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Sunny Ozuna: still rocking after all these years
AmongTejano's top pioneers one name certainly stands out - Sunny Ozuna. From the '60s onward Ozuna has delivered a ton of hits in the Tex-Mex field. Our correspondent Ramón Hernández profiles Ozuna in this feature.
We can’t say, “Whatever happened to . . . ?” because the subject of this article continues
to record and wow audiences with his showmanship. In fact, his most recent performance in the Alamo City was a complete sell-out.
As Ildefonso Fraga Ozuna, his names may not ring a bell, but as Sunny of the Sunglows and the Sunliners band, he is a permanent part of history in the annals of Tejano music.
Considered -- also with Isidro López and Little Joe -- to be one of the “Founding Fathers of La Onda Chicana” before it became known as Tejano music
Freddie Martínez, Augustine Ramírez, Roy Montelongo, Joe Bravo and Carlos Guzmán are also pioneers, who are jointly responsible for the popularity of modern Tejano orchestral music during the 1960s.
Sunny began warbling when he and three Burbank High School classmates formed a vocal group named the Galaxies; and in 1958, he and high school chum Rudy Guerra formed Sunny and the Sunglows. Their manager was none other than acclaimed recording producer Manny Guerra, also a former drummer with the Isidro Lopez Orchestra.
This first record to chart on San Antonio’s American radio waves was “Just a Moment,” which he also wrote. Since then, that tune has been recorded by Jimmy Clanton, Freddy Fender, Frankie Ford, Roland Stone, Warren Storm, Larry Lange plus a few other vocalists. Today, it ranks among the Top Ten Cajun tunes of all time.
This living legend has the distinction of being the Tejano artist on appear on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand, play the famed Hollywood Palladium and with “Talk to Me,” the first among his peers to make Billboard charts and have a Top Ten hit in the American market on a national scale.
With over 50 albums under his belt, one would have to possess the memory of an elephant to name all his hits, not to mention the amount of space it would take in this paper.
His life story could fill a book and this writer is also half-way through penning his biography, which incorporates some of his aforementioned peers. With that i
n mind, lets jump to 2009 and what Sunny is up to at this time.
Last year, Little Joe y La Familia recorded and released “A Tribute To Sunny Ozuna.” So this year, the 64-year-old living legend decided to reciprocate and do a Tribute CD to Little Joe; and he is already half-way of completing it. Some of the songs on this album are “Las Nubes,” “Por Una Mujer Casada,” “Cuándo Salgo A Los Campos,” “Que Culpa Tengo,” “Margarita” plus three more tunes.
“Of course I have a nice opening and closing plus a written message,” Sunny said during an interview at Freddie recording studios. “After that I am recording a CD entitled ‘El Cancionero’ followed by ‘Steppin’ Up to the Oldies.’ ”
In short, he is following the same pattern of recording one Spanish album followed by an English-language album when he owned Key-Loc Records. A little known fact is that Sunny is also a gifted guitarist, which he uses to compose many of his own songs. Therefore, it is evident that “El Cancionero” will be a collection of new Ozuna compositions.
Last year, when this biographer accompanied his compadre to Weslaco, Texas, Sunny previewed at least three dozen tunes as he sang his way to and from the Rio Grande Valley. The reason for the trip was because he had been casted in the part of a pastor in the soon to be released “Broken Promise.” The film also features La Mafia, Carlos Guzmán and a slew of other Tejano singers.
Sunny was very convincing in his part as a man of the cloth. However, this was not the first time he has a speaking role in a movie since he made his acting debut in “La Muerte de Pancho Villa” opposite Antonio Aguilar in 1974.
With the exception of his Houston fans, another little known fact is that Sunny also did a two-year stint as a morning drive radio personality at KYST from 1989 to 1990, this plus the fact that he has five grandchildren that range in age from two to 19 years old.
When not writing lyrics to new songs, when not recording, making movies, or babysitting with his wife Mary Jane, Sunny continues to wow audiences from coast-to-coast in national oldie concerts, in a Caravan of Tejano Stars or as a solo act.
A major plus is that Sunny has regrouped seven former Sunliners and there is no greater thrill than hearing these guys playing from the heart in what translates to a memorable show and a nostalgic night. Best of all, they seem to have rejuvenated Sunny and he sounds better than ever for his voice is also aging like a fine wine.
For more information check out www.sunnyozuna.com or call his son David at (210) 844-6525.
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He will always be a great entertainer.