Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr.(born February 20, 1939)[1]is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. He is the father ofTejanosingerSelenaand was her manager throughout her life.
Abraham Quintanilla | |
|---|---|
 Quintanilla in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Abraham Isaac Quintanilla Jr. |
| Born | February 20, 1939 Corpus Christi,Texas,U.S. |
| Genres | Polka,doo-wop,Tejano |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Labels | Falcon,J.W. Fox,Bernal,Epitome |
| Formerly of | Selena y Los Dinos |
| Spouse |
Marcella Ofelia Samora
(m.1963) |
| Website | www |
Quintanilla was born to a Mexican-American family inCorpus Christi, Texas.He began his music career as a member of the singing group the "Dinos" in 1956. He left the group in the late 1960s and initially retired from music to raise a family. After discovering Selena's singing talent, he created the bandSelena y Los Dinoscomposed of Selena and her two older siblings to develop her talent. Under his management, the group became a major success inTejano musicby the late 1980s, allowing Selena to begin a solo career and become one of the most celebratedLatin musicartists of all time. Following Selena'smurderin 1995, Quintanilla became an executive producer of abiographical film about her life,in which he was portrayed by actorEdward James Olmos.
Early life
editQuintanilla was born on February 20, 1939, inCorpus Christi, Texas,the middle child of six siblings, to Abraham Gonzalez Quintanilla Sr. and Maria Tereza Calderon.[citation needed]Quintanilla's parents worked along theRio Grandein Texas,gleaningvegetables, cotton and fruits.[1]When he was fourteen, his parents left the Catholic Church and converted toJehovah's Witnesses.[2]Quintanilla's father later worked as an autobody repairman.[3]
Quintanilla attendedRoy Miller High Schooland soon joined with two of his friends to form a high school choir called theGumdrops.[2]Abraham dropped out of Roy Miller High School when he was a senior to pursue his career.[4]Maria strongly disapproved of her son's desire to become a professional singer.[3]
Career
editEarly years
editIn 1956, Quintanilla encountered his alumni classmates performing at a high school dance.[4]He immediately recognized their voices and was hooked. While learning that one of their lead vocalists was quitting the band: Abraham immediately approached the "Dinos" and asked if he could be part of their singing group.[4]The group decided to give Abraham a chance by inviting him to practice with them. Quintanilla's request was granted when the Dinos crowned him as the "third voice". During the beginning stages of the group, the Dinos were paid thirty US dollars in booked venues. Los Dinos cited their musical inspirations as having originated from the musical ensemblesThe Four AcesandMills Brothers.[4]In 1959, Los Dinos released their first single "So Hard to Tell" on the J.W. Fox label that was owned by Johnny Herrera. The single became a classic hit onKEYSand helped the band to obtain bookings atsock hopsin Corpus,KingsvilleandWoodsboro,Texas.
The Dinos' second single "Give Me One Chance", which was composed byTeddy Randazzowho had written songs forLittle Anthony and the Imperials,sold 150,000 copiesa.The single began getting extensive airplay throughout south Texas and onKILT-FM.[5]Los Dinos' popularity prospered after the record sales of "Give Me One Chance". The band recorded ten English-languagerevolutions per minutesandcoveredsongs ofThe Beatles,Ray Stevens,Johnny Tillotson,Tommy Roe,Sam & Daveand theFive Americans.
The band's next singles "Twistin' Irene", "Ride Your Pony",and"Lover's Holiday"sold poorly. In October 1961, Quintanilla joined theUnited States Air Force.After boot camp, he was stationed atMcChord Air Force BaseinTacoma, Washington.While there, he met the half-Mexican American and half-Cherokee Native AmericanMarcella Samora. Samora's father originated fromAmarillo,while her mother was from Colorado.[6]Quintanilla and Samora married on June 8, 1963.
