Little Joe y La Familia
Sunday, August 3, 2008 @ 7p
Mayo Park
Little Joe y La Familia is one of the most popular Tex-Mex bands around today. Joe Hernandez has been entertaining for more than 35 years, and has been described as the “King of The Brown Sound.” He also helped pioneer “Tejano” music, a mix of traditional “norteno” music and country, blues and rock styles.
In 1970, after playing and spending much of his time in San Francisco and the Bay Area, Joe discovered “Latinismo”, a strong Latin musical world which was not found in Texas at that time. It had a profound change in his music and his cultural values which prompted him to change the name of his band from The Latinaires to La Familia. Joe wanted more knowledge of his heritage and roots. In 1983, Joe signed his first major deal with WEA International. After leaving WEA, Joe would go independent and form “Redneck Records” where he recorded the live double album “25th Silver Anniversary” in 1985. This album was placed with CBS which later became Sony Discos International.
While with Sony Discos, Joe would be a two-time Grammy© nominee. In 1992 Joe received his Grammy© for “Diez Y Seis De Septiembre” for the Best Mexican American Performance Category. After leaving Sony the following year, going independent once again, Joe would receive his third Grammy© nomination for his first recording “Que Paso” under his record label, Tejano Discos International. In 1996, Joe would appear on the 1997 Grammy© nominated album “Frank Yanchovich & Friends, Songs of the Polka King, Vol. 1” in which he performed a duet with Frank Yanchovich on the song “Just Because/Si Porque.”
Aside from his music career, Joe has worked in the film industry starring in two feature films, "Proposition 187, A Deadly Law" and "Down for the Barrio".
Forty years and over fifty albums later, Joe is touring the world, trailblazing, looking forward to new challenges, breaking down the cultural and musical barriers and innovating his musical style. As always, Joe strives to bring people together to make a more peaceful and harmonious world.
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