Raul Malo, the lush-voiced singer and principal songwriter for the Mavericks, whose expansive, Latin-inflected sound breathed new life into country music in the 1990s, died on Monday. . He was 60.
His death was announced by the Mavericks on its official Instagram page on Tuesday morning. No other details were given.
Mr. Malo had announced in June 2025 that he had Stage 4 colon cancer. Several months later, he learned that he also had leptomeningeal disease, a condition in which cancer cells attack membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
The quartet that eventually became the Mavericks first came together in Miami in the late 1980s, as a bar band called the Basics. More rock than country, the group featured Robert Reynolds on lead vocals and guitar, Mr. Malo on background vocals and bass, Paul Deakin on the drums and Ben Peeler on lead guitar.
It was not until 1989, after Mr. Malo and Mr. Reynolds switched roles, that Mr. Malo’s sonorous, vibrato-rich baritone came to the fore and helped create the Mavericks’ trademark blend of country, rock ’n’ roll and Latin music.
In addition to being the group’s frontman, singing with great range and versatility that drew comparisons to George Jones and Frank Sinatra, Mr. Malo also became its main producer and songwriter, writing all but two songs on the Mavericks’ first two albums, including material about homelessness and his aunt’s experience as a Cuban émigré to the United States.
Mr. Malo broadened the band’s sonic palette to embrace a range of styles, from Son Cubano and Mariachi horns to bel canto crooning and neo-operatic Roy Orbison-style balladry. His musical syncretism, he said, came from his parents.
“They were young enough to turn me on to some really great music,” Mr. Malo told NPR’s “Weekend Edition” in 2024. “My dad, for example, was a huge country fan. My mom was a rock ’n’ roll, big band, swing opera fan.”
His survivors include his mother, Norma; his wife, Betty Fernandez Malo; their three sons, Max, Vincent and Dino; and his sister, Carol.
A complete obituary will be published soon.
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