Raul Malo, who as frontman of the Mavericks brought a Latin rhythmic flair and a sweeping sense of romance to country music, died on Monday. He was 60.
His death was announced by the band in an Instagram post that didn’t specify the cause or say where Malo died. Last year, the singer told fans that he had been diagnosed with cancer; in September, Malo wrote on Facebook that he had developed leptomeningeal disease — a condition in which cancer metastasizes to the membranes around the brain and spinal cord — and was calling off the group’s upcoming concerts.
This past weekend, bandmates Paul Deakin, Eddie Perez and Jerry Dale McFadden performed with a cast of friends and admirers at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to mark the Mavericks’ 35th anniversary. Among the acts who paid tribute were Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Patty Griffin and Marty Stuart.
Their sound built around Malo’s muscular baritone, the Mavericks broke out in the 1990s with an expansive style of country music that pulled from big-band pop, ’50s-era rock and the Cuban music Malo heard growing up in Miami as the son of Cuban immigrants. As a singer, Malo was frequently compared to Roy Orbison; in 2001, he told The Times about his love for Tony Bennett.
The Mavericks released their self-titled debut album in 1990 and were quickly signed by MCA Nashville, which put out “From Hell to Paradise” in 1992. (The album’s title track was Malo’s description of his parents’ journey to America.) The band’s next LP, 1994’s “What a Crying Shame,” went platinum and spun off a series of hit country singles including the title track, “O What a Thrill” and “There Goes My Heart.” The next year the band recorded a cover of Rodgers & Hart’s “Blue Moon” for the soundtrack of Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning movie “Apollo 13.”
In 1996, the Mavericks won a Grammy Award for “Here Comes the Rain,” a chiming roots-rock number from their album “Music for All Occasions,” which featured appearances by Trisha Yearwood and the accordionist Flaco Jiménez. The Mavericks were twice named vocal group of the year at the Country Music Assn. Awards, in 1995 and 1996.
For 1998’s “Trampoline,” the band leaned into torch-song balladry and classic R&B but struggled to connect on country radio. The album “threw a lot of people for a loop,” Malo told The Times. “That’s OK. I liked it.” He followed the album with a solo debut, 2001’s “Today,” that further explored his Cuban heritage.
Malo was born in Miami in 1965. He co-founded the Mavericks in 1989 with Robert Reynolds, who had fronted an earlier band in which Malo played bass.
The group broke up after 2003’s “The Mavericks,” then reunited a decade later. The band’s most recent studio album, “Moon & Stars,” came out last year.
In addition to the Mavericks and his solo work, Malo also played with Los Super Seven, a sprawling roots-music supergroup whose other members included Jiménez, Freddy Fender and members of Los Lobos.
Among Malo’s survivors are his mother, Norma; his wife, Betty, and their sons, Dino, Victor and Max; and his sister Carol.
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