Los Lobos

Los Lobos (or Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles, as they were originally called) is an American musical treasure. Nurtured on barrio soul and mariachi, over their three-decade career they've sunk their teeth into everything from avant-garde rock to gutbucket blues. From the clubs of East L.A. to the world stage, The Wolves have, indeed, survived.

Millions woke up to the brilliance of Los Lobos when their cover of "La Bamba" topped the charts. But that song barely hinted at what this relentlessly creative pack was capable of. From the mariachi-gone-rockabilly slab known as How Will The Wolf Survive? to the blues-infused rock 'n' soul of The Ride, each of the band’s releases has prowled fresh terrain.

Armed with R&B sweat and fierce Latino heart, Los Lobos has leapt across ethnic and musical borders as if they didn't even exist. Along the way, they've recorded with everyone from Pop Staples to Tom Waits to Elvis Costello, each of their musical adventures etching nuance into one of the richest catalogs in all of American music.

They're more than East L.A.'s most famous export. Far more. Los Lobos is a world-class band with a musical reach that simply knows no artistic or cultural boundaries. Whether making a pedal-steel weep over a folk-blues heartbreaker, belting out a Tex-Mex soul stomper, or feeding the primal-rock beast, this enduring quintet writes and plays like each album might be their last. Say what you like: In 30 years, over the course of more than a dozen albums, Los Lobos has remained one step ahead of the pack.