Raul Malo, whose rich voice was the defining train of the Mavericks, the fittingly named group who brought Latin flavor and lively rock vibe to country music in the 1990s, died on Monday, the band announced on social media. No cause of death was cited, but he announced back in June that he was battling Stage 4 colon cancer; he was 60.

He co-wrote many of the band’s most popular songs, along with Rick Trevino’s 2003 hit “In My Dreams,” and also worked as a solo performer and a member of the Los Super Seven supergroup. The Mavericks split in the early 2000s but reformed in 2015 and toured regularly. He released nine solo albums and a dozen studio efforts with the Mavericks, the most recent being 2024’s “Moon & Stars.”

“Anyone with the pleasure of being in Raul’s orbit knew that he was a force of human nature, with an infectious energy,” the band wrote on Instagram. “Over a career of more than three decades entertaining millions around the globe, his towering creative contributions and unrivaled, generational talent created the kind of multicultural American music reaching far beyond America itself.”

While the entire band was a powerhouse, as lead singer Malo brought not only strong, soulful vocals that could veer between a Roy Orbison-esque baritone croon and country twang, but a genial humor that often manifested itself during the group’s concerts. The Mavericks earned their chops playing South Florida bars and frequently worked covers into their set; this writer can remember seeing them perform an impromptu version of “Moon River” that was sung unforgettably by Malo.

Born in Miami in 1965 to Cuban parents, Malo first united with the future Mavericks in 1989 as a rock band called the Basics. Malo initially was on bass and backing vocals, along with lead singer-guitarist Robert Reynolds, drummer Paul Deaking and lead guitarist Ben Peeler. Yet the band’s formula gelled when Malo and Reynolds switched places, with the former eventually becoming the primary songwriter and producer.

More to come…