The word came down on December 8 that Raul Malo, the incomparable lead singer of The Mavericks, had succumbed to stage 4 colon cancer. The news and music outlets quickly posted obituaries recalling his many records with the Mavericks as well as his solo efforts. He was rightly praised for his vocal and musical abilities. He drew favorable comparisons to Roy Orbison for his vocal range.
I had the good fortune to interview Raul Malo back in 2010 for the release of his solo album Sinners and Saints. What stood out for me from the interview was how down to earth and unpretentious he was. It was clear music was his passion and considered himself lucky to be able to make a living doing what he loved.
Raul described the making of Sinners and Saints as a labor of love. He loved the experience of recording in his home studio and having the time to find the right sound. He was excited about the things he learned during the process of recording the album. Yes, excited. There is no better word to describe how he talked about it.
Perhaps his passion and excitement for music is what allowed him to connect with a song and make it his own. Whether it was a song he wrote – like “What A Crying Shame,” or a cover song like “Blue Bayou” – he had the ability to convince you he experienced what he was singing about. Of course most of the time he hadn’t. But he had the ability to make you believe and he viewed that as an art form.
Raul brought the same passion and excitement to his instrumental album, 2023’s Say Less. That album’s “Solitary Blues,” “Granada Boulevard,” and “Havana Midnight” are all part of a musical trip. As he told Lauren Leadingham, “Hopefully the listeners will want to go on this journey with me.”
Singing or simply playing an instrumental, Raul viewed the process the same. The goal was to express something to connect him to the listener.
Connecting with his audience and people in general was what made life worth living for Raul Malo. At least that is how it appeared to me. The music was his passion and his means of forging that connection. He expressed disappointment and frustration with a world unwilling to tolerate differing points of view.
“This madness of fear with underlying bits of racism. And just overall intolerance,” he told me. “I thought we were kind of over all this stuff… But it is to that point now where I can’t keep quiet about stuff any more.”
And so at times Raul Malo was a spokesman for tolerance and community. “We sing songs in English and Spanish, and if people can take the love and sense of community with you after our shows, maybe that can help make the world a little better place . . . One note and one show at a time.”
Raul wasn’t afraid to speak out about issues facing our country today, especially when it comes to immigration and policies that divide rather than unite people. Still, he never lost sight of the fact politics was not the focus of his work.
“Well, entertainers are supposed to entertain,” he told me. “I’ve always kind of viewed myself in that way – as an entertainer. But I guess we do… Maybe we do carry a little bit of responsibility. I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it too much. And I don’t want to make it sound that we’re more important than I think. Because I think that at the end of the day, I’m a song and dance man. You know.”
I always hoped I would get the opportunity to speak with Raul again. Unfortunately that was not to be. But I still think of our conversation that day and the song he was most proud of on Sinner and Saints.
The song was “Matter Much To You,” a song about getting along despite differences of opinion. A song about tolerance with the hope it doesn’t matter much to you if we do not share the same point of view or see the world in the same way.
And now, as I think about Raul Malo, I think about that song. And about a man who sowed seeds of tolerance and community one note and one show at a time.
