Raul Malo, who served as the frontman for Latin country-rock hybrid The Mavericks, died on Monday at the age of 60. No cause of death was confirmed, though Malo did state in 2024 that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
The news was shared by the band in an Instagram post, which included a lengthy tribute to the departed star. It read, in part: “Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul’s orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy. Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself…
“Though his earthly body may have passed, Raul’s spirit will live on forever in heaven, and here on earth through the music, joy, and light he brought forth. His contributions to American and Latin music will be everlasting, as his songs and voice touched fans and fellow artists around the world.”
Malo, born and raised in Miami, formed the band in his home city in the late 1980s. The band immediately found traction thanks to their innovative blend of country rock and Latin music. Alongside 15 charted singles on the Billboard country charts, numerous CMA recognitions, and Best Country Performance award at the Grammys in 1995, the band released a number of hit albums before their hiatus in 1999 and again in 2003. Those LPs include The Mavericks (1990), From Hell to Paradise (1992), What a Crying Shame (1994), Music for All Occasions (1995), Trampoline (1998), and The Mavericks (2003). Their triumphant return occurred in 2012 and the band’s last LP was 2024’s Moon & Stars.
While promoting that album last year, Malo spoke about how his childhood helped create the band’s signature sound. He explained: “When I was a little kid, I grew up in a Cuban household. And my parents — they were young enough to turn me on to some really great music. My dad, for example, was a huge country fan. My mom was a rock ‘n’ roll, big band, swing opera fan. We had all this music in the house, and, you know, when — I remember when I first heard Elvis’s ‘It’s Now Or Never.’”
He added: “I thought that was the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record in my life, and I loved the way that he blended Italian aria into this rock ‘n’ roll song. My mom was instrumental in this because I remember playing her ‘It’s Now Or Never,’ and then she played me the Italian aria, which is ‘O Sole Mio.’
“And that, to me, just blew my mind, and it opened up my world, and it put it in front of me that music is related, all of it, no matter what genre it is. We think we’re so clever, and we think we’re so original. And the fact is, there’s eight notes in an octave. There’s only so many chords you can play. And so that connectivity that Elvis showed – that became my reason to do this, my raison d’etre, you know, as they say.”
