Raul Malo, lead vocalist and guitarist of The Mavericks passed away from cancer Tuesday December 9th. He was sixty years old.
Throughout my life there have been a handful of songs that upon my first listen stop me directly in my tracks as I stand in awe of their perfection. As a kid, hearing “Deuce” on KISS Alive! and “Downed” by Cheap Trick on the Over The Edge Soundtrack made me want to use my paper route money to buy a guitar.
As I got older songs like “Eruption” (duh), “Just Listen” (Adam Schmitt), “Sick of Myself” (Matthew Sweet), “Always Love” (Nada Surf), “Tick Tick Boom” (The Hives) and most recently, “Run Away From It All” (Blackberry Smoke) all made my jaw drop from the jump.
“What a Crying Shame” by The Mavericks was one of those songs. I’m pretty sure Joe Oestreich first played it to us in the Watershed van. “Check this tune out, it’s amazing.” And he was right. I became an instant fan and the ‘Shed side project The League Bowlers added Crying Shame to our setlist where it remains to this day.
At that point in my life, I had never heard of Raul Malo or his band The Mavericks. Honestly, I am not sure how many people North of the Mason-Dixon have still ever heard of The Mavericks. I caught the band in June 2025 opening for Dwight Yoakam in Indianapolis. This was a band I would travel for. This was a voice I would travel for.
Raul Malo had a voice from the heavens. I loved anything he sang. Off the top of my head the only other two vocalists I could say that about are Robin Zander and Lucinda Williams.
Anyway, being a midwestern boy raised by The Replacements and Billy Squier, I am not capable of describing the Mavericks sound in a competent way other than World Music. As in music the whole world could enjoy. Having seen the band numerous times, they are pound for pound one of the greatest acts of my lifetime. If you didn’t love The Mavericks live, you just didn’t enjoy music. Jump into their catalog anywhere. It’s all great.
Rest in peace Raul Malo. Thank you for making my world and the actual world a much more musical place. You will be missed. - Colin Gawel
Writer’s note: I would not consider myself a “crier” by most standards, but watching these videos below made me sob into my hands.
Funny which losses hit the hardest.