Mance Lipscomb was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. He was born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas. As a youth he took the name Mance from a friend of his oldest brother, Charlie.
Hadda Brooks was an American pianist, vocalist and composer, who was billed as "Queen of the Boogie". She was Inducted in the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its roster of pop, teen pop, and country artists.
María Guadalupe Araujo Yong, better known as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter. During her long career, she has performed different genres of music and has received several accolades. As a result, she has been called La Diva de América and La Luna de América.
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as well as a member of the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven.
Los Tigres del Norte are a norteño band from San Jose, California. Originally founded in the small town Rosa Morada in the municipality of Mocorito, Sinaloa, Mexico, with sales of 32 million albums, the band is one of the most recognized groups in the genre, due to its long history and its successes within the Mexican community in the diaspora. The band is famous for its political corridos, some of which have been censored, even in its own country. The band is the only Mexican group to win 7 Grammy awards and 12 Latin Grammys. In addition, the band has made 40 films alongside the Almada brothers among other well-known Mexican actors.
Los Cadetes de Linares were a Mexican norteño band who were especially famous for their corridos; traditional ballad-style songs about social causes, criminals or heroes in the northern parts of Mexico. They appeared in various classic Mexican films and made many appearances on nationally syndicated programs in Mexico and the United States.
Vicente Fernández Gómez was a Mexican ranchera singer, actor and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente", "El Charro de Huentitán", "El Ídolo de México", and "El Rey de la Música Ranchera", Fernández started his career as a busker, and went on to become a cultural icon, having recorded more than 100 albums and contributing to more than 30 films. His repertoire consisted of rancheras and other Mexican classics.
Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and produce music by previously obscure "down-home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin, and Bill Gaither. Strachwitz despised most commercial music as mouse music. Arhoolie still publishes blues and folk music, Tejano music including Lydia Mendoza, Los Alegres de Terán, Flaco Jiménez, regional Mexican music, cajun, zydeco, and bluegrass.
Christian Alexander Maria Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz was a German-born American record label executive and record producer. He was the founder and president of Arhoolie Records, which he established in 1960 and which became one of the leading labels recording and issuing blues, Cajun, norteño, and other forms of roots music from the United States and elsewhere in the world. Strachwitz despised most commercial music as mouse music.
Lydia Mendoza was a Mexican-American guitarist and singer of Tejano and traditional Mexican-American music. Historian Michael Joseph Corcoran has stated that she was "The Mother of Tejano Music", an art form that is the uniquely Texas cultural amalgamation of traditional Mexican, Spanish, German, and Czech musical roots. She recorded on numerous labels over the course of her six-decade career of live performing. The aggregate total of her records numbers an estimated 200 different Spanish-language songs on at least 50 LP record albums. In 1977, she performed at the Inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, as part of the line-up for the Inaugural Folk Dance and Concert. Her most well-known tune was "Mal Hombre", a song she had heard as a child.
Clifford Gilpin Snyder, professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California's thriving country music scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989.
David Leonard Miller was an American record producer and the founder of many budget album record companies. Miller is more familiar to some record buyers and collectors as the notorious Leo Muller who produced many Exploito type records.
Budget albums were low-priced vinyl LPs of popular and classical music released during the 1950s to 1970s consisting either of previously released material or material recorded especially for the line. Prices ranged from as low as 59 U.S. cents to $2.98. In the UK Pickwick Records' Top of the Pops record series, which operated between 1968 and 1985, was the most successful budget album range.
Heard Ranier Ferguson was a jazz trio consisting of bass player John Heard, pianist Tom Ranier, and drummer Sherman Ferguson. They were active in the 1980s and played frequently at Howard Rumsey's concerts at the Redondo Beach pier.
Falcon Records was a record label from McAllen, Texas, that was instrumental in the establishment of tejano as a widespread musical style. Founded in 1948 by Arnaldo Ramirez, the label specialized in the rural norteño music which had been abandoned by the major labels. By the early 1960s it was clearly the leading tejano music label. Falcon was responsible for numerous recordings by Los Alegres de Terán, Chelo Silva, René y René, Roberto Pulido, and many other tejano and norteño artists of significance. Falcon's product gained international exposure through the syndicated television program Fanfarria Falcon. The label's activities wound down around 1990, and the recordings were purchased by EMI. The company's historical artifacts are held at the Jernigan Library at Texas A&M University–Kingsville.
Ideal Records was a record label from Texas specializing in Tejano music. It became the most important record label of the genre in the 1940s and 1950s, recording tejano's most prominent artists. It declined in the early 1960s, but not before leaving an indelible mark on Tex-Mex culture.
Corona Records was a San Antonio-based label which helped establish the Tejano musical style. It was formed by Manuel Rangel, Sr. Valerio Longoria made his first records for Corona in an electrical repair shop in 1947, which was also Corona's first release, and stayed for two years with several regional hits, before signing to Ideal Records. Little Joe was signed to the label for a short time. Lydia Mendoza recorded several titles for the label between 1955 and 1966. The label recorded most San Antonio-based tejano artists of note, but the company kept no recording or sales ledgers. The label released several hundreds of records, and was active into the 1970s.
Ray Vasquez, also known as Ray Victor, was an American singer, musician, trombonist and actor, and a significant influence on the Latin jazz scene from 1940 through 2019.
Lupita Infante Esparza is an American singer-songwriter. She sings traditional mariachi, norteño, and ranchera music. Infante's debut studio album La Serenata (2019) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Music Album. In 2020, her song "Dejaré" was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. Infante advocates for women's empowerment through her music.
