Emilio

Beyond Selena, few did more than Emilio Navaira to bring tejano music to broader audiences throughout the first half of the 1990s. Although his commercial visibility slipped after the 1995 English-language country release Life Is Good, he retained considerable influence and came to be acknowledged as a foundational tejano figure. Navaira initially rose to prominence as lead vocalist for David Lee Garza y los Musicales. Between 1984 and 1988 the ensemble collected multiple Tejano Music Awards, securing Album of the Year in 1985, 1987, and 1989. After the band’s strongest-selling project to that point, Tour ’88, Navaira departed to launch his own outfit, Rio, alongside brother Raúl. The new group’s self-titled debut arrived in 1989; over the ensuing half-decade the act achieved both substantial sales and critical praise. Life Is Good represented perhaps Navaira’s peak commercial moment, yet his mainstream profile began to recede afterward. Subsequent recordings continued to earn respect, frequently receiving Grammy nominations, with Acuérdate claiming the Best Tejano Album trophy in 2002. A serious traffic collision in 2008 unexpectedly returned him to public attention and prompted fresh appreciation of his pioneering role in tejano music.

Emilio Navaira III entered the world on August 23, 1962, in San Antonio, Texas, of Mexican descent and the son of Emilio Navaira Jr. and bilingual teacher’s assistant Mary Navaira. Raised on the city’s south side, he absorbed inspiration from tejano stalwarts Little Joe y la Familia, Ramón Ayala, and Pedro Infante as well as Texas country icons Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, and George Strait. Because few outlets existed for Hispanic country performers at the time, he concentrated on regional Mexican styles to secure club work. After graduating from McCollum High School in 1980, he accepted a music scholarship to Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, majored in the subject with teaching in mind, and also appeared onstage, portraying Fredrick in a revival of The Sound of Music at San Antonio’s Fiesta Dinner Theater.

Navaira made his recorded debut in 1984 as lead singer on David Lee Garza y los Musicales’ fourth album, Las Canciones Que Te Canto, and continued in that role on Cuantas Veces, Totally Yours, Award Winning, Dejame Quererte, and Tour ’88. The group dominated its field, earning Tejano Music Awards for Most Promising Band of the Year in 1983, Conjunto Album of the Year in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1989, plus Single of the Year in 1989. Following the chart success of the award-winning single “Me Quieres Tu y Te Quiero Yo” from Tour ’88, Navaira left at the ensemble’s commercial height and formed Rio with brother Raúl (also known as Raulito). The band signed with CBS Records; its 1989 debut reached the Top Ten on the regional Mexican chart and received a Grammy nomination for Best Mexican-American Performance, ultimately losing to Los Lobos’ La Pistola y el Corazon. At the 1990 Tejano Music Awards, Navaira collected both Conjunto Album of the Year and Most Promising Band of the Year. The follow-up, Sensaciones, likewise captured Album of the Year.

Switching to EMI, he released Shoot It! in 1991, another Conjunto Album of the Year winner. Later projects Unsung Highways, Shuffle Time, Live, Southern Exposure, and SoundLife maintained his presence on the regional Mexican albums chart. In 1993 he earned Male Entertainer of the Year and Progressive Album of the Year; in 1994 he added Male Vocalist of the Year, a second Male Entertainer of the Year, and another Progressive Album of the Year; and in 1995 he swept Male Vocalist of the Year, Male Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year with Roberto Pulido, and Video of the Year.

Life Is Good, issued in 1995 half a year after Selena’s death had focused national attention on tejano, represented a deliberate move toward the broader country market. Its bilingual lead single “It’s Not the End of the World” reached the Top 30 on the country chart, while the album itself entered at number 12 on the country albums tally. Follow-up singles “Even If I Tried,” “I Think We’re on to Something,” and “Have I Told You Lately” charted at numbers 41, 56, and 62. In 1996 Navaira secured his fourth consecutive Male Entertainer of the Year award along with Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year with Raúl, Progressive Album of the Year, and Tejano Country Song of the Year.

Although his overall popularity later declined, the 1996 tejano album Quédate still reached the Top Ten on the Latin albums chart and yielded Top 40 singles “Quédate” and “Hoy Me Siento Feliz.” The 1997 English-language country set It’s on the House and the tejano project A Mi Gente fared less well, neither cracking the Top 40 of their respective charts; their closest singles, “I’d Love You to Love Me” and “She Gives,” peaked at 56 and 73. After that modest showing Navaira stepped away from recording for three years, during which greatest-hits packages Lo Mejor de Lo Mejor: 12 Super Éxitos, Mano a Mano, and Mi Primer Amor: 10 Aniversario appeared and he received the 1998 Humanitarian of the Year honor.

Returning in 2000 on BMG with El Rey del Rodeo, he missed the charts yet scored a Top 40 single, “Esperando Su Llamada,” and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Tejano Album. Lo Dice Tu Mirada followed a similar pattern in 2001, missing the charts but producing a Top 40 title track and a Latin Grammy nomination. Acuérdate brought his first Grammy win for Best Tejano Album in 2002, though it too received a Latin Grammy nomination; commercial traction remained limited. Entre Amigos earned another Best Tejano Album nomination at the 2005 Grammys without notable sales. In 2007, now on Universal Music Group, he issued De Nuevo.

Roughly six months later, on the morning of March 23, 2008, Navaira’s 26,000-pound tour bus struck traffic barrels on a highway southwest of Houston. Ejected through the windshield, he suffered critical injuries and underwent surgery at Memorial Hermann Hospital to remove a brain clot before being placed in a medically induced coma. By April his condition had improved to fair, and rehabilitation began; in May authorities disclosed he had been intoxicated and unlicensed to operate the bus, leading to a later guilty plea on DWI charges. In September 2008 another accident occurred when a truck struck the couple’s car, driven by wife Maria and stopped in a turn lane, as they returned from therapy; both were treated and released the next day.