Selena y Los Dinos

Selena y Los Dinos was the band which Mexican-American Tejano pop singer Selena belonged to until her untimely death in 1995.

Biography

Beginning 
The band was created when Selena was nine-years old by her father, Abraham Quintanilla Jr. He immediately spread his musical talent (which he pursued himself in his earlier days) among his three children. Suzette was put on the drums. A.B. was put on the bass guitar. The family first showcased their band at their restaurant "Papa Gayos" (English: Parrots). Then they continued to sing at more and more different places.

Within a year the family's restaurant went bankrupt and the family was forced to move in with relatives as Abraham had quit his job to manage the restaurant full-time. The band then performed wherever they could, including weddings, street corners, fairs, and quinceañeras, at some places gaining a lot of appreciation, while others not so much. The band was even "booed" off while performing at a wedding, followed by food being thrown on stage.

Chris Pérez 
In 1988, the Quintanilla family was present at a party of the band Chris Pérez was currently in. Impressed by his talent, A.B. asked Chris to join Selena y Los Dinos. Although he accepted, his support to the band proved to be much more than anticipated. Selena and Chris quickly fell in love and married in 1992. After Selena's death, Chris formed a band called the Chris Pérez Band which he dedicated a song to the Selena called "The Best I Can". After the band broke up in 2002, he formed another band with Selena's brother A.B. called Kumbia All Starz.

Selena ¡VIVE! 
The band members reunited for the tribute concert, in honor of Selena, on April 7, 2005. Selena ¡VIVE!, was held at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Not only did the event sold-out, it became the highest-rated and most-viewed Spanish-language Television special ever in the history of American television. The introduction was made by Jennifer Lopez.

Band members 
Selena - lead vocals
Chris Pérez - lead and rhythm guitars
Ricky Vela - keyboards
Joe Ojeda - keyboards
A.B. Quintanilla III - bass, backing vocals
Suzette Quintanilla - drums, percussion
Jesse "O'Jay" Martinez - drums, percussion
Arturo Meza - percussion, congas
Pete Astudillo - backing vocals
Don Shelton - backing vocals
Fredy Correa - backing vocals

Discography

Selena y Los Dinos made seven independent LP records. They also made eighteen compilation albums that were released and one remix album. In 1984, Selena y Los Dinos signed with Freddie Records and released their debut album entitled Mis Primeras Grabaciones, the album ended up with disappointing sales and Freddie Records wanted to put Selena y Los Dinos second album on hold until the band became more seasoned, the band ended up leaving Freddie Records after contract disagreements.

In 1985, Selena y Los Dinos was signed with Cara Records. Selena's father and manager, Abraham Quintanilla Jr felt that the band would do much better with a Tejano record label. Selena y Los Dinos recorded a few singles for Cara Records but a full album was never produced. Selena was moved to GP Productions which was owned by Manny Guerra. Guerra was a Tejano singer-songwriter and music producer. Selena y Los Dinos recorded Alpha and released it in 1986. Alpha became the first LP record to be successfully released in stores without any issues involved.

The band then released their third LP record Muñequito de Trapo ("Rag Doll") on June 29, 1987. They also released their fourth LP record And the Winner Is... later that same year. Selena began recording the LP record right after she had won the "Female Vocalist of the Year" award at the Tejano Music Awards that same year. In early 1987, the band were moved to Record Producer (RP Records). This record company was also owned by Guerra. They had released Preciosa ("Precious") in February 1988, and sold only 20,000 units.

They then released their last LP record Dulce Amor ("Sweet Love") in December 1988. The album sold 24,000 units. In early 1989, Selena signed a record deal with EMI Latin. She became the first artist to sign with them. In March 1990, Selena y Los Dinos released their first compilation album called Mis Primeros Éxitos ("My First Hits"). The album had re-recorded songs that were released before Selena had signed with EMI Latin. In 1990, the band released Personal Best. In 1992, the band released their third compilation album called Baila Esta Cumbia ("Dance This Cumbia"). The next year, they released Quiero.... After Selena was killed in 1995, the band released Grandes Exitos ("Greatest Hits"). In the early 2000s, Selena's father had released an "early years" collection called Selena y Sus Inicios ("Selena and Her Beginnings"), a few years later, he had released another set of early recordings from Selena called Classic Series; which were re-issues of Selena's LP records from 1986-1989.

LP albums
Selena y Los Dinos (1984) Sales: 65,000
Alpha (1987) Sales: 5,000
Muñequito de Trapo (1987) Sales: 7,000
And the Winner Is... (1987) Sales: 12,500
Preciosa (1988) Sales: 20,000
Dulce Amor (1989) Sales: 24,000

 1995 re-release (Mis Primeras Grabaciones).
 LP record was not sold in stores.

Compilation albums 
Mis Primeros Éxitos (1990) Sales: 10,000
Personal Best (1990) Sales: 4,000
Baila Esta Cumbia (1992) Sales: 27,000
Quiero... (1993) Sales: 35,000
Grandes Exitos (1995) Sales: 57,000
Selena y Sus Inicios (2004) 4 volumes
Classic Series (2007) 5 volumes
Inolvidable (2009)

Remix albums 
 Enamorada De Ti (2012)

Notes

References 

Selena
American pop music groups
Musical groups from Texas
Tejano music