing. Abraham was amazed at her voice. He then had an idea to form a group with his three children. His wife, Marcella Quintanilla, believed their children were too young to be in a band. Abraham then formed the group and called it Selena y Los Dinos, which means Selena and the Boys, which is an Italian slang word. Selena was the vocalist of the group, A.B., was put on base and Suzette Quintanilla, played the drums. His children wanted to perform rock and roll and soul music, but their father told them that they should perform Tejano music. This was because he wanted his children to remember where they came from. Selena had to learn Spanish by listening to others speak.
In 1982, Abraham built and opened his own Mexican restaurant called PapaGayos (English: Parrots). He built a dance floor in the front of the building, where his children would perform for guests. The restaurant was forced to closed within a year of opening because of the 1982 recession. The family lost their home and were bankrupt. They then moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, while Abraham tried to search for people to hire the band. In 1984, the group signed a recording agreement with Freddie Records. After recording their first LP record, the owner of the company did not want to distribute it. He believed that a female singer cannot be successful in the Tejano market. This was because males were dominate there. Abraham then bought all the original copies.
1985-1989: Success[change | change source]
In 1985, the band recorded their second LP record, The New Girl in Town, with Cara Records. The album was not released in stores because most of the songs were cover versions and was a copyright problem. In 1986, the band recorded their third record, Alpha, with QP Productions. The album helped the band to be discovered by Rick Trevi, the founder for the Tejano Music Awards. Selena won the Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1987 and for eight years after that.
In 1987, the band released two records, And The Winner Is... and Muñequito de Trapo, in the same year. The following year, she released two more records with QP Productions, Preciosa and Dulce Amor, that same year. At the 1989 Tejano Music Awards, Jose Behar was attending the show. He was searching for new musicians. Behar opened a Latin division of EMI Records. After watching Selena's performance that night and how the crowd interacted with her, he believed he found the next Gloria Estefan. Selena then signed a recording agreement with EMI Latin in 1989. The group continued to be her backing band until her death in 1995. She was killed by Yolanda Saldivar, her friend and ex-employer of her clothing stores. In 1997, the band told Oprah Winfrey that they will not replace Selena and told her that they are no longer working in the music industry.
Reunion[change | change source]
In 1993, Pete Astudillo, backing vocalist of the group, decided to leave the band. He wanted to begin his solo career. However, he continued to perform with the band. After Selena died, he recorded "Como Te Extrano". It became his most successful single in his career. It won the Song of the Year at the 1997 Tejano Music Awards. Astudillo released two more albums but were not successful. He quit music in 1999. That same year, A.B. formed a reggaeton band, Kumbia Kings. They were nominated for many Grammy Awards. Also in 1999, Pérez and Ojeda formed a three-man group called the Chris Pérez Band. Their first album, Resurrection (2000), won a Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. They released one more album before they split up.
On April 9, 2005, the group reunited for the Selena ¡VIVE! tribute concert. In 2006, A.B. left the Kumbia Kings and formed another group called the Kumbia All-Starz. He left the Kumbia Kings because he could not work with most of the guys in the group.
Band members[change | change source]
- Selena- lead singer
- Chris Pérez- lead & rhythm guitars (1989–1995)
- Ricky Vela - keyboards
- Joe Ojeda - keyboards
- A.B. Quintanilla - bass, backing vocals
- Suzette Quintanilla - drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Jesse "O'Jay" Martinez - drums, percussion
- Arturo Meza - percussion, congas
- Pete Astudillo - backing vocals
- Don Shelton - backing vocals
- Freddy Correa - backing vocals
Discography[change | change source]
- Selena y Los Dinos (1984)
- The New Girl in Town (1985)
- Alpha (1986)
- Muñequito de Trapo (1987)
- And The Winner Is... (1987)
- Preciosa (1988)
- Dulce Amor (1989)