Tierra (band)

Tierra is an American Latin R&B band, originally from Los Angeles, California, United States, that was first established in 1972 by former El Chicano members Rudy Salas (guitar) and his brother Steve Salas (vocals).[1] The other original members were Bobby Loya , Bobby Navarrete (reeds), Joey Guerra (keyboards), Steve Falomir (bass guitar), Philip Madayag (drums), and Andre Baeza (percussion).[1] Their biggest hit was the 1980 remake of The Intruders' 1967 hit "Together", written by Gamble & Huff, which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 9 on the US Billboard R&B chart.[2] It was a number one record on Los Angeles radio.[3][4]

Tierra
Years active1972–present
Past membersSteve Salas
Rudy Salas Kenny Roman David Torres Bobby Navarette Bobby Loya Steve Falomir Andre Baeza Rudy Villa

Background

Tierra has the distinction of being the first Latino band to have four songs on the national chart, with two of them in the Top 100 at the same time.[5]

In 1972, Rudy and Steve Salas formed Tierra and their self-titled debut album was recorded. By the mid-1970s the band consisted of the Salas brothers, Rudy Villa on reeds, Kenny Román on drums and Latin-percussion, Conrad Lozano on bass, Aaron Ballesteros on drums and vocals, Alfred Rubalcava on bass and Leon Bisquera on keyboards. Around that time they recorded the album Stranded for the Salsoul records label.[6]

In 1980, they had a platinum hit with their version of "Together" which was a remake of the 1967 song by The Intruders.[7] The song which was written by Gamble & Huff, reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and No. 9 on the US Billboard R&B chart.[2] A few months later they had another chart hit with "Memories".[1] Later in the year they charted again with "La La Means I Love You".[8]

In 1981, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times Rudy Salas was quoted as saying "Sometimes I couldn't feed my family, I'm going out to get a legitimate job." At those bleak moments, his then wife Martha Salas would intervene. "She would talk me out of it," Salas said. "She knows how I love music. She would tell me, "No way you're gonna quit, you'd just take it out on me and the kids and we'd all be miserable." "She was right".[9][10]

In 1995, they released their A New Beginning album.[11]

Around 1997, younger brother Steve supposedly quit the band after disputes over leadership of the band, money and management. In an interview he claimed that he was fired by his brother Rudy. He formed his own band and for a period of time there were two bands bearing the name Tierra. The Tierra band led by Steve Salas was booked for three nights at the Conga Room. Rudy Salas's wife Joanna Alvarado Salas contacted the club to inform them that the real Tierra was the one fronted by her husband. This led to the club's booking manager Robert Vargas getting into negotiations and mediating between the two brothers, with a plan to have a band consisting of the two brothers and as many members as possible from their successful years in the early 1980s. An argument developed over the line up, and Steve Salas backed out two weeks before the concert was to take place. He then apologized, and in January 2002, they were booked to play the Conga Room.[12]

Recent years

Their album On Solid Ground was released in 2013. They appeared on Kid Frost's 2001 CD, Still Up in This Shit!, performing a new version of The Notations' "I'm Still Here".

Band member Isaac Avila died at age 49 of a brain hemorrhage on August 30, 2009.[13] Johnny "The Stick" Valenzuela died some time between 2010 and 2013.[14] Bassist Steve Falomir died due to a stroke on January 21, 2012 [15] in Los Angeles. Rudy Salas died from COVID-19 on December 29, 2020, at age 72.[16] Steve Salas died on February 10, 2022, at the age of 70 after a two-year battle myeloma and also contracting COVID-19 in the time leading up to his death.[17][18]

Associated act: DW3 aka Down With Three, that consists of Billy Mondragon (former lead singer of Tierra), Damon Montelongo, and Eric Mondragon.[5][19]

Band members

1973 lineup
  • Rudy Salas - Band leader, guitar
  • Andre Baeza - percussion
  • Joey Guerra - keyboards
  • Steve Falomir - bass
  • Philip Madayag - drums
  • Bobby Navarrete - sax, reeds
  • Rudy Villa - saxes, flute
  • David Torres - keyboards, trumpet, flute
  • Kenny Roman - drums
  • Steve Salas - lead singer[20]

