Raul Malo, frontman of the Mavericks, has passed away at the age of 60.
Variety reports:
Raul Malo, whose rich voice was the defining train of the Mavericks, the fittingly named group who brought Latin flavor and lively rock vibe to country music in the 1990s, died on Monday, the band announced on social media. No cause of death was cited, but he announced back in June that he was battling Stage 4 colon cancer; he was 60.
Malo announced his illness in 2024 and, as noted by Rolling Stone, the group played the latest of their annual concerts at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium just a few days ago. “The shows were celebratory, deeply emotional homages to Malo and his impact on music, featuring special guests like Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, and Maggie Rose,” the publication wrote. “Malo, who received the American Eagle Award from the National Music Council of the United States, couldn’t attend but sent an acceptance letter to be read.”
“Music has been the guiding force of my entire life. It carried me from my Cuban American childhood in Miami to stages across the world. It introduced me to my brothers, the Mavericks. It gave me a home in Nashville, Tennessee. It allowed me to raise my three incredible sons, Dino, Vincent, and Max, who are my greatest pride and joy. And it connected me to you fans whose love has sustained me through every chapter of this journey,” it read.
“In these past months, I’ve had to fight battles I’ve never imagined,” his note concluded. “But on the hardest of days, music remained my companion. Your letters, your stories of how a song helped you through loss, heartbreak, joy, those became our songs. You all carried me more than you know… Thank you for giving my voice a place to live, even when my body cannot be the one delivering it.”
Devastating.
Our deepest condolences to Malo’s family, friends, and fans.
…where’s the bloody kitchen paper!?
I first saw the Mavericks at the Schmidt Bandshell for free at the Minnesota State Fair in the early nineties around the release of their “From Hell to Paradise” album. I became a huge fan, and, over the years, have seen them perform live more often than any other act. They were outrageously good, and their live show kept getting better and better. Their concerts were absolute riots of fun and musicianship, and Malo was always anchoring the party with his charisma and that show-stopping voice. They were the coolest act I have ever seen on stage. The concerts were true events and spectacles.
I am heartbroken but also so grateful for the memories and music Malo gifted his listeners.
Go rest high on that mountain.
It is a devastating thing to lose somebody like Raul Malo, given that he was part of one of the most (if not the most) criminally under-appreciated groups of the 1990’s country music boom. He and The Mavericks were definitely something different, and he will be missed, but, I daresay, remembered by fans and peers alike.
I saw this headline right away yesterday morning and my heart broke. I knew he had cancer and had seen that there were benefits held in recent weeks so I figured the end was near. Thank goodness he came of age at a time when he was able to find a measure of commercial success, even if it was still scandalously insufficient proportional to his talent.
I saw The Mavericks at the Leinie Lodge at the Minnesota State Fair in 1994. If anything, my mom was an even bigger fan than me and went up to another Leinie Lodge Mavericks concert in 2012 on a night when I couldn’t go because of work obligations. I doubt my mom has heard the news yet but I’ll spring it on her in the days ahead.
A class act ’til the very end. A devastating loss, indeed.
Such an incredible and unique voice. You always knew a Mavericks song when it came on the radio because no one else in country sounded anything like them.
Just awful. The Mavericks opened for Mary Chapin Carpenter at my first concert in summer 1995. I was 7. I remember we didn’t know who The Mavericks were and bought “What A Crying Shame” to get acquainted with them prior to the show. I, unfortunately, was a very young 7-year-old and wasn’t able to make it through the whole show. No way I even came close to appreciating what was happening on the stage, the level of greatness I was witnessing. But at least I can say, even if the memory is faded, I saw Raul Malo live.
Good for MCC for having the [whatevers] to have the Mavericks open for her. Sounds risky to have a bang-up band with a soaring vocalist, all kinds of instruments and lively performances opening for a singer-songwriter. Mary Chapin had some surprising and memorable performance of her own at the CMAs in those years, but still, I wouldn’t want to follow the Mavericks.
I first heard of the Mavericks when I picked up a promo CD of their debut major label release “From Hell to Paradise.” It was great, but country radio must not have wanted a politically-tinged Anglo-Spanish act and didn’t touch it. On their follow up CD, Raul dropped the social conciousness, and they had a hit.
One of the most singular vocal talents in music, genre labels be damned (but if we’re talking country, the best vocal group of the nineties mainstream, as it were). On my Mount Rushmore of male singers, no doubt. Rest easy, good sir.
I got to see the Mavericks open for Dwight Yoakam last October. When I was down in Detroit for the concert, I found out my stepdad had died. I know he liked Dwight because my uncle sent me a video of my stepdad dancing to “Fast as You”. Don’t know if stepdad liked the Mavericks but I feel like he would have. Malo had already begun to undergo chemo at that point, but he still rocked it.
A guy in front of me was there for Dwight and wasn’t familiar with the Mavericks. I explained who they were and after their set was over, he turned to me and said, “You were right, those guys kicked ass.”
Even in 1994, when I was 7, Raul’s amazing Orbison-tinged voice captivated me. I always wanted more Mavericks than radio gave me, so I later bought a lot of their albums. They are all killer albums.
I never had the opportunity to see the Mavericks but I was enchanted with their first independent album and remained a fan to the end. Malo, had he been born 30 years earlier, would have had a career and a reputation somewhere between Roy Orbison and Gene Pitney – he was that good.
I wasn’t too familiar with him. I do remember he stepped in for the late Eddie Rabbitt to sing You And I with Crystal Gayle back in 2005 on the CMT 100 Greatest Duets concert.
He had an amazing voice, as I remember.
What a sad loss. Raul Malo’s voice managed to be as smooth as people like Josh Groban or Michael Buble, but full of life and energy that was so infectious and unmatched.