Raul Malo obit

Raul Malo Dies: The Mavericks Singer-Songwriter Who Played With Los Super Seven Was 60

 

He was not on the list.

Raul Malo, the Grammy-winning silky-voiced singer, guitarist and main songwriter for Tex-Mex band The Mavericks who later played with the supergroup Los Super Seven, died Monday of cancer, the band announced on social media. He was 60.

“Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul’s orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy,” the group 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.”

Born Raul Martínez-Malo Jr. on August 7, 1965, in Miami, Malo co-founded The Mavericks in 1989, and the group released its self-titled debut the following year. After signing with MCA Nashville, the quartet of Malo, co-founders Robert Reynolds on bass and drummer Paul Deakin and later recruit David Lee Holt on lead guitar released From Hell to Paradise in 1992. It featured a cover of Hank Williams’ “Hey Good Lookin’,” would be the first of 15 Mavericks songs to hit Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.

The rootsy group made a lineup change before its 1994 album What a Crying Shame, which would be its first brush with mainstream success. The disc including four Raul Malo-co-penned singles that made the country Top 30, including the title cut and “O What a Thrill,” which reached No. 18. It also featured a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “All That Heaven Would Allow” that made the Top 50. The album reached No. 54 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum.

The Mavericks won a pair of 1994 Academy of Country Music Awards for Top Vocal Group and Top New Vocal Duet or Group. And there was more to come.

With the band’s name made, its next two studio albums solidified its status as Latin-flecked neo-country influencers. Music for All Occasions (1995) spawned the group’s biggest country hit, the bouncy and catchy “All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down,” which featured accordion legend Flaco Jiménez and reached No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The album went gold.

Critics also had taken notice, as did the Grammys, which nominated “What a Crying Shame” for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. The following year, The Mavericks won their only Grammy, Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “Here Comes the Rain.” The Mavericks would score eight career Grammy noms from 1995-2017.

The band also defended its ACM title of Top Vocal Group in 1995 and added Vocal Group of the Year from at the CMA Awards — a category it won again in 1996. The Mavericks had arrived.

The group issued a live disc before its 1998 album Trampoline, which featured the brassy, irresistible minor-hit single “Dance the Night Away” and led to a concert special on VH1. The song earned another Grammy nom.

Trampoline would be The Mavericks commercial acme, however. After a 1999 compilation disc cheekily titled Super Colossal Smash Hits of the 90’s: The Best of The Mavericks, the hard-touring band split up. They would reunite in 2003 but were unable to repeat their earlier success and disbanded again in 2005.

During the group’s first hiatus, Malo released his solo debut, Today. His second, 2006’s You’re Only Lonely, was a covers set that showcased his lush voice that recalled one Roy Orbison. He followed up with After Hours, Malo would issue nine solo sets from 2001-23, including the lovely holiday disc Marshmallow World & Other Holiday Favorites (2007) and a live disc in 2012. Only 2007’s After Hours made the Country Albums chart, peaking at No. 43.

Also during The Mavericks’ first hiatus, Malo sang on Canto, the second album by the Latino supergroup Los Super Seven. The loose collective also boasted the likes of Rick Treviño, Ruben Ramos and most members of Los Lobos. He also sang on the group’s final third album, 2005’s I Head It on the X, leading on the boozy marichi-style track “The El Burro Song.”

The Mavericks reunited again in 2012 and remained active as a recording and touring unit with Malo until this year. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024, and was forced to cancel concerts this fall. The band had been scheduled to play the Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas in late summer but was forced to pull out shortly before the September 4-7 event.

Malo is survived by his his wife, Betty Fernandez Malo; their sons Max, Vincent and Dino; his mother, Norma; and his sister, Carol.