Al Hurricane

An American vocalist, composer, and guitarist, Al Hurricane fused vintage Mexican traditional sounds with classic R&B, primordial rock & roll, and country & western to earn the enduring title "the Godfather of New Mexico Music." Across seven decades his restless output remained inventive and wide-ranging; even the final album he issued in 2010 incorporated reggae and reggaeton. He and successive ensembles sustained decades-long touring routes throughout the United States and Mexico.

Born Alberto Nelson Sanchez, he received the stage name as a childhood nickname from his mother, Bennie, who used it to highlight his knack for toppling objects while seated. The eldest of four siblings in a household steeped in music, he watched his father—a daytime miner who fronted a band at night—teach him guitar at age five. His mother, an entrepreneur who served as president of Hurricane Enterprises until her passing, booked family shows featuring Al, brothers Baby Gaby and Tiny Morrie, sons Al Hurricane, Jr. and Jerry Dean, and nephew Lorenzo Antonio (Sparx). She also promoted Albuquerque concerts by Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Chubby Checker, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.

Hurricane launched his professional life at twelve, performing in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town district before taking work as a singing waiter and street busker. He soon appeared at the Sky Line Club, where his following began to coalesce. After earning a high-school diploma in 1954 he assembled Al Hurricane & the Night Rockers with his brothers. Local radio exposure quickly secured a Warner Bros. single pairing the 1962 instrumental rock-and-surf tracks “Lobo” and “Racer.” For the next five years the group maintained near-constant performances, released roughly one single annually, and reigned as the city’s premier show band.

In 1967 the self-released debut album Mi Saxophone appeared, captured on equipment formerly owned by Norman Petty and once used for Buddy Holly sessions. Its lead single, “Sentimiento” backed with the title track—actually cut two years earlier—generated enough regional airplay to support tours across the Northwest, Southwest, and western Mexico, ensuring both songs remained on the LP. On November 1, 1969, an automobile accident cost Hurricane his right eye; he thereafter wore an eye patch that became a signature element of his stage presence. To secure future bookings he and his brothers purchased the Sky Line Club, later renaming it The Far West, which served as home base for the Al Hurricane Band and hosted numerous norteño and tejano acts, among them a young Selena.

Steady recording continued through 1974 as the band broadened its palette with additional country & western and regional Mexican influences, enabling tours of the Midwest, East Coast, and South America. The 1973 all-instrumental fifth album Instrumentales con Al Hurricane dropped the Night Rockers name while highlighting the group’s 1950s-style approach. A subsequent collaboration with Tiny Morrie, Para las Madrecitas, followed, and Hurricane became a fixture on television and radio variety programs.

The 1979 album Cantan Corridos, credited to Al Hurricane and Al Hurricane, Jr., signaled a stylistic shift, followed in 1980 by the corridos collection La Prision de Santa Fe, whose title track also served as the hit single. After hearing Hurricane perform “Sentimiento” at the club, Selena included her own version on the 1984 album Alpha. Throughout the 1980s he issued the family tribute Te Debo Tanto and the regional hit 15 Exitos Rancheros with Al Hurricane, Jr. and Tiny Morrie. He then joined the supergroup Bandido, which released two albums on Musart, one on EMI/Capitol, and a compilation that charted in Chicago, on the American West Coast, and in Germany, Venezuela, and Spain.

The solo effort The Return of Al Hurricane "El Godfather" appeared in 1990. During the decade he returned to traditional ranchera material on Sigue... "La Leyenda"!!! and The Legend of New Mexico, writing numerous songs and corridos in that form while continuing to perform classic country and roots rock & roll numbers for audiences. At the century’s turn the documentary Al Hurricane: Native Legend spotlighted an unreleased track, “Siempre,” which became the title song of his next album; alongside ranchera and country selections, Siempre introduced Mexican cumbia rhythms that resonated with New Mexico radio listeners and concertgoers, prompting the 2003 follow-up ¡Que Viva el Godfather!, which reached number one on New Mexico airplay charts.

Touring delayed the next recording until 2007’s Albuquerque. A year later the Tribute to Al Hurricane concert was issued as an audio-video package. His final album, 2010’s Hey Sugar Baby!, revisited signature styles while exploring reggaeton, reggae, and other global influences, including Turkish music. Hurricane maintained an active schedule until a 2015 Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis prompted semi-retirement, though he continued writing and mentoring family members. In summer 2017 he performed at the renaming of downtown Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza stage as the Al Hurricane Pavilion—his last appearance—before dying that October at age 81.