The traditional Tex-Mex style of norteño was fused by Little Joe (born Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez) with influences of country music, blues, and rock to create the uptempo hybrid known as tejano. Together with his band, Y la Familia Borrachera, Little Joe has enabled his music to reach far beyond the Texas and Mexico borders. In 1992, their album Diez y Seis de Septiembre received a Grammy Award as Best Mexican American Performance.
The seventh of 13 children, Little Joe began playing music in 1953 with his cousin David Coronado's band, David Coronado & the Latinaires. Two y...