In February of 1991 "The Broken Hearts" from Seguin, Texas were inducted into The Tejano Music Hall of Fame. This was a well-deserved and very well earned honor for this band. They were one of the very best bands of that era.
Their road to The Tejano Music Hall of Fame began in 1957 when under the leadership of Ramon Salazar, Jr. a group of young men from Seguin, Texas formed a Rock-N-Roll band. In the beginning they were known as "The Playboys" but at some point in time the name of the band changed to "The Broken Hearts". Their style of music also evolved to include Mexican Music as well as Rock-N-Roll Music.
The reason that I say that they were the "Underdogs of The Old Guard" is that they were from a small town and as such were at a disadvantage that bands from the cities did not have to contend with.
First and foremost is that fact that in a small town the instrumentation of any band is dictated by the available musicians in it. Mr. Salazar may have envisioned three trumpets and three saxophones but if the only available horn players were two saxophonist... then that is the only available horn section that the band could have. In the city there are several trumpet players and saxophonist making it possible for a bandleader to chose the top horn players that audition for those positions. A bandleader from a small town can only choose from the available horn players at hand. I am not implying that they lacked talent. Jimmy Solis was an excellent saxophonist and Gilbert Gonzales proved that he was not only talented on saxophone but an extremely talented vocalist as well. However, the fact still remains that if Mr. Salazar wanted three saxophonist and that is all the horn players in town, then that is the only ones he could choose from.
The second disadvantage is that because of the limited musicians in a small town they can not be easily replaced once they leave the band. For example, if one of the saxophonist leaves the band, then all the band has to work with is two saxophones. In a city another saxophonist can be brought into the band without too much difficulty. Such is not the case in a small town.
The third disadvantage is that recording studios are in the cities. Recording Studios do not have to travel to small towns to look for talent when in a city there are several bands that they can record and promote. Recording executives are not going to go to the expense of traveling to small towns to "look" for local talent when they can more easily go to local night clubs within the city to recruit local talent. In today's highly mobile society this may not seem like a problem but the fact is that in the Fifties (50's) and ealy Sixties (60's) the common mode of traveling to another town or city were the bus lines. Cars were not so readily available to the masses as they are in today's society. For a small town band to have gained a recording contract, they would have had to have been exceptionally good and in this "The Broken Hearts" definately were. Their fist recordings were in San Antonio, Texas and then later in Dallas.
These were not the only obstacles that "The Broken Hearts" were met with, but under the very capable leadership of Ramon Salazar, Jr. they met and overcame These obstacles. He took what instrumentation was available and molded them into an outstanding band.
However, "The Broken Hearts" were not inducted into The Tejano Music Hall of Fame because of their ability to overcome disadvantages. They acheived this honor because they were a highly talented musical group. Their string section was really fantastic!
George Soto's guitar riffs were highly original. The manner in which he combined different musical genres in his guitar riffs was truly remarkable. Those "pasadas" could imitate a "bajo sexto" or imitate a "requinte" and a "keyboard" as well. What those guitarist in "The Broken Hearts" did was a make up for the instruments they may have lacked and accentuate the instruments that they did have as well as the vocalist in their band. Their "sound" was unlike any other band of that era.
"The Broken Hearts" also had an outstanding vocalist in Sixto Sanchez. His raw emotion in delivering a song could be awesome. In many ways he made "The Broken Hearts" who they were but equally true is that "The Broken Hearts" also made Sixto who he was as a vocalist. His emotional vocalizations gave meaning to the songs he sang but George Soto's guitar riffs highlighted those emotions that poured out from Sixto's heart. His tragic demise was a great loss to the music world.
Although Sixto Sanchez was the lead vocalist most associated with "The Broken Hearts", he was not the only lead vocalist that "The Broken Hearts" possessed. Two other outstanding lead vocalist that were with "The Broken Hearts" were Gilbert Gonzales and Mike Gonzales. Their voices were also just as powerful as Sixto's voice and were also a great contribution to "The Broken Hearts" induction into The Tejano Music Hall of Fame. There were other lead vocalists besides these talented singers but these were the ones that stood out the most.