After Quintanilla's discharge from active duty in November 1963, his wife gave birth to their first child,Abraham "A.B." Quintanilla IIIon December 13 of the same year. Within a month after their son's birth, the family moved out of Washington to Corpus Christi, Texas. Following the return to his hometown, Quintanilla re-joined Los Dinos and began singingAmerican popandrock and rollmusic. While performing to a crowd of concertgoers of Mexican descent, Los Dinos were chided to play Spanish-language Mexican music. When they continued playing their planned pop and rock music lineup, they were heckled and called "queers" by their fellow Mexican-Americans. The people at the club were refunded their money after the band confessed to not knowing any Mexican music. This angered people who wanted to dance and they chased the band out of the building. Local Corpus Christi police had to be called in to escort the band out.[7]The band changed their musical genre toChicano rockdue to costs in creating English-languagepopular musicand the popularity of the band. Los Dinos recorded their first recordCon Esta Copa(With This Cup) in 1964 on Arnoldo Ramirez label Falcon Records. The single "Con esta copa"became an instant hit in Texas and had heavy airplay at the time of its release on Epitome. The single was also played in neighboring states.[8]
The band released three more records with Falcon until they moved on toBernal Records.On June 29, 1967, Marcella gave birth to their second child and first daughter,Suzette Michelle Quintanilla.By 1969, Los Dinos' popularity had faded and their record sales began to decline. Quintanilla later quit the band while the rest of the group went on without him.[9]
Los Dinos continued to record music and by 1974, the band had recorded twenty45sand sixLP records.The band members then officially ended their careers.[9]
With Selena y Los Dinos
editQuintanilla moved toLake Jackson, Texas,in the early 1970s and began working full-time to support his wife and children. He worked forDow Chemical,putting his passion for music aside. They were settling into life in Lake Jackson when Marcella was told by doctors that she had a tumor that needed to be removed immediately. Marcella and Quintanilla decided to get a second opinion before they agreed to surgery. The second doctor informed them that there was no tumor; Marcella was pregnant. They were told this baby was a boy and began planning for a son. They picked the name Marc Antony (Quintanilla), but Marcella instead delivered a daughter on April 16, 1971, at Freeport Community Hospital. A woman who shared Marcella's semi-private hospital room suggested the name "Selena".[10]
Quintanilla was teaching his oldest child, A.B., to play a guitar when Selena entered and began singing along with her father. Quintanilla noticed Selena's fine voice, and, believing she was truly gifted, wasted no time working to develop her vocal talent.[11]Quintanilla formed a new group and based its name on his childhood band,Selena y Los Dinos(Selena And The Guys). Quintanilla, with the help of his former recording studio manager and friend, began recording songs with Selena and building a foundation for a music career for his children.[12][13]
In 1979, Quintanilla opened up a Mexican restaurant called PapaGayo's (Parrots) and built a stage platform so his children could perform for the restaurant's patrons as they enjoyed their meal. The restaurant suffered from therecession of 1981and was forced to close. This economy had severe impact on the Quintanillas and other South Texas families. Abraham took his musical aspirations and relocated to Corpus Christi after his family was forced to sell their home to avoid bankruptcy. Selena y Los Dinos and their father performed at street corners, parties, weddings, and any other social function that provided income for the family.[citation needed]
In 1984, Selena y Los Dinos were signed to Freddie Records. They recorded and released their début album entitledSelena Y Los Dinos.Selena was criticized by Freddie Martinez (CEO of Freddie Records) for being a young female in a male-dominated genre. Quintanilla transferred his children to Cara Records and released their second album,The New Girl in Town.This album led to Selena y Los Dinos' appearance as musical guests on theJohnny CanalesShow.[14][15]
By 1989 Selena had released eightlong playson Manny Guerra's independent labels, GP Productions and Record Producer Productions. These albums launched Selena's domination of theTejano Music Awards,beginning in 1986.[16]Selena's performance at the TMAs caught the eye ofJose Behar,the former head ofSonyMusic Latin. Behar signed Selena withCapitol/EMI.[17]He later said that he signed Selena because he thought he had discovered the nextGloria Estefan.
