The Mavericks' Raul Malo passes at 60

Malo, who also had a solo career apart from The Mavericks, had been battling cancer, announcing in June 2024 that he was diagnosed with cancer.

Malo played everything from country to jazz to lounge music to Latin music. He helped write much of the material for The Mavericks.

Malo formed The Mavericks in Miami in 1989, leading the group to a successful career. He released nine albums on his own. Among the biggest hits for the Mavericks were "O What a Thrill," "There Goes My Heart" and "All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down" with Flaco Jimenez. Malo, a Miami native, also was He also was a member in 2001 of the Los Super Seven supergroup.

"Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul's orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy. Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself," the band posted on Facebook today.

Malo was born on Aug. 7, 1965 to parents who fled Cuba for the U.S. Malo first connected with Robert Reynolds, who played bass, in Miami while both were in local bands. They soon wold form The Mavericks, including Paul Deakin (drums) and Ben Peeler (lead guitar). They released an album on the Miami-based Y&T Records label, which led to a major label deal with MCA Records.

"I grew up in Miami, and listened to all music, with no prejudice or conceptions of what genres even were at that time," said Malo in an interview with Country Standard Time in 2009. "Music was music to me. My parents were Cuban, so I was always around different styles of music growing up. We had all the great rock and roll records from the '50s and '60s, plus all of the Cuban music. On Saturday nights I would sit in front of the TV and watch Lawrence Welk and Hee Haw. I never knew Hee Haw was country music. I just knew that it was different and liked it."

""When The Mavericks were first coming out, we were, of course, considered country, but to say we were only a country band was a disservice to us and other country bands as well. Don't get me wrong, I love country music, but we encompassed a lot of different things."

Their first album, "From Hell to Eternity," came out in 1992. Malo wrote the title track about his parents' leaving Cuba.

The band would release three more albums in the 1990s, before disbanding.

Malo would soon release solo albums, starting with

The band reunited for the first of several times in 2003, releasing a few albums for Sanctuary Recores in England. they soon would disband again only to reform in 2011. The band wold continue to record on their own labelfrom 2012 on. Their last album was "Moon & Stars" from 2024.

Malo's first solo albumw as "Today" in 2001 with "Say Less" from 2023 his last solo release.

The Mavericks regularly toured, although the line-up had changed over the years with Deakin the only original member. The band had to cancel dates on their tour with Dwight Yoakam this past fall due to Malo's illness.

Tribute concerts were held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Dec. 5 and 6, Dance the Night Away: A 35 Year Musical Legacy Celebration Honoring Raul Malo. Steve Earle, Jamey Johnson, Mandy Barnett and Marty Stuart were among the artists who played. Malo was going to attend with his family, but was hospitalized the day before the first show.

Malo leaves behind his wife, Betty, and three children.