Raul Malo, the frontman and co-founder of the Mavericks, died Monday at 60 following a battle with cancer. The golden-voiced singer was revered by fans and fellow artists for both his songwriting and extraordinary pipes, and he was honored, in absentia, with the American Eagle Award from the National Music Council of the United States during a tribute show on Friday in Nashville.
At the midpoint of the concert, which featured Malo’s band the Mavericks and guest vocalists like Jim Lauderdale, Rodney Crowell, and Maggie Rose, Malo was presented with the American Eagle Award, which recognized his “lifelong commitment to the preservation of the multilingual American music repertoire.” (Past recipients include Stephen Sondheim, Quincy Jones, and Kris Kristofferson.)
Malo was unable to attend but sent the following letter to be read to the audience at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium:
Music has been the guiding force of my entire life. It carried me from my Cuban American childhood in Miami to stages across the world. It introduced me to my brothers, the Mavericks. It gave me a home in Nashville, Tennessee. It allowed me to raise my three incredible sons, Dino, Victor, and Max, who are my greatest pride and joy. And it connected me to you fans whose love has sustained me through every chapter of this journey. This award is not just about accomplishments, it is about commitment. The commitment to creativity, to education, to keeping music alive in the hearts of people everywhere.
I’ve always believed that music is one of the most powerful bridges we have. It crosses cultures, politics, (and God, don’t we need that right now?) languages, and sometimes pain. In these past months, I’ve had to fight battles I’ve never imagined. But on the hardest of days, music remained my companion. Your letters, your stories of how a song helped you through loss, heartbreak, joy, those became our songs. You all carried me more than you know. To my family band, the National Music Council, my musical collaborators, and every fan around the world: Thank you for giving my voice a place to live, even when my body cannot be the one delivering it. I accept this award with profound gratitude and with the hope that the music we create continues to inspire, to heal and bring people together.
Malo was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2024. This past September, he announced the cancer had spread to his brain.
Gifted with one of music’s most robust and dynamic voices, Malo was known as “El Maestro” among his bandmates and fans. His singing style, powerful and emotive, had the ability to both stun an audience into silence and spur them to their feet. And with world-class musicians behind him, including Malo’s co-founders in the group, bassist Robert Reynolds and drummer Paul Deakin, the Mavericks earned a reputation as the most eclectic and entertaining of performers.
“If you ask 10 different people what the Mavericks mean to them, you’re going to get 10 different answers,” Malo told Rolling Stone in 2015. “And then you’re going to hear our records and hear one song, and you’re going to think this band is like this. Then you’re going to hear the next song, and go, ‘Holy shit, this band is nothing like that song that I just heard.’”
