Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music [Paperback]

Ramiro Burr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

This book offers an overview of the roots of Tejano and a discussion of its cultural impact and revealing biographies and critical essays on the contributions of the genre's most innovative and successful artists. Discography. Glossary. 50 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With its passionately sung rancheras and accordion-driven conjuntos, its brassy banda and giddy rock grupos, Mexican and Tejano (Tex-Mex) music has long been one of the least-examined regions of so-called world music. So anyone who's ever bought a bag of Tejano cassettes and wondered what they were getting into will find San Antonio Express News music critic Ramiro Burr's encyclopedic overview of it indispensable. Burr begins with a historical synopsis charting Tejano music from its 1930s origins to its 1995 death-of-Selena apex, followed by a too-short chapter titled "The Cultural Impact of Tejano." The meat of the volume, however, is Burr's 300 or so arduously researched entries on Mexican-American music's most significant acts, instruments, and styles--including such unexpected crossovers as Vikki Carr and Eydie Gorme. Conspicuous by their absence are the translated lyrics that would have provided non-Spanish-speaking readers with a concrete notion of what all these emotionally charged crooners are actually singing about. --Richard Gehr

From Library Journal

The burgeoning influence of Hispanic culture in the United States includes pop music, here addressed with comprehensive, in-depth analysis. Burr, a staff writer for the San Antonio Express-News, correspondent for Billboard, and contributor to numerous other magazines, is a careful researcher who writes with authority and love on a subject for which a useful reference work did not exist. After a couple of insightful and incisive essays, "The New Tejano Music Nation" and "The Cultural Impact of Tejano," Burr segues into an A-to-Z encyclopedia of artists in the field. Some, such as Los Lobos and Freddy Fender, should be readily recognizable to even the most neophyte pop music aficionado owing to their mainstream success. For other artists, name recognition will probably vary with the region of the country. The bulk of the entries are biographical, with discographical information as well. Burr also includes information on instruments that are prominent in Tejano, such as the accordion and the bajo sexto. The closing pages of the book feature an excellent "Tex-Mex Chronology" time-lining major developments in the genre, Burr's personal top ten lists, and a glossary of basic terminology. Highly recommended where Tejano and regional Mexican music have become a force but also an excellent addition to most music collections.ADavid M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823076911
• ISBN-13: 978-0823076918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,919,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finalmente, A book about OUR music, November 29, 1999

By 

Luis Caloca (Nampa, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music (Paperback)

Mr. Ramiro Burr, First of all, I would like to thank you for having taken the time to write such a book. It never ceases to amaze me with the facts I find about my favorite artists. As a Tejano DJ for a station here in Nampa, Idaho it has really helped me add a little bit of history to the show. I look forward to additional volumes and would like to know when I can expect the next one. You mentioned in the book that you encouraged any comments and I would like to add a few. I know that you want to ensure that the book is as accurate as possible and I may have found a few inaccuracies. On page 56, your definition of "banda" includes an example of the instruments used in traditional bands. You mention that some bands also use clarinet implying that Banda El Recodo does not. However, the band does use clarinets and has for many, many years. In the description of El Recodo on page 60, the name of the song mentioned at the bottom of the page is "Sies Pies Abajo," it is listed as "Si Es Pies Abajo." Lastly, the Banda Machos hits Entrega Total" and "Esclavo y Amo" are on the Gracias Mujer CD, not the Machos Tambien Lloran CD. I just wanted to bring the above to your attention and hope that the additional volumes find their way to Idaho shortly. Once again, I thank you for your efforts.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tejano Music in English, February 14, 2000

By 

Theresa Rodriguez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music (Paperback)

I find the content of this book very enlightening and hopefully Ramiro will help the American people find the joy in the music that I have. I have listened to Mexican/Tejano music for the past 10 years and have never enjoyed music like I have since "discovering" this music. A lot of American people have no understanding behind the music or the lyrics. Ramiro writes about all of that in a way that explains how an American such as myself can come to love music that is not in their native language. He is passionate about the subject and was quoted in an excellent piece in March 2000 issue of Hispanic magazine regarding Mexican/Tejano music. Keep up the good work.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential guide to Tejano/Regional Mexican music., August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music (Paperback)

This is the book we have all been waiting for! If you are a fan of Tejano and Regional Mexican music, this book is a must! The biographies are insightful and informative. The musicians included in this comprehensive book include all the memorable performers I listened to while growing up in south Texas - memorable singers and groups such as Isidro Lopez, Beto Villa, Sunny and the Sunliners, Freddy Fender, Lola Beltran, Mingo Saldivar, Flaco Jimenez, and so many, many more! I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about and getting more in-depth information about my current favorite musicians, such as Nydia Rojas, The Texas Tornados, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Los Super Seven, and Little Joe Y La Familia, to name just a few.

I recommended this book to my sister, who appreciates Mexican music as much as I do, and she asked if her favorite songwriters, Agustin Lara, Cuco Sanchez, and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, were included. To her delight, I answered that they were. Ramiro Burr has not left out anybody!

I highly recommend this book. If you enjoy Tejano and Regional Mexican music or want to learn more about this type of music, than this is the book you need as there is no other book like it available; it is an essential guide, well-researched and entertaining.

Ramiro Burr, thanks for writing this marvelous book!