Selena won the 1993Grammy Awardfor "Best Mexican-American Album"forSelena Live!.[18]
Selena's 1994 albumAmor Prohibidobecame the biggest-selling Latin album of all time. Amor Prohibido was certified 20× Platinum (Latin type) by theRIAAfor selling over two million copies, and eventually sold over five million worldwide.[19]Selena's sales and fan base increased and paved the way to achieve her dream of recording an Englishcrossover albumin prospective.[13][20]
Death of Selena
editOn March 31, 1995, Quintanilla's youngest child, Selena, was murdered by the former president of the Selena Fan Club, manager of Selena's boutiques,Selena Etc.and former friend,Yolanda Saldívar.[17]
After Selena's death, Quintanilla has been involved in every development of albums, documentaries, and other productions that involves or talks about Selena.[21]Soon after Selena's death, Abraham Quintanilla and his family started The Selena Foundation,[22]a charitable organization which assists children in crisis.[23]Abraham Quintanilla has appeared in numerous television specials about Selena.[24]Quintanilla continues to produce new acts in the music and film industries with his record company,Q-Productions.[24]
In the 1997 biopic-film,Selena,Quintanilla was portrayed byEdward James Olmoswhile Quintanilla himself served as co-producer. In the 2020 Netflix miniseriesSelena: The Series,he was portrayed byRicardo Chavira.[25][26]In 2021, Quintanilla released his memoirA Father's Dream: My Family's Journey in Music.
Discography
edit- Studio albums
| Album information[27] |
|---|
Los Dinos(The Guys)
|
Con Esta Copa(With This Cup)
|
The Dinos(Falcon release)
|
2000
|
Unknown fifth release(Bernal release)
|
Unknown sixth release(Bernal release)
|
Filmography
edit| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year[28] | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Selena | Executive producer | |
| Selena Remembered | Producer | ||
| 2003 | Greatest Hits DVD | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995–present | Tejano Music Awards | Himself, receiving awards for Selena | TV appearances |
| 1998 | American Justice:Selena – Murder of a Star | Himself | |
| Behind the Music:Selena | |||
| 1999 | Corpus: A Home Video for Selena | ||
| 2004 | Noche de estrellas: Premio lo Nuestro 2004 | Himself, receiving awards for Selena | |
| 2005 | Don Francisco presenta | Himself | |
| Selena: Noche de estrellas | |||
| Selena ¡VIVE! | |||
| Selena ¡vive!, acceso total | |||
| 2007 | Selena: Queen of Tejano | ||
| Making of Selena: 10 Years Later | |||
References
edit- ^abPatoski, Joe Nick (March 1, 1997).Selena: como la flor.National Geographic Books. p. 2.ISBN978-0-425-17124-0.
- ^abPatoski page 9
- ^abPatoski page 33
- ^abcdPatoski page 10
- ^Patoski, Joe Nick (March 1, 1997).Selena: como la flor.National Geographic Books. p. 21.ISBN978-0-425-17124-0.
- ^Patoski page 22
- ^Patoski page 23
- ^Patoski page 29
- ^abPatoski page 30
- ^Patoski page 34
- ^Patoski page 37
- ^Patoski page 38
- ^abPatoski page 39
- ^Patoski page 40
- ^Patoski page 42
- ^"Fans, Family Remember Selena".CBSNews, October 17, 2002. Retrieved on July 9, 2006.
- ^abMitchell, Rick (May 21, 1995)."Selena".Houston Chronicle.Archived from the original on July 9, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 1,2008.
{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^Verhovek, Sam Howe (April 1, 1995). "Grammy Winning Singer Selena Killed in Shooting at Texas Motel".The New York Times.p. 1.
- ^RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database – Amor ProhibidoArchivedSeptember 24, 2015, at theWayback Machine.RIAA.
- ^Patoski page 47
- ^Richmond page 201
- ^"Q-productions".Archived fromthe originalon April 15, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 24,2017.
- ^"The Selena Foundation".Archived fromthe originalon January 7, 2006.RetrievedJanuary 2,2011.
- ^ab"Management of Q-Productions".Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 2,2011.
- ^Roiz, Jessica (April 1, 2020)."Everything We Know About Netflix's 'Selena: The Series' (So Far)".Billboard.RetrievedDecember 19,2020.
- ^Evans, Greg (October 6, 2020)."Netflix's 'Selena: The Series' Gets December Premiere Date, Trailer".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on October 6, 2020.RetrievedDecember 19,2020.
- ^30th Tejano Music Awards(Television production) (in Spanish). July 11, 2010. 80 minutes in.
- ^"Abraham Quintanilla's filmography".imdb.RetrievedJanuary 2,2011.
Works cited
edit- Joe Nick Patoski (March 31, 1996).Selena Como La Flor.Little Brown and Company.ISBN0-316-69378-2.
- Richmond, Clint (1995).Selena: The Phenomenal Life and Tragic Death of the Tejano Music Queen/Selena!.Pocket Books.ISBN0-671-54522-1.