Abraham Quintanilla Jr.
| Abraham Quintanilla Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Abraham Quintanilla Jr. |
| Also known as | Abraham, Abraham Quintanilla |
| Born |
February 20, 1939 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | Corpus Christi, Texas |
| Genres | Polka, doo-wop, Tejano |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Labels | Falcon, J.W. Fox, Bernal, Epitome |
| Associated acts |
Los Dinos Selena y Los Dinos Selena (daughter; deceased) A.B. Quintanilla (son) Suzette Quintanilla (daughter) Chris Pérez (widower son-in-law) Robert Quintanillo Olivores |
| Website | q-productions |
Abraham Quintanilla Jr. (born February 20, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the father of singer Selena, and co-produced the 1997 biographic film Selena.
Quintanilla was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the middle child of six siblings, to Abraham Gonzalez Quintanilla Sr. and Maria Tereza Calderon. Quintanilla's parents worked along the Rio Grande in Texas, gleaning vegetables, cotton and fruits. When he was fourteen, his parents left the Catholic Church and converted to Jehovah's Witnesses. Quintanilla's mother began to go door-to-door to preach to other Hispanic and Latino Americans. Quintanilla's father later worked as an autobody repairman.
Quintanilla attended Roy Miller High School and soon joined with two of his friends to form a high school choir called the Gumdrops. Abraham dropped out of Roy Miller High School when he was a senior to pursue his career. Mary strongly disapproved of her son's desire to become a professional singer.
In 1957, Quintanilla encountered his alumni classmates performing at a high school dance. He immediately recognized their voices and was hooked. While learning that one of their lead vocalist was quitting the band: Abraham immediately approached the "Dinos" and asked if he could be part of their singing group. 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 United States dollars in booked venues. Los Dinos cited their musical inspirations as having originated from the musical ensembles The Four Aces and Mills Brothers. 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 on KEYS and helped the band to obtain bookings at sock hops in Corpus, Kingsville and Woodsboro, Texas.
The Dino's second single "Give Me One Chance", was composed by Teddy Randazzo who had written songs for Little Anthony and the Imperials, sold 150,000 copies. The single began getting extensive airplay throughout south Texas and on KILT-FM. Los Dino's popularity prosper after the record sales of "Give Me One Chance". The band recorded ten English-language revolutions per minutes and covered songs of The Beatles, Ray Stevens, Johnny Tillotson, Tommy Roe, Sam & Dave and the Five Americans.
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