It was Saturday, October 28, 1978…..when Bone Daddy and his dance partner, Miss C, headed to The Round-Up Dance Hall just down Highway 180 South, about 10 miles from Austin, TX…..where they would be the only “gringos cuttin’ a rug” with about 500 other Mexican “cojunta music lovers” would gather to hear The King Of Cojunta Music, Flaco Jimenez…..with special guitar extraordinaire Steve Jordan. The Round-Up was jammed packed….so, when Flaco and Steve started to play….that’s when every soul in the house congregated on the dance floor and began to move in in circular direction from right to left….cuz this was no place to go against the grain….for it was physically impossible….but as Bone Daddy has always said….there just ain’t nuthin’ like dancing to cojunta music with The King and 500 amigos to Tex Mex sounds at The Round-Up. As Bone Daddy puts it…he saw Flaco Jimenez live at least two dozen times….and “you can’t go here Flaco without getting out on the dance floor, and it didn’t matter whether you were dancing with the prettiest gal at the dance or the heaviest gal at the dance, cuz when you were out on the dance floor with music from Flaco Jimenez, you were doin’ some ” butt rockin’ dancing” and it was fun…..cuz Flaco was the gold standard for Norteño, Tex Mex, Tejano and Cojunto music around Central Texas where the music originated from….as the accordionist and singer from San Antonio, Texas brought the music and cultures of Texas, Mexico and Germany into one sound.
Music – 1998 – Austin Cinco de Mayo Festival – With Flaco Jimenez y Su Cojunto
Music + News – 1980 – CBS Today Show With Bryan Gumble Special – “Tex Mex Music” – Featuring Flaco Jimenez + Joe King Carasco Jiménez began performing at the age of seven, with his father, Santiago Jiménez Sr, who was a pioneer of conjunto music and began recording at age fifteen as a member of Los Caminantes. Jiménez’s first instrument was the bajo sexto. He played in the San Antonio area for several years and then began working with Doug Sahm in the 1960’s. Sahm, better known as the founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet, played with Jiménez for some time. Flaco then went on to New York City and worked with Dr. John, David Lindley, Peter Rowan, Ry Cooder and Bob Dylan. He appeared on Cooder’s world music album Chicken Skin Music and on the Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge. This led to greater awareness of his music outside America and, after touring Europe with Ry Cooder, he returned to tour in America with his own band, and on a joint bill with Peter Rowan. Jiménez, Peter Rowan and Wally Drogos were the original members of a band called the Free Mexican Airforce.
Music – 1976 – Austin City Limits – The Texas Tornados – With Doug Sahm + Freddie Fender + Flaco Jimenez
Music – 1990 – Montreaux Jazz Festival – With Bob Dylan + Flaco Jimenez – “Across The Borderline”
Jimenez appeared on the November 13th, 1976 episode of “NBC’s Saturday Night” with Ry Cooder….and Bone Daddy was at this gig too…once again dancing to the finest cojunto music in the world. BD has always said that he thought Flaco and Ry Cooder were an interesting match….but the sound that they accomplished together was something mighty special….as evidenced by the video below.
Music – 1976 – Austin City Limits – With Flaco Jimenez + Henry Ojeda + Ry Cooder + Hugo Gonzales
Music – 2014 – Live At The American Music Awards – Ry Cooder + Flaco Jimenez – “Ingrato Amor”
Music – 1977 – Flaco Jimenez + Ry Cooder – “Do Re Mi”
Jiménez won a Grammy award in 1986 for Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio, one of his father’s songs. He was also a member of the Tejano fusion group Texas Tornados, with Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm and Freddy Fender. The Texas Tornados won a Grammy award in 1990, and Jiménez earned one on his own in 1996, when his album Flaco Jiménez won the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance. In 1999, he earned another Grammy award for Best Tejano Performance for Said and Done (released by Barbed Wire Records) and one for Best Mexican-American Performance as a part of the supergroup Los Super Seven.
Music – 2002 – Live In Concert – Flaco Jimenez + Little Joe – “Mujer Traicionera” + “She’s Leaving Me Tomorrow”
Music – 2012 – Tejano Conjunto Festival – With Flaco Jimenez + His Father Santiago Jimenez – 1st Performance In 32 Years
Music – 1987 – Dwight Yoakam + Flaco Jimenez – “Buenos Noches from a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)”
In 2012 Jiménez received a National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment of the Arts. In February 2015, Jiménez won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also won a Best Video award at the Tejano Music Awards and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from Billboard Latin Magazine for “Streets of Bakersfield” with Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens.
Music – 2015 – Grammy Awards Lifetime Achievement Award – Flaco Jimenez
Music – 1988 – Dwight Yoakam + Flaco Jimenez + Buck Owens – “The Streets Of Bakersfield”
Jiménez appeared in the movie Picking Up the Pieces, with Woody Allen and Sharon Stone, and was also featured on the soundtrack. His music has been featured in the soundtrack for other movies, such as Y Tu Mamá También, El Infierno, The Border, Tin Cup, Chulas Fronteras, and Striptease. The Hohner company collaborated with Jiménez to create the Flaco Jimenez Signature Series of accordions. His brother, Santiago Jiménez, Jr., is also an accomplished accordionist and has recorded extensively.
Music – 1994 – The Rolling Stones With Flaco Jimenez – “Sweathearts Together”
Music – 2008 – The Tejano Music Festival In San Antonio Live – With Flaco Jimenez + Dwayne Verheyden
Jiménez’s 2014 CD, Flaco & Max: Legends & Legacies, was issued by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. In 2015, “Legends & Legacies” won Flaco Jiménez and Max Baca an award in the Latin Album category at the 14th Annual Independent Music Awards.
Music – 2012 – The Tiny Desk Concert – With Flaco Jimenez – “Margarita” + “La Paloma” + “Cada Vez Que Cae La Tarde”
Music – 1975 – Flaco Jimenez – “El Mojado Sin Licencia”
Music – 2008 – Willie Nelson 4th Of July Picnic With Flaco Jimenez – “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” As I wrap this tribute to Flaco Jimenez up….and after having seen the videos presented in this story…. while knowing Bone Daddy’s history of spending dozens of evenings joyfully dancing to the live music of The King Of Tex Mex, Tejano and Cojunto Music….while seeing how many different genres of music with famous musicians that Flaco Jimenez shared the stage with…..and it becomes easy to understand why we here at ImaSportsphile are so proud of video collection that we have of the legendary accordionist Flaco Jimenez.
Music – 2016 – Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy Special – “My Father’s Accordian” With Flaco Jimenez
