King of the Brown Sound
The leader of Little Joy y La Familia has a 5-year history as an innovative musician and cultural icon.
“I saw your area code — 806,” comes the rich and unmistakable voice of singer “Little Joe” Hernández over the cell phone. “That’s cotton country,” he reminisces. “I picked a lot of cotton in Lubbock, Plainview, Abernathy. People don’t appreciate how back-breaking that kind of work is. A lot of it is done by machine now, but a lot of the food we eat is still harvested by hand. People need to appreciate what it takes to bring food to the table.”
It’s that kind of connection with his own roots — and those of fellow Texans — that has earned the 77-year-old the iconic status of “Tejano royalty” and attracted audiences of tens of thousands to Little Joe y La Familia concerts.
Over the years the band has won two Grammy Awards and inspired generations of fans all over the country and internationally with a sound that blends norteño, country, blues and rock ’n’ roll. And nowhere is the group as fiercely cherished as in their home state of Texas.
“Little Joe is one of the true giants of Texas Music,” says Steve Ray of the Texas Music Office. “His work with the Latinaires in the ’60s and early ’70s stands with anything recorded by Motown or Stax in that same period, and his success has only grown from there — selling albums, winning Grammys, and entertaining thousands.”
Still touring in his seventies, Hernández is speaking from his Temple home after returning from a zillionth road trip. He talks about the heritage, the culture and the eras that influenced his music, reflecting on how times have changed, and how some parts of the good old days weren’t so good.
The legend at 77.
Cotton Fields and School Dances
When 13-year old José María De León Hernández agreed to play guitar in his cousin’s band in Temple, Texas, more than 60 years ago, little did he know he’d ultimately become a household name in Tejano music. Hernández dropped out of school in the seventh grade to help his family make a living, picking cotton as a migrant farm worker, but he car- ried the musical heritage with him as well.
When cousin David Coronado invited Joe to play guitar for his band, the Latinaires, Hernández earned $5 for his first gig — a high-school sock hop in Cameron, Texas, in 1955. “That’s more than I could make picking cotton,” he says.
The seventh of 13 children, he also acknowledges other influences of his raising in that particular time and place. “I grew up during segregation in a black neighborhood,” he says. “We were one of two Chicano families in that neighborhood. All of my friends were black, and I remember going to the movies when I was 6 or 7 years old with my friends. They made my black friends go up into the balcony, and I cried. They finally let me go up into the balcony with them.” Hernández has credited growing up in a black neighborhood with infusing his music with jazz and blues.
Left Little Joe y la Familia, circa 1975 (from left, Johnny, Rocky and Joe Hernández). Right Accepting the Best Tejano Album Grammy at the 2008 ceremony.
From Local Latinaires to California Chicano Culture
In 1958 the Latinaires recorded their first single with Torero Records, and in 1959, when Coronado left the group, Little Joe became the band’s leader and renamed it Little Joe and the Latinaires. He was motivated to continue on with the Latinaires when his little brother Jesse joined the band to play bass. Tragically, Jesse died in a car accident in 1964, but his dreams for the band inspired Little Joe and the Latinaires to pursue the path of full-time musicians.
By the sixties, Little Joe and the Latinaires were touring the Bay Area, and he noticed that the times they were a-changin’. “We had a show one night, so I thought I’d better go get a haircut,” Hernández says. “Then I looked around and there were guys with hair to their hips there. It was complete culture shock.” That wasn’t all that startled him. “I saw all these hip guys speaking Spanish and really embracing it in their music,” Hernández adds. “The Latin thing was really happening, with Carlos Santana and Malo especially.”
In the ’70s, Hernández became committed to the farm workers’ movement led by César Chávez and the Chicano movement that had emerged across the American Southwest, so he changed the band’s name to Little Joe y La Familia, reflecting his dedication to the contributions and struggles of his community.
The United Farm Workers recip- rocated Hernández’s support, naming the singer’s rendition of “Las Nubes” the organization’s official anthem. Written by Wally Armendariz, the lyrics of “Las Nubes,” or “The Clouds,” offer migrant farm workers hope and inspiration from the rain from the clouds.
Left Ruben Ramos (at left) and Little Joe at a Freddy Fender Tribute, held at Antone’s in Austin. Right The city of Temple renamed 6th Street as Little Joe Drive
Fame for La Familia
In 1991 Little Joe y La Familia won their first Grammy. “We dedicated it to my little brother,” Hernandez says, adding that a special graveside service was held to recognize the honor. “It was for Jesse, because he always wanted me to be a star. He was always pushing me and inspiring me.”
Little Joe y La Familia have indeed become stars, their popularity span- ning from intimate historic theaters to cruise ships to arenas, from small-town jamaicas and benefits to rodeos and festivals. In the past year alone they’ve played dates across Texas and well beyond; fans could catch up with them in venues as diverse and far-flung as Alpine’s Granada Theatre, a Christmas dance in Weslaco, the Plaza Theatre in El Paso, Valentine’s in Valentine, the Hi-Ho Ballroom along the Bankhead Highway in Grand Prairie, and the Trader’s Village School Supply Drive in San Antonio. When the band played the spring 2017 Pops Concert with the Big Spring Symphony in its recently renovated Municipal Auditorium, Michael Perez, a fan on Facebook, commented, “Continuing to break down boundaries like they never existed. A Chicano band from Temple, Texas, backed by a symphony! Over 50 years of making a difference.”
The Smithsonian Institute and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have hosted Little Joe y La Familia during National Hispanic Heritage Week. In 1997 Little Joe received the Governor’s Award from the Texas branch of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) for his contributions to the legacy of Texas music. He received the Smithsonian’s Lifetime Legend Award in 2001. Little Joe y La Familia was recognized with a 1991 Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album for Diez y Seis de Septiembre and a 2008 Best Tejano Album for Before the Next Teardrop Falls.
These days, Hernández’s son Ivan, his agent, is the one who pushes him. “Yes, he takes advantage of me,” Hernández jokes, before adding “No, I can pretty much pick and choose which gigs I want to take.”
That doesn’t mean he’s slowing down after a half-century, however. He’s involved with the organization he founded, Little Joe Diabetes and Prevention Organization; he’s at work on a documentary about his life, Recuerdos … the Life and Music of Little Joe; and his most recent album, San Antonio, is his first venture into rock ’n’ roll.
His influence, simply put, is undeniable. “His accomplishments,” notes Steve Ray of the Texas Music office, “not only as a musician and bandleader but as an entrepreneur who started his own record labels, is an inspiration for musicians everywhere.”
It’s no wonder one critic has described Hernández as “arguably the most accomplished Mexican-American singer in history.”
