Music has always been a family affair for Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza, the Tejano rockers better known as Los Lonely Boys. For the trio from San Angelo, Texas, it’s always been as much a matter of familia as it has been of music.
Guitarist Henry, bassist Jojo and drummer Ringo inherited their love of rough rhythm and blues from their father, Ringo Garza Sr., who with his own brothers formed The Falcones, which played Spanish conjunto music throughout south Texas in the 1970s and ’80s. Conjunto combines Mexican street music with Caribbean or Cuban influences, but Los Lonely Boys added a mix of Anglo influences including Willie Nelson, The Beatles and Stevie Ray Vaughn to develop its own unique sound.
Los Lonely Boys emerged early with “Heaven,” which made it to the top of the adult contemporary charts and earned a Grammy Award for a band that has been gaining ground ever since. The Boys backed Carlos Santana on “I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love” on his All That I Am album and covered John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” for Instant Karma: the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.
But mostly Los Lonely Boys had made its mark for the all-out hard-rocking shows. “We’ve worked the hardest trying to please each other and the fans,” Ringo writes on the band’s Web site. “If I could give a hug to every crowd member, it wouldn’t be enough.”
