Heaven

Background:

American Grammy-winning musical rock band from San Angelo, Texas Los Lonely Boys rocketed to fame and acquired huge victory with their two million-selling eponymous debut album, which was released under Epic Records in 2004. Thanks to the mega-hit “Heaven,” the group enjoyed a Grammy Award in 2005. They also received other nominations for Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Best Rock Instrumental. The group followed it up with the critically acclaimed “Sacred” in 2006 and a new album, “Forgiven,” is scheduled for release in July 2008.

Consisting of three brothers: guitarist Henry Garza, bassist JoJo Garza, and drummer Ringo Garza Jr., Los Lonely Boys perform a kind of music that combines such elements as blues, rock and roll, country, soul and Tejano which they name as Texican Rock n' Roll. Their music is influenced by Ritchie Valens, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Carlos Santana, among others. In addition to becoming headliners on many of their tours, the trio have also shared the stage with other musicians like The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Indigenous.

Texas Natives

Childhood and Family:

Los Lonely Boys was formed in San Angelo, Texas by three brothers: Henry Garza (born on May 14, 1978), JoJo Garza (born on June 4, 1980) and Ringo Garza Jr. (born on November 1981). Their father, Ringo Garza Sr., is a longtime conjunto and country musician who played with his own brothers during the 1970s and 1980s in a group called “The Falcones.” When their father went solo following the split of his group, the three boys provided backing vocals for him and toured all over the roadhouses and cantinas throughout the Lone Star State. The trio gained all of the experience even before they reached their teens.

Forgiven

Career:

Sons of a musician, Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza knew that they wanted to follow in their father's footsteps at an early age. Serving as their father's backing vocals when Garza Sr. decided to embark on his solo career after the disbanding of The Falcones, the threesome had the opportunities to perform in the cantinas and roadhouses all over the state and in an attempt to get them one big break, their father brought them to Nashville, Tennessee, which ended up in a disappointing result. Shortly thereafter, the father and sons returned to Texas and the boys worked their own way detached from their father.

With Henry, who penned his first song at age four, played the guitar and harmonica, Jojo on bass guitar and piano and Ringo on drums and percussions, while they also served on vocals, the trio began performing as a group in the mid-1990s, and enjoyed some degree of prominence through their nonstop live acts. It was after one of those performances that Los Lonely Boys were approached by veteran musician Willie Nelson, who then invited them to play at Farm Fair. Nelson also helped the group record their debut album at his Pedernales studio in Austin, Texas.

First released by Or Music, “Los Lonely Boys” received extensive attention in the U.S. and was finally acquired by Epic Records for distribution in March 2004. The self-titled album went on to become the group's enormous hit with more than two million copies sold. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and its first single, “Heaven,” even brought the group a Grammy award in 2005 in the category of Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song also wonderfully became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary and stayed there for 18 successive weeks, as well as peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 46 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Another single released from the album, “More Than Love,” was a Top 20 hit on the Adult Top 40 and brought the boys a 2006 Grammy nomination.

In addition to Grammy, Los Lonely Boys also picked up five Austin Music Awards in 2004, and then landed a coveted gig at the Austin City Limits festival. A DVD, “Texican Style,” which was recorded in March, 2004 at Auditorium Shores in downtown Austin, Texas, and a live CD, “Live at the Fillmore,” debuted at No. 69 on the U.S. chart, followed their debut album in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Also in 2005, they released another live album named “Live at Blue Cat Blues,” which was recorded five years before at Blue Cat Blues in Dallas, Texas, and collaborated with Carlos Santana in the song “I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love,” which was included in Santana's album, “All That I Am.”

“New times, new songs, new rhythms. But it's still basically, Los Lonely Boys.” Henry Garza on “Sacred”

Los Lonely Boys launched the highly anticipated sophomore studio effort “Sacred” on July 18, 2006. Produced by John Porter, the album rose to No. 2 at the U.S. chart and sold around 67,000 pieces in the first week of its release. It produced such songs as “Diamond” (No. 28 at the Billboard Adult Contemporary), “My Way,” “Texican Style” and “Roses,” which was co-penned by Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers. The song “Outlaws” featured performances from good friend Willie Nelson and the boys' father, Garza Sr. 2006 also saw the premiere of the group's documentary film, “Los Lonely Boys: Cottonfields and Crossroads,” at the SXSW Film Festival and Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. Directed by Hector Galan, the film, scheduled to be shown on PBS in 2008, received an Imagen nomination for Best Documentary Film.

Still a strong presence at the road, Los Lonely Boys have lively performed with such noted artists as The Rolling Stones, Santana, Tim McGraw, Ronnie Milsap, ZZ Top, the Doobie Brothers and Indigenous. They have also often headlined tours.

“Forgiven,” Los Lonely Boys' new album, is expected to be released on July 1, 2008.

Awards:

• Grammy: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, “Heaven,” 2005

• Austin Music Awards: 2004