While I may say that "The Broken Hearts" were the underdogs of The Old Guard. I am only saying this because of the disadvantages they had to overcome that most bands of The Old Guard did not have. Anyone that listens to their music can hear in that music that they were second to none!!! ---Chepe Ramirez
Their road to The Tejano Music Hall of Fame began in 1957 when under the leadership of Ramon Salazar, Jr. a group of young men from Seguin, Texas formed a Rock-N-Roll band. In the beginning they were known as "The Playboys" but at some point in time the name of the band changed to "The Broken Hearts". Their style of music also evolved to include Mexican Music as well as Rock-N-Roll Music.
The reason that I say that they were the "Underdogs of The Old Guard" is that they were from a small town and as such were at a disadvantage that bands from the cities did not have to contend with.
First and foremost is that fact that in a small town the instrumentation of any band is dictated by the available musicians in it. Mr. Salazar may have envisioned three trumpets and three saxophones but if the only available horn players were two saxophonist... then that is the only available horn section that the band could have. In the city there are several trumpet players and saxophonist making it possible for a bandleader to chose the top horn players that audition for those positions. A bandleader from a small town can only choose from the available horn players at hand. I am not implying that they lacked talent. Jimmy Solis was an excellent saxophonist and Gilbert Gonzales proved that he was not only talented on saxophone but an extremely talented vocalist as well. However, the fact still remains that if Mr. Salazar wanted three saxophonist and that is all the horn players in town, then that is the only ones he could choose from.
The second disadvantage is that because of the limited musicians in a small town they can not be easily replaced once they leave the band. For example, if one of the saxophonist leaves the band, then all the band has to work with is two saxophones. In a city another saxophonist can be brought into the band without too much difficulty. Such is not the case in a small town.
The third disadvantage is that recording studios are in the cities. Recording Studios do not have to travel to small towns to look for talent when in a city there are several bands that they can record and promote. Recording executives are not going to go to the expense of traveling to small towns to "look" for local talent when they can more easily go to local night clubs within the city to recruit local talent. In today's highly mobile society this may not seem like a problem but the fact is that in the Fifties (50's) and ealy Sixties (60's) the common mode of traveling to another town or city were the bus lines. Cars were not so readily available to the masses as they are in today's society. For a small town band to have gained a recording contract, they would have had to have been exceptionally good and in this "The Broken Hearts" definately were. Their fist recordings were in San Antonio, Texas and then later in Dallas.
These were not the only obstacles that "The Broken Hearts" were met with, but under the very capable leadership of Ramon Salazar, Jr. they met and overcame These obstacles. He took what instrumentation was available and molded them into an outstanding band.
However, "The Broken Hearts" were not inducted into The Tejano Music Hall of Fame because of their ability to overcome disadvantages. They acheived this honor because they were a highly talented musical group. Their string section was really fantastic!
George Soto's guitar riffs were highly original. The manner in which he combined different musical genres in his guitar riffs was truly remarkable. Those "pasadas" could imitate a "bajo sexto" or imitate a "requinte" and a "keyboard" as well. What those guitarist in "The Broken Hearts" did was a make up for the instruments they may have lacked and accentuate the instruments that they did have as well as the vocalist in their band. Their "sound" was unlike any other band of that era.
"The Broken Hearts" also had an outstanding vocalist in Sixto Sanchez. His raw emotion in delivering a song could be awesome. In many ways he made "The Broken Hearts" who they were but equally true is that "The Broken Hearts" also made Sixto who he was as a vocalist. His emotional vocalizations gave meaning to the songs he sang but George Soto's guitar riffs highlighted those emotions that poured out from Sixto's heart. His tragic demise was a great loss to the music world.
Although Sixto Sanchez was the lead vocalist most associated with "The Broken Hearts", he was not the only lead vocalist that "The Broken Hearts" possessed. Two other outstanding lead vocalist that were with "The Broken Hearts" were Gilbert Gonzales and Mike Gonzales. Their voices were also just as powerful as Sixto's voice and were also a great contribution to "The Broken Hearts" induction into The Tejano Music Hall of Fame. There were other lead vocalists besides these talented singers but these were the ones that stood out the most.
While I may say that "The Broken Hearts" were the underdogs of The Old Guard. I am only saying this because of the disadvantages they had to overcome that most bands of The Old Guard did not have. Anyone that listens to their music can hear in that music that they were second to none!!! ---Chepe Ramirez