Other Past Members
  • Isaac Campos Avila - lead vocals, guitar[13]
  • Mike Jimenez - lead vocals
  • Billy Mondragon - lead vocals
  • Conrad Lozano - bass
  • David Torres - keyboards[20]
  • Aaron Ballesteros - drums
  • Johnny "The Stick" Valenzuela - percussion[21]
  • Danny Santillan - drums
  • Leon Bisquera - keyboards[22]
  • Joey Navarro, keyboards, background vocals)
  • Dale Villavicencio - percussion

Current Members, 2022
  • Rudy "Bub" Villa (Tierra original member from 1971, saxophone, vocals) 32 years.
  • Victor Cisneros (saxophone, vocals) 32 years, since 1990.
  • Jeff Lewis (trumpet, background vocals) 23 years, since 1999.
  • Will Rize Riverra (lead vocals) 10 years, since 2012.
  • Tony Banda (bass) 10 years, since 2012.
  • Roger Rivas (keyboards) 19 years, 1987 to 2005, then since 2021.
  • Mario Quiroga (guitar, vocals) 1 year, since 2021.

Discography
  • Tierra (20th Century Records, 1973)
  • Stranded (Salsoul Records, 1975)
  • City Nights (Boardwalk Records, 1980)
  • Together Again (Boardwalk Records, 1981)
  • Bad City Boys (Boardwalk Records, 1982)
  • A New Beginning (Fiesta Records, 1989)
  • Tonight (Thump Records, 1993)
  • Street Corner Gold (Thump Records, 1995)
  • Greatest Hits (Thump Records, 2000)
  • Two Worlds - Dos Mundos (Thump Records, 2001)
  • Welcome to Cafe East L.A. (Thump Records, 2005)
  • The Rare Collection (I.T.P. Records, 2005)
  • Greatest Love Songs (Thump Records, 2007)
  • On the Right Track (M & M Records, 2008)
  • On Solid Ground (M & M Records 2013)
  • Ya Llego (2017)

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2494. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 580.
  3. "KRLA 1110 Los Angeles Survey 11/28/80". Las-solanas.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  4. Radio & Records (November 14, 1980). "Parallel One Playlists". Surveys for both K-EARTH and KRLA have "Together" at number one.
  5. "Tierra's Rudy Salas Talks Music, Performing & More « 94.7 the WAVE". Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  6. Barrio Rhythm: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles Steven Loza 104 Part I: History Tierra
  7. Postnational Musical Identities: Cultural Production, Distribution, and Consumption in a Globalized Scenario Edited by Ignacio Corona and Alejandro L. Madrid Page 141 Assimilation, Reclamation, and Rejection
  8. "Tierra - Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  9. The Los Angeles Times, Sunday November 8, 1981
  10. The Pantagraph, Saturday, November 21, 1981 - Page 45 Mexican-American bands struggle to make it
  11. "A New Beginning - Tierra | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  12. Los Angeles Times January 16, 2002 A Band (or Two) of Brothers - Augustin Gurza
  13. "The Dead Rock Stars Club - 2009 July to December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  14. ¡LatinoLA! April 25, 2013 Chicano Music Legend Rudy Salas of Tierra
    The lead guitarist and songwriter for East L.A.'s legacy band speaks up about his new music, his politics, and his family By Belinda Quesada, Contributing Writer
  15. "The Dead Rock Stars Club - 2012 January To June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  16. Long, Trish (December 30, 2020). "Rudy Salas, Tierra band leader and cofounder, dies at 71 of Covid-19". El Paso Times.
  17. "Steve Salas, co-founder of the pioneering Eastside Chicano rock band Tierra, dies at 69". LA Times. February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  18. "Obituary Steve Laurence Salas September 20, 1951 - February 10, 2022". Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  19. The Electronic Urban Report July 23, 11 DW3 Reintroduces Latin Soul Music with their Hot New Release ‘On the Floor’
  20. Lowrider website January 1, 2010 Lifestyle / Entertainment, Tierra of East Los Angeles by Steve Gonzales and Mike Landers
  21. JazzTimes January / February 1998 Various Artists, Latin Legends Live By Marcela Breton
  22. Bisquera, Leon (2018). "Bio". Leonbisquera.com.
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