Louie and the Lovers was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band based in Prunedale, California.

History

While still in high school, the group (then known as Country Fresh)Louie And The Lovers: The Slow 'Rise' Of A Lost Treasure
NPR, May 27, 2010. was discovered by

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important per ...

and his wife Violet Sahm; Doug went on to produce the group's debut album.Louie and the Lovers: Rise
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', June 11, 2015. This album, ''Rise'', was released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1970, but sold poorly.Review of ''Rise''
Allmusic Reviewing it in '' Christgau's Record Guide'' (1981),

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote: The group recorded a second album for Epic (later re-recorded with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

) which was never released, and Louie and the Lovers disbanded soon after. Lead singer and songwriter Louie Ortega continued performing with Sahm after the group's breakup, later playing with the

Sir Douglas Quintet The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American Rock music, rock band, formed in San Antonio in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record producer Huey ...

and the

Texas Tornados Texas Tornados is a Tejano supergroup, composed of some of country music's biggest artists who modernized the Tex-Mex style including Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender. Its music is a fusion of conjunto (German and Norte ...

. Long out of print, ''Rise'' was reissued on CD by Acadia Records in 2003, and in 2009, Bear Family Records reissued the band's shelved sophomore album, packaged as part of a complete recordings compilation.

Members

*Louie Ortega (vocals) *Frank Paredes (guitar) *Steve Vargas (bass) *Albert Parra (drums)

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from California American musical quartets