Ramón Ayala
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Ramón Ayala (born December 8, 1945) is an Mexican accordionist and songwriter. Ramon Ayala has defined much of modern norteño music with his distinctive accordion playing and lyrics. Though he added electric guitars and drums to his music, it still retains a traditional northern ranchera style. [1]
Ramón Ayala, the son of local musician Ramón Cobarrubias, began playing his favorite instrument, the accordion when he was six years old. Inspired and supported by his parents, he performed in different public places to help his modest family. Ramón Ayala's first band experience was a group called Los Jilgueros de Marin. Later, Ayala joined Los Pavoreales.
After moving to Reynosa, a border town in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the talented musician met Cornelio Reyna at a cantina called "El Cadillac" and formed Los Relámpagos del Norte; the group soon made a self-titled debut album which featured the hit single "Ya No Llores." in 1963. Ramón was on the road to popularity.
For the next eight years, Los Relampagos Del Norte tore up the music charts by revolutionizing and re-inventing norteño music, a genre that was then considered exclusively cantina music. Ramón Ayala and Cornelio Reyna livened the music and lyrics in order to reach and appeal to more people. The talented duo recorded a total of 20 albums leaving behind many classics such "El Disgusto", "Devolución", "Mi Tesoro", "Tengo Miedo," and many others.
In 1971, however, Cornelio Reyna decided to leave Los Relampagos del Norte and to switch to the mariachi genre. At the time, many music experts felt that Ramón Ayala's short career was doomed since Cornelio Reyna was the voice of Los Relampagos Del Norte and he was just the accordion player. Surprisingly enough, Cornelio Reyna's mariachi career was only mediocre at best. He had been much more popular with Los Relampagos Del Norte than he had been as a new solo mariachi singer.
Ramón Ayala set out to prove that he could make it on his own and formed the legendary band, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos Del Norte in late 1971. By early next year, Ramon Ayala was growing and already making a name for himself with his new vocalist, Antonio Sauceda. Sauceda had a similar singing style and voice tone as Cornelio Reyna, which proved to be perfect for Ramon Ayala. This made a smooth transition for his playing style.
After cementing his name at the top of norteño music charts once again, Ramón Ayala suffered the loss of his lead singer. Sauceda had a renewed interest in Christianity and had decided to join a Christian seminary. The loss of Antonio Sauceda proved to be the best thing to ever happened to Ramon Ayala as he was forced to find another lead singer.
The next lead singer he found was Eliseo Robles. Robles was at the time playing in another band called Los Satellites de Fidencio Ayala, Ramon Ayala's brother. Robles decided to join Ramón Ayala, and together they forged a partnership that artistically surpassed all others and that to this day still remains as the premier perfection of the genre. They created a style that became the standard for norteño music. During the Eliseo Robles years, Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos Del Norte's album sales reached peak high in Mexico and the United States mainly due to their ability to produce hit after hit such as "Un Rinconcito En El Cielo," "Chaparra De Mi Amor," "Tragos Amargos," and many other hits.
Lightning struck again in the mid-80's when Ramón Ayala found himself again without a lead singer. Ego problems from Eliseo Robles are thought to be the main reason for his bizarre departure from the band. Ayala set out to look for another lead singer, his fourth in his career, and found his man in Antonio Coronado. Coronado's career and future with Ramon Ayala looked like it was going to be as successful as the Eliseo Robles years but he also reportedly had an ego problem and only recorded eight albums before leaving the band in 1992.
The next year, Ramon Ayala celebrated his 30th anniversary of his career with the arrival of his 5th and current lead singer, the friendly Mario Marichalar. With Marichalar's arrival, Ramon Ayala modified his style once again which is something that hasn't set too well with his fans. Once mainly known and successful for heart-felt ranchera and cantina-style songs, Ramon Ayala's new style proved to be too bland and soft as he now tries to appeal to a younger generation that doesn't seem to accept him. However, Ayala continues to be a classic musician who is remembered as one of the founders of modern norteño music. Ramon has won many American and Latino Grammy's along with record sales of approximately 750,000 units per year.
