Race and music in contemporary society

Race and Music: Richie Valens

In the past, an individual's culture would dominate whether or not he or she could have any kind of financial success outside of fans of that particular culture. However, there have been a few musical artists who have been able to transcend the limitations of their culture and become what would be considered mainstream performers. These people are extraordinary in that not only were they able to achieve great success, but were able to do so without sacrificing the integrity of their heritages. One of the first successful Latin or Chicano artists to achieve mainstream success in the United States was Richie Valens, born Ricardo Esteban Valenzuela Reyes. This man introduced 1950s America to the sounds of Latin and Hispanic culture and incorporated Spanish language into popular songs which became big hits in America among Hispanic and white audiences as well. What is particularly remarkable is that Valens was able to leave such an indelible impression on music history in such a short amount of time, having died at the age of seventeen in a tragic plane crash which also claimed the lives of musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson.

Before Valens, Chicano music was relegated to Hispanic or Latin homes. As a teenager, Valens became a local entertainer in the San Fernando Valley which had a large Hispanic population. Music promoter Bob Keane, owner and president of Del-Fi Records in Hollywood, heard of Valens through the boys' hometown paper and went to watch him perform at a local movie theater (Lehmer 2004,-page 54). Keane's successes with musicians had included crossover artist Sam Cooke who had become one of a handful of African-American artists to become a household name in the still racially-minded era of the late 1950s. Although Keane encouraged the name change from Valenzuela Reyes to Valens, he wisely did not try to get his new acquisition to ignore his Latin heritage and agreed to release records which contained both English and Spanish language lyrics, a first for a semi-major record label.