Renegade is an American rock n' roll band composed of

Luis Cardenas Luis Cardenas is a Latin-American drummer who has been active since the early 1980s, both as a solo act and as a member of the rock band Renegade. Renegade Renegade was formed in California in the early 1980s by Cardenas and the band's manager ...

, Kenny Marquez and Tony De La Rosa. Although all the band members hail from the United States, the band were among the most successful

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or "

Chicano rock Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Span ...

" acts founded in the United States during the 1980s. Throughout

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, the band is known as Los Renegados.

Background

Renegade was formed by drummer Luis Cardenas and the band's manager/producer Kim Richards. Deney Terrio, host of ''

Dance Fever ''Dance Fever'' is an American musical variety television series that aired weekly in syndication from January 1979 to September 1987. The series was technically created by Merv Griffin but his agent Murray Schwartz actually conceived the idea o ...

'', introduced Renegade in what is believed to be their first national television appearance as being from "Whittier, California". The band members were unusual in being ethnic

s playing rock music, and this proved to be a barrier for Renegade during their early years. Manager Richards, a music industry veteran, was unable to get the band booked at local

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

clubs as a result of their skin color and a perception that a group of "Mexicans" would bring in spray cans and knives. He told ''Performance'' magazine:

" ere used to be a place called Flippers Roller Disco in
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
that booked bands and had a lot of industry people hanging out. I played Renegade's demo tape for the booker, and he said, 'great, sure, your guys are booked for next Wednesday. Got a picture? "Well, I gave him a group photo and he looks at it and says, 'Oh ... Latino, huh? Let me just check the book here a second. Oh, I made a mistake, we already had a booking for that night .. sorry.' "I said cut the jive. I know what's happening. He finally admitted he didn't want the spray paint and knife carriers coming in to see the group. I was truly surprised by this, especially in this so-called enlightened age. I found that another very key club owner in town had the same attitude about us. But this increased my determination to make Renegade work. If they didn't make it, it wasn't going to be because of discrimination.." said imRichards. He finally went to Bill Gazzarri, a longtime friend of Richards and owner of a teen dance club that helped establish "video go-go dancing" in the 60's on the Sunset Strip. "I said Bill, you're the only one left. I want this band booked. Bill said, 'You can put em on every Wednesday night. This is my joint, and I do what I want with it.'" Said Richards ... "They egan doing SRO business ith Renegadeevery Wednesday night ... Suddenly, that big club owner who'd turned me down contacted me about booking the band. I decided if Renegade was to play a club that turned the group down when we needed the club, the group was going to get 100 percent of the door plus 20 percent of the bar. I eventually got 100 percent of the door and 10 percent of the bar.

Renegade's original record label wanted the band members to change their names to more "

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, tec ...

" names, but Richards supported their refusal, ultimately prevailing. Richards opted to go the opposite direction and promoted the band's ethnicity, persuading the then head of WEA Distribution

Nesuhi Ertegün Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International. Early life Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesu ...

to release the band's single, "Girls, Girls, Girls" in

. Its popularity resulted in a worldwide release of the band's first album, ''Rock N' Roll Crazy!''. "Los Renegados", as the band is known throughout Latin America, became a household name based on a combination of the band's teen idol appearance and the fact they were Latin.

Success (1985–1990)

Renegade was the Saturday night headline attraction for the Los Angeles Street Scene Festival in both 1985 and 1986, with audiences of 150,000 in attendance. The band released four albums: ''Rock n' Roll Crazy'', ''Renegade II – On the Run'', ''Nuns on Wheels'' and ''Renegade Live''. The band sold well in Mexico, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and locally in California, but did not enjoy the same level of success throughout the United States as they did internationally. In the United States, Renegade was widely viewed as teen idols, appearing in ''

Tiger Beat ''Tiger Beat'' is an American internet teen fan magazine originally published by The Laufer Company, and marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition that was sold at stores until December 2018. History and profile ...

'', ''

16 Magazine ''16'' was a fan magazine published in New York City. Origins Founded in 1956, the first issue of ''16'' hit the newsstands in May 1957, with Elvis Presley on the cover. However, its longtime editor-in-chief, former fashion model and subscrip ...

'', '' Bop'' and on television programs, such as ''Dance Fever''. The band played music festivals alongside bands such as

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

, Foreigner,

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and

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...

, and was popular enough in the late 1980s to be asked by

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

to appear on the Texas-New Mexico Border with Lionel Richie and

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

to support Rogers'

Hands Across America Hands Across America was a public fundraising event on Sunday, May 25, 1986, when 5 to 6.5 million people held hands for 15 minutes in an attempt to form a continuous human chain across the contiguous United States. The attempt to have a co ...

effort. In 1990, the band was featured in a 98-minute television special aired on MTV International, entitled ''Renegade MTV Special''. The band was honored in August 2001 at a

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...

-hosted event at the

Conga Room The Conga Room is a Los Angeles nightlife and private events location. Founded in 1998, the Conga Room's first location was on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA. The Conga Room is now located in Downtown Los Angeles' L.A. Live across from ...

in Los Angeles for record sales in excess of 30 million units worldwide.

Reformation and current activities (2000 to present)

In 2001 Renegade reformed and headlined a performance at the Los Angeles Staples Center for

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus ...

shortly after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

to raise funds for victims. In 2002, the band announced another charity concert at the Hollywood

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

to benefit the Music Cares effort to put music back into schools. Renegade invited a number of their industry friends, such as

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has al ...

(

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

Mike Pinera Mike Pinera (born September 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer who started professionally in the late 1960s with the group Blues Image, which had a number 4 hit in 1970 with their song " Ride Captain Ride". After t ...

(

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal musi ...

, Blues Image and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

) and

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

( Fleetwood Mac) to join them. The show was filmed and released on DVD. In an interview with the band in April 2001 ''Ritmo Beat'' magazine described Renegade as the first Latin rock band, calling them "Chicano rock-gods".

Luis Cardenas solo projects

In 1986 Cardenas held the world record for having the world's largest drumkit and released a solo album entitled ''Animal Instinct''. The album's lead single, a cover of the

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was induc ...

song " Runaway", reached number 83 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and its video, featuring cameo appearances by Shannon and Donny Osmond, was nominated for Best Music Video, Short Form at the

29th Annual Grammy Awards The 29th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1987, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Paul Simon won Album of the Year for ''Graceland'', and Burt Bacha ...

. However, further singles and the album failed to match the success of "Runaway".

References

External links

Renegade official website

Luis Cardenas official website

Kenny Marquez official website

Tony De La Rosa official website

Allied Artists International website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Renegade (Band) Rock music groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 1985 Musical quartets Chicano rock musicians Hispanic and Latino American musicians 1985 establishments in California