''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (Spanish for "Songs of My Father", or "My Father's Songs") is American singer

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

's first album of Mexican traditional

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

music.

History

The album was released in late 1987 and immediately became a global smash hit. At 2½ million US sales, it stands as the biggest selling non-English language album in American record history. This album has been

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

certified double-platinum (for over 2 million US copies sold) and also won Ronstadt the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album at the

31st Grammy Awards The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to George Michael for ''Faith'', and Song of the Year w ...

. These canciones were a big part of Ronstadt's family tradition and musical roots. The title ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' refers to a booklet that the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

published in 1946 for Ronstadt's deceased aunt,

Luisa Espinel Luisa Espinel (December 8, 1892 – February 2, 1963), born Luisa Ronstadt, was an American singer, dancer, and actress. She toured, taught, performed in vaudeville, and appeared in a movie with Marlene Dietrich. Early life Luisa Ronstadt was ...

, who had been an international singer in the 1920s. The songs come from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

and Ronstadt included her favorites on the album. Also, Ronstadt has credited the late Mexican singer Lola Beltrán as an influence in her own singing style, and she recalls how a frequent guest to the Ronstadt home, Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero, father of

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

music, would often

serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Itali ...

her as child with these songs. In the accompanying printed material, each song's Spanish lyrics were paired with an English translation and a discussion of the song's background or its significance for Ronstadt (omitted on the CD).

Rubén Fuentes Rubén Fuentes (15 February 1926 – 5 February 2022) was a Mexican classical violinist and composer, who was best known for his contributions to mariachi music. Biography In 1944, Fuentes joined Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán as a violinist a ...

served as musical director/bandleader. Follow-up albums include '' Mas Canciones'', '' Frenesí'', and the

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

compilation '' Mi Jardin Azul: Las Canciones Favoritas'', which collects songs from the previous three Spanish-language albums. Las Canciones de mi Padre also is the only recording production in the world that used the 3 best Mariachi bands in the world: Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Los Camperos and Mariachi Los Galleros de Pedro Rey. As of 2012, ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' had sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide. Although sometimes referred to as Ronstadt's first Spanish-language recordings, in fact she had recorded several times in the language before, including "Lo Siento mi Vida", a song she co-wrote with her father for her 1976 album, ''

Hasten Down the Wind ''Hasten Down the Wind'' is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt. Released in 1976, it became her third straight million-selling album. Ronstadt was the first female artist to accomplish this feat. The album earned her ...

'', and "Lago Azul," a Spanish translation of "

Blue Bayou "Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 h ...

", that was released as a single following her hit English version from her 1977 album, ''

Simple Dreams ''Simple Dreams'' is the eighth studio album by the American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1977 by Asylum Records. It includes several of her best-known songs, including her cover of the Rolling Stones song " Tumbling Dice" (featured in the ...

''. In 2021, it was announced that ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' had been inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. In 2022, the album was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservat ...

Track listing

Charts

Sales and certifications

Personnel

– vocals *Michael J. Ronstadt – vocals *Danny Valdez – vocals, guitar *Gilberto Puente – guitar *Jorge Lopez – guitar *Samuel Gutierrez – guitar *Pedro Flores – vihuela *Victor "el Pato" Cardenas – vihuela *Felipe Perez – violin *Antonio Ramos – violin *Salvador Torres – violin *Heriberto Molina – vocals *Ricardo Cisneros – vocals *Steve Fowler – flute *Ron Kalina – harmonica *Juan Gudiño – Trumpet *Ignacio N Gomez – Trumpet *Jim Self – tuba *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

– percussion *Pedro Rey – vocals w/Linda Ronstadt *Pedro Rey Jr. – vocals

Production

* Peter Asher – producer * Ruben Fuentes – producer, arrangements, conductor * Edd Kolakowski – assistant producer * Shawn Murphy – recording, mixing * Sharon Rice – assistant engineer * Dwayne Seykora – assistant engineer *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Ch ...

– mastering * José Hernández – album coordinator *

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

– art direction, design * Bob Blakeman – photography * Gilbert Ronstadt – back cover painting * J. Roy Helland – make-up, hair stylist * Manuel – wardrobe design * Janet Stark – assistant to Miss Ronstadt

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canciones De Mi Padre Linda Ronstadt albums Mariachi albums Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album 1987 albums Albums produced by Peter Asher Elektra Records albums Spanish-language albums Latin music albums by American artists Covers albums United States National Recording Registry recordings United States National Recording Registry albums