Los Lobos is an American rock band, heavily influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country music, folk, R&B, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as boleros and norteños.
Los Lobos released an independent LP in the late 1970s, and an EP in 1983. Their first major- label, critically acclaimed release was 1984's T-Bone Burnett-produced, How Will the Wolf Survive? They released a follow up album entitled By the Light of the Moon in 1987. In the same year they recorded some Ritchie Valens covers for the soundtrack to the film La Bamba, including the title track which became a number one single for the band. In 1988 they followed with another album, La Pistola y el Corazón featuring original and classical norteño songs. Seen as akin to commercial suicide, the album sold poorly.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the band toured extensively throughout the world, opening for such acts as Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.
Los Lobos returned with The Neighborhood in 1990, and the creative and wildly experimental Kiko (produced by Mitchell Froom) in 1992. In 1991, the band contributed a lively cover of Bertha, a song which they often performed live, to the Grateful Dead tribute/rain forest benefit album Deadicated.
On the band's twenty-year anniversary they released a two-CD collection of singles, out-takes, live recordings and hits entitled Just Another Band from East L.A.
In 1995, Los Lobos released the children's record Papa's Dream on Music for Little People Records. The band also scored the film Desperado and contributed tracks to several other soundtracks and tribute albums. In 1996 they released Colossal Head. In spite of the fact that the album was critically acclaimed, Warner Brothers decided to drop the band from their roster. Los Lobos spent the next few years on side projects.