All Contemporary Photos: Alan Mercer
Few if any artists in Conjunto and Tejano music have received the level of critical acclaim Flaco Jimenéz has enjoyed over the course of a career that's spanned six decades, and it's certain that no one has taken the accordion-fueled Tex-Mex sound to a larger audience than he has. Without compromising his musical vision, Flaco has introduced the traditional conjunto sound to mainstream pop and country listeners thanks to his collaborations with the Texas Tornados, Dwight Yoakam, and the Mavericks, and he is celebrated by adventurous rock fans through his work with Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, Doug Sahm, and the Rolling Stones.
Flaco Jimenéz was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1939, and raised in a musical family; his grandfather Patricio Jimenéz was an accordion player who embraced the polkas and waltz tunes that are conjunto's stylistic precursors, and Flaco's father, Santiago Jimenéz, Sr., was a pioneering Tex-Mex musician who cut one of the first conjunto records, ‘Dices Pescao’ in 1936.
Flaco's first instrument was the bajo sexto (a Mexican variation on the 12-string guitar), which he started to play at age seven, but after he became proficient enough to join his father on-stage, Flaco's interest turned to the accordion, and he developed a joyous, expressive style that was influenced by zydeco master Clifton Chenier as well as his father and his Tex-Mex peers. At 15, Flaco formed his first band, ‘Los Caporales,’ and the group soon won a sizable following in San Antonio, cutting records for a local label and earning a weekly spot on a local television variety show. By the early '60s, Flaco was already a Texas legend, playing clubs across the Lone Star State and regularly filling dance halls in San Antonio with music that fused the classic Tejano sound with elements of blues and country.
Flaco gained a loyal fan in Doug Sahm, founder of the Sir Douglas Quintet and a fellow Texas maverick with a taste for crossbreeding rootsy sounds, and in 1973, when Sahm was recording his first solo album for Atlantic Records, he invited Flaco to join him for the sessions (which also included guest spots from Bob Dylan and Dr. John), giving him his first serious recognition outside of the Tejano scene. In 1976, Ry Cooder included Flaco on his album ‘Chicken Skin Music,’ and the groundbreaking folk and roots music label Arhoolie Records released Flaco Jimenéz & His Conjunto in 1978, finally giving his own music distribution outside of the Southwest. He continued to record and tour extensively, broadening his reach across the country and around the world, and in 1988 Dwight Yoakam brought Flaco into the studio to add an accordion part to a duet he recorded with Buck Owens. The tune, ‘Streets of Bakersfield,’ became a major country hit, and as Flaco joined Yoakam on tour, he found himself a rising star at the age of 49.
Partners In 1989, Jimenéz and his old friend Doug Sahm teamed up for a new project with country legend Freddy Fender and fellow squeezebox man (and one of Sahm's partners in the Sir Douglas Quintet) Augie Meyers; calling themselves the Texas Tornados, the band scored a deal with Reprise Records and they hit the charts with a re-cut of Meyers local hit "(Hey Baby) Que Paso." A track from the Texas Tornados' debut album, "Soy de San Luis," won a Grammy as Best Mexican-American Performance of 1991, and it would be the first of five Grammys Flaco would receive before the decade was out. Now that Flaco was a bona fide star, he signed with Warner Bros. and released a 1992 solo set, Partners, which included guest appearances from Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and Los Lobos. In 1994, the Rolling Stones tapped Flaco to add an accordion solo to their album Voodoo Lounge, and the same year Jimenéz released a self-titled solo set for Arista, a rootsy effort that included vocals from Raul Malo of the Mavericks.
In 2012 Flaco received a National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts. Flaco Jimenéz has continued to maintain a busy recording and touring schedule that would tax men half his age as he upholds his status as one of the world's leading ambassadors of Tex-Mex music.
Alan Mercer: Flaco, you obviously still love performing live!
Flaco Jimenez: Oh yes, it’s been my life and is still my life.
AM: How old were you when you started performing?
FJ: I started when I was seven years old.
AM: Now your father was a successful accordion player, wasn’t he?
FJ: Yes, he is considered the pioneer of Conjunto music along with Narciso Martinez. My father started recording in 1936 on Decca Records.
AM: You certainly grew up in the middle of this culture.
FJ: Yes, my career and my life have been the same all my life. I just followed my Dad’s footsteps.
