Songoftheday 11/18/24 -Save me from this prison Lord help me get away, 'Cause only you can save me now from this misery...

 

 

"Heaven" - Los Lonely Boys

from the album Los Lonely Boys (2004)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 25

 

Today's song comes from Los Lonely Boys, who are a trio of brothers from central Texas. Henry, Jojo, and Ringo Garza tried their chances in Nashville, but came back to Texas to record an album that was released independently before getting picked up by Epic Records. The first single from the record was "Heaven", written by the trio and produced by John Porter, who is best known for producing some of the Smiths' most seminal work. The lyrics have them asking for the light at the end of the dark tunnel, something that rings true this week. This is set over a production that's light and breezy and sounds more like island vibes than Latin rock.  But the music video definitely brings back their tejano roots, and with the country needing a salve at the time, this certainly did the trick...

"Heaven" became Los Lonely Boys' first and only hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, reaching the top 20 in August of 2004. But while it climbed to #11 on the Mainstream Top-40 radio chart, its biggest success was on the older-skewing formats, spending eighteen weeks at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") chart, took seven weeks at #2 on the Adult Top-40 list, and #6 on the Adult Album Alternative (or "Triple-A") Rock format. It even got enough airplay on country music stations to spend 20 weeks on the Country Songs chart with a high of #46. Internationally, the single went to #16 on the Canadian sales chart and #26 in New Zealand. The Los Lonely Boys album, released in March of that year, peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, spending over a year on the chart and going on to sell over two million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2005, "Heaven" won for Best Duo/Group Pop Performance with Vocals, and was nominated for Record Of The Year, which went to the late Ray Charles and Norah Jones for "Here We Go Again". Los Lonely Boys were up for Best New Artist, losing out to pop juggernauts Maroon 5. 

As with many acts who had huge breakout singles that lasted on radio long past their expiration date, the trio found it hard to build on the momentum of "Heaven". Their next single "More Than Love", which went for a retro soft-pop vibe, peaked at #15 on the Adult Top-40 chart, and #31 on the Adult Contemporary format, but missed the Hot 100 entirely. Nevertheless, the group landed their second consecutive Grammy nomination in the Pop Group category, which Maroon 5 "ringered" a win with a live version of "This Love". Another track from the record, "Onda", also was up for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, which went home with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) for "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow".

After releasing two concert albums, with one, Live At The Fillmore, that went to #69 on the Billboard 200, Los Lonely Boys returned with their next studio set Sacred in the summer of 2006. The set, which included cameos from Willie Nelson and Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, hit #2 on the Billboard 200 but sold much less than the debut. The sole big single from the record, the decidedly more tejano rock styled "Diamonds", climbed to #26 on the Adult Top-40 chart, and #28 on the Adult Contemporary list. After a third album on Epic, Forgiven, stopped at #26 on the Billboard 200 without spinning off any radio hits, the trio left the label after an obligatory holiday set Christmas Spirit to fulfill their contract. 

Going back to being and "indie" band in Austin, Texas, in 2009 Los Lonely Boys put out a covers EP (extended play single) 1969 on their Lonely Tone imprint, which popped on to the Billboard 200 at #124. That was followed by Rockapango, which made the top half of that list at #70 in 2011. A third release, Revelation, came out in 2014, and hit #120 on the Billboard 200. Their most recent album, Resurrection, just came out last month. 

(7/10)

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Here's the trio performing at Farm Aid in 2003 before they broke big...

Next up, from their concert album Live At The Fillmore...

and lastly, from the Relix Studios in 2014...

Up tomorrow: This singer and actress wants a romance discussion.