Tejano Country
tagStarted 1950sPeak 1970s-1990sLast big hit 2000sFrom Texas, United StatesSung in Spanish
Located in 2 routes
Tex-Mex country where conjunto accordion and bajo sexto meet Nashville structure. Bilingual or Spanish-tinged ballads and shuffles built on polka and ranchera roots, with squeezebox runs answering pedal steel. The sound of South Texas border honky-tonks, equally at home with a corrido or a country weeper.
History
Grew from Texas-Mexican conjunto and norteño, blending German/Czech polka, corrido and ranchera with American country. In the 1970s Freddy Fender and Johnny Rodriguez crossed onto US country charts singing in both languages, while accordion master Flaco Jiménez carried the Tex-Mex sound into country and roots collaborations for decades.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Wikipedia: Tejano music
- udiscovermusic: Tejano And Country Music: Six Key Figures
- East Texas Historical Association: Origins of Tejano Music