Tejano Roots Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                            First of all let me give all praise and thanks to our Lord for keeping us alive long enough to receive this prestigious award. To our fans, friends and families who were responsible for submitting our name for consideration for induction and who made the trip to be here with us tonight, we say, thank you from the bottom of our “Broken Hearts”.

 

In 1958 after seeing the performance of one guitarist/singer Jerry Luna at a talent show, Ramon (Munchie) Salazar and Newton Avenue neighborhood best friend George Soto decided to form an all rock and roll band named The Playboys. They played in and around the Seguin area and actually recorded an original “Slowly, Slowly, But, Surely” by Little Tony Ross for Cobra Records of San Antonio. When the influence of bands like Isidro Lopez, Alfonso Ramos, Little Joe and Sunny Ozuna started to dominate the airwaves, the group made the gradual crossover into Tejano music and became, The Broken Hearts. They recorded over fifty three songs for Rosina Records, Zarape Records and other record companies. They toured the country from West Texas to Chicago and were recognized in the book “Chicano Soul” Recordings & History of an American Culture by Ruben Molina, Billboard magazine and numerous other publications and in a series of interviews for newspaper La Voz from Austin Texas.

 I can’t name them all but would like to acknowledge all 37 former members of the band who made the Broken Hearts who they were, are and will be. There were several singers who graced the stage with the Broken Hearts over the years starting with the original singer for the Broken Hearts Johnny (Pichie) Ortiz, and followed not necessarily in order by Tony (Little Tony Ross) Castillo, two Black singers who sang in English and Spanish, Knolle Turner and Robbie Coleman who spoke fluent Spanish and appeared on the Domingo Pena Show. Then there was Mike Gonzales from San Antonio, Jimmy Solis, Gilbert Gonzales and yours truly Bobby Gonzales. But one of the reasons we are all here on this stage is because of the greatest singer the Broken Hearts and Tejano music has ever had, Sixto Sanchez. His voice captured every possible emotion as no other singer could or has, since he was taken from us at the early age of 20. I ask that the committee of the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame consider his name for induction as a solo artist for next year. Thanks to people like Daryl (DQ) Quintanilla @ www.Tejano.Fm in Austin and other DJ’s like him who keep Tejano music alive, you can still hear the music of the Broken Hearts and the evocative voice of Sixto Sanchez. Sixto …..this is for you…..thank you everybody.