AM: Your brother is a musician, too isn’t he?
FJ: My brother has his own history. He has stayed playing the real old style like my Dad and Grandfather. My grandfather never got to record because at that time there was no recording yet.
AM: I wonder what set you apart from everyone else that you have been able to record with all these Pop music giants.
FJ: When I was fourteen years old I was still playing the conjunto style but I started listening to the Country music station when Hank Williams was a big star getting a lot of airplay. I started liking Country music. My goal was to participate in that kind of music that I liked and be a crossover artist. So, I started playing with local bands in San Antonio.
AM: When did you first start recording?
FJ: My first recording was made in 1955. They were 78’s. That’s also when the Rock n Roll era started so I did my best to blend in the accordion with Rock n Roll and Country Rock. The guy that introduced me to all that was Doug Sahm from the Sir Douglas Quintet and part of the original Texas Tornados.
AM: You still play with the Texas Tornados, don’t you?
FJ: Yes, we just played last night near San Antonio, but getting back to Doug, he called me and asked me if I wanted to come record some music that he had been working on for Atlantic Records. He flew me to New York to work with the band and that included Auggie Meyers, Dr. John and Bob Dylan. It was a mixture. I just said I was going to go for it. I didn’t know what I was going to record. Doug knew the accordion would fit in with some of the songs. Then word got around and Ry Cooder came along. He is the one who put me with Warner Bros. and then we started touring. Then I started getting offers from other singers and artists from different genres but mainly Country music.
AM: I love your iconic song, ‘The Streets of Bakersfield’ with Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens.
FJ: It went to number one. I thank those guys for giving me the opportunity to play the accordion and not just in conjunto style. Then I recorded ‘Voodoo Lounge’ with the Rolling Stones.
AM: What was that experience like?
FJ: I was on tour in San Francisco at the time they were recording in Los Angeles. I was waiting back stage to go on and I got a card and a request to call the number and it was Don Was. He was producing the album for the group. He already knew I had a certain day off so I flew from San Francisco to Los Angeles and we worked on the song, ‘Sweethearts Together.’
AM: So you just went in there and did it!
FJ: Yes, it was quite an experience because I didn’t know anything about the song. They knew I could fit in there. When I first heard the song, I knew I could do it right away. Mick Jagger told me to just listen to the song and we got the booth all set to go but I kept telling them I didn’t know the song. Mick said, “Don’t worry, just play it in this key.” So, when I heard the song it was simple and mellow so I said I could play something but I don’t read music at all. I just play by ear. So, I started playing this song I didn’t know but I caught on right away so I told Mick Jagger I was ready to record and he told me,” Don’t worry we got you already.”
AM: (Laughter) I love that!
FJ: No ‘take one’ or anything. I went, “THANK GOD! It’s over man.” They were real nice guys and we had a good time.
AM: What a great and fun experience that was. How was it working with Linda Ronstadt?
FJ: I was working on my record, ‘Partners’ in Nashville and we got in touch with Linda and asked her to sing a song called ‘El Puente Roto’ and she agreed to do it. She couldn’t come to Nashville and I remember we had to go to her but I can’t remember where it was, maybe San Francisco. I’ve had so many experiences.
AM: Your life has been very full.
FJ: I made so many recordings with groups from Europe, especially London and Paris, that I haven’t heard yet. Sometimes I receive a copy of a song I recorded with ‘whoever’ and I don’t remember ever doing it. (Laughter) It’s quite interesting to hear a recording that you’ve never heard and don’t remember.
AM: None of you long time recording artists, who have done countless recordings, can remember all of them.
FJ: No, you can’t possibly remember.
AM: How many Grammys do you have?
FJ: I have six total but five regular Grammys and the Lifetime Achievement award.
AM: How did it feel to get a lifetime acknowledgement?
FJ: Oh, it felt great. Of course, I was so nervous.
AM: Did it feel the same as winning your first Grammy or was it a different thing?
FJ: I think they all felt the same. You notice the first one because it is the first one and then the achievement award was exciting. The ones in between felt just as good!
AM: What a great and enduring career you have enjoyed.
FJ: It’s been quite interesting as far as my musical career goes.
AM: So, you’ve had a happy life?
FJ: Yes, my career is the one thing that keeps me alive. Music has been my life and I’ve been fortunate to meet many important people. These heavyweights gave me many opportunities.
