Photograph: M. Caulfield/WireImage
The title Emilio Navaira is synonymous with Tejano music. His music, life, and legacy are remembered by Tejano followers internationally, and it continues to develop even after his surprising demise from a coronary heart assault in Could 2016.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez is thought by many because the Queen of Tejano, and an argument could be made for Emilio Navaira because the King. He introduced Tejano music to the mainstream through the Nineties together with Selena. He even crossed over, garnering nation music success, following the late nice Freddy Fender.
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“[Emilio] was one of the greatest entertainers, period,” mentioned his son Diego Navaira. “If you ever got to see an Emilio Navaira Y Grupo Rio concert, especially in the 90s, consider yourself lucky. Those shows were mighty. He gave it his all, every time. With all due respect, no other male Tejano artist has done national television, toured the world, has a fan base throughout Mexico like he has, or is in the Smithsonian. Also, con todo respecto (with all respect), the Astrodome concert that everyone talks about Selena selling out was a co-headlined show with Emilio. Not many remember that.”
Emilio Navaira grew up on the south facet of San Antonio, Texas, singing at an early age and even getting his first solo in his faculty choir. Emilio’s brother, Raul “Raulito” Navaira, was by his facet for a few years, singing backup on stage with Grupo Rio. “I remember seeing my brother singing his first solo in middle school choir, and the girls went crazy for him, and I think that’s where he got his taste for [it],” mentioned Raulito. “Emilio was born an entertainer!”
Emilio continued singing by way of highschool, performing in competitions, and ultimately incomes a music scholarship to Southwest Texas State College, now Texas State College, to pursue a profession as a music trainer. Performing, nonetheless, was his true calling. In 1983, Emilio joined Tejano group David Lee Garza Y Los Musicales as lead singer on the age of 21, ultimately launching a solo profession together with his personal band Grupo Rio only a few years later in 1989. His self-titled debut album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Greatest Mexican-American Album in 1990, in addition to his album Unsung Highways in 1993.
“When we were kids, I thought it was completely normal having a dad who was a famous singer,” mentioned his son Emilio Navaira IV. “It wasn’t until me and Diego became teenagers that we realized how famous he was, and the career he had made for himself and our family. He was different. He took risks. He was bold. He brought his culture to the masses, which I don’t think can be said for other male Tejano artists. He infused rock, country, and pop with conjunto and ranchera music.”
The success of Emilio Navaira in Tejano music earned him the nickname “The Garth Brooks of Tejano.” Firms like Coca-Cola and Wrangler used his music for nationwide commercials. After a sponsorship with Miller Lite, Emilio borrowed the corporate’s slogan for the title of his debut nation album Life Is Good. He even created a trademark dance, “The Emilio Shuffle,” that he carried out on stage with brother Raulito.
Emilio’s nation crossover started within the mid-’90s when he signed with Capitol Information Nashville. “It’s Not the End of the World” was the lead single from his debut nation album, reaching the High 30 of the Nation charts in 1995. The album was a hit, reaching No. 13 on the Nation albums chart.
The follow-up, It’s On The Home, launched in 1997 was not fairly as profitable as his debut disc, peaking at No. 50 on the nation albums chart. He returned to Tejano music incomes a Greatest Tejano Album Grammy Award in 2003 for Acuerdate and a Latin Grammy in 2007 for Greatest Tejano Album with De Nuevo.
“Emilio broke attendance records as a Tejano artist at livestock and rodeo shows,” explains Ramón Hernández, journalist and founding father of Hispanic Entertainment Archives, who curated an exhibit honoring Emilio at Texas State College in 2016. “He filled arenas in Mexico, won coveted Grammy Awards, and dominated the Tejano Music Awards for years. He continued his upward climb when he recorded country music and went on tour with George Strait, Alan Jackson and other top C&W artists.”
Dedicated to giving again to the neighborhood that raised him, Emilio started a charity in 1998 known as Emilio Navaira Tejanos for Youngsters. The non-profit has raised lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} for the Santa Rosa Youngsters’s Hospital in San Antonio and the Youngsters’s Miracle Community. “He was a generous man. He was a giver,” added Emilio IV. “He was the kind of person who looked after everyone else before even thinking of himself.”
In March 2008, Emilio was critically injured and hospitalized when the tour bus he was driving crashed on the freeway after a nightclub efficiency in Houston. A blood clot was faraway from his head, and he was saved in a medically induced coma and hypothermia to stop mind swelling. After a number of surgical procedures and years of restoration, Emilio was capable of return to the stage and launched one other album, A Las Personas de mi Vida, in 2012. His sons, Emilio IV and Diego, have been capable of carry out with him as a part of Grupo Rio through the comeback. Sadly, Emilio’s return to music ended only a few brief years later when he died of a sudden coronary heart assault on the age of 53 in Could 2016.
Upon his passing, Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, put it thusly: “Possessing one of the greatest voices in the history of Tejano music, Emilio Navaira was an icon in the genre… He showcased his strong Texas roots in everything he did… Emilio was beloved by many, and helped to shape an entire genre of music.”
The Navaira musical legacy continues together with his sons, Emilio IV and Diego, as members of Tex-Mex Rock band The Final Bandoleros, who infused their roots and tradition on their newest album Tex Flex. “We just want to create and perform music that we love, because that’s what he did, and that’s what he’d want us to do,” mentioned Emilio IV.
Future Navaira, daughter of Raulito and niece of Emilio, has additionally been profitable within the Tejano music business, profitable Feminine Vocalist of the Yr on the Tejano Music Awards in 2021 and sweeping the Greatest New Artist classes in 2016 together with her brother Rigo Navaira and their band Remedio. “He was more than just musically successful. He was somewhat of an icon, somewhat of a figure, an idol to a lot of people,” Future mentioned. “I think that’s why he’s known as the King. He created a different sound, there is nothing that you can compare it to.”
There may be little you possibly can evaluate it to from again then, however that’s not the case right now. Navaira’s music continues to be influential amongst a brand new technology. Briefly, he’s a Tejano legend, one whose title won’t quickly be forgotten.
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