Little Joe

Little Joe, born Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez, merged the longstanding Tex-Mex norteño tradition with country, blues, and rock ingredients to produce the brisk tejano hybrid. His outfit Y la Familia Borrachera carried the resulting sound well past the Texas and Mexico borders. The 1992 album Diez y Seis de Septiembre captured a Grammy Award for Best Mexican American Performance.

Seventh among thirteen siblings, Little Joe launched his musical career in 1953 inside cousin David Coronado’s ensemble David Coronado & the Latinaires. Two years afterward he played his first paid engagement when the group appeared at a high-school sock hop in Cameron, Texas. His recording bow arrived in 1958 with the Torrero Records single “Safari,” cut in Corpus Christi, Texas. The next year brother Jesse entered the lineup on bass and vocals; Coronado’s departure shortly thereafter placed leadership in Little Joe’s hands. Throughout the early 1960s he steered the band through successive releases on modest independent labels.

Jesse’s death in a 1964 automobile accident triggered a personal transformation. Intent on commercial breakthrough, Little Joe revised his approach to emphasize rock and blues. In 1968 he founded Buena Suerte for Spanish-language recordings and Good Luck for English-language sessions, later adding Leona Records. A further redirection occurred in 1970 after performances in the San Francisco Bay Area introduced him to “Latinismo” and prompted another band-name change. Little Joe y la Familia secured its first major-label contract with WEA International in 1985. Two years later he created a fourth imprint, Redneck, and issued the double live album 25th Silver Anniversary. After two WEA albums he moved to Sony International, remaining until 1983, when he inaugurated his fifth label, Tejano Discos. Its inaugural release, “Que Paso,” earned him a third Grammy nomination.

In 1996 Little Joe joined Frankie Yankovic on the album Songs of the Polka King, Vol.1, sharing vocals on the duet “Just Because/Si Porque.” He has also appeared in the films Proposition 187, a Deadly Law and Down for the Barrio.