Emilio H. Navaira III (August 23, 1962 – May 16, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter of Tejano and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. He is the winner of one

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and one

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

. Known to most by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Emilio, he charted more than ten singles on the '' Billboard''

Hot Latin Tracks The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, ra ...

charts, in addition to six singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Emilio was also one of the few Tejano artists to have significant success in both the United States and Mexico, and was called the " Garth Brooks of Tejano". His biggest country hit was the No. 27 "It's Not the End of the World" in late 1995, and his highest-charting single on any chart is "Por Siempre Unidos," which peaked at No. 7 on

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established ...

in 1996. Along with

Selena Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...

, Emilio was one of the most prominent artists that helped popularize Tejano music.

Early life

Emilio H. Navaira III was born on August 23, 1962, in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Texas, to Mexican-American parents, Emilio Navaira, Jr. and Maria Hernandez. Growing up on the south side of San Antonio, Navaira found each influence in not only Tejano legends such as Little Joe y la Familia, but also Lone Star country music heroes such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

, and George Strait. As a student, Navaira graduated from McCollum High School in 1980, received a music scholarship to

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

, and majored in music with plans to become a teacher before ultimately deciding to pursue a career as an artist.

Musical career

In 1983 at age 21, Emilio began his performing career by singing lead vocals for David Lee Garza y Los Musicales. In 1987, Cuantas Veces by David Lee Garza Y Los Musicales beat out Alpha by Mexican American singer

for Album of the Year at the

Tejano Music Awards The Tejano Music Awards (TMA) is an accolade created by former arts teacher and musician Rudy Trevino in 1980. The accolade recognizes outstanding performers of Tejano music, a German polka-based Latin music genre recorded in Spanish or English-la ...

. In 1989, Navaira formed his own band, Emilio y Grupo Rio.Hinojosa, Cassandra. (February 20, 2004)

Corpus Christi Caller-Times The ''Corpus Christi Caller-Times'' is the newspaper of record for Corpus Christi, Texas. History There has been a newspaper in Corpus Christi for almost as long as there has been a town. In 1883, the ''Caller'' was started in a frame building ...

''Two Tejano kings. Grammy winners Navaira, Little Joe visit Kingsville'' Section: Weekend; Page E4. That same year Emilio signed with Columbia Records (then known as

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

). This relationship resulted in Emilio recording more than fifteen studio albums to date, including several with his Rio Band. By the mid 1990s, Emilio began crediting himself solely as Emilio, eventually switching his focus to country music. Between 1989 and 1996, Emilio had released seven Spanish albums with cumulative sales of about 2 million.DeVault, Russ. (March 7, 1996)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

''Tejano's new star. As he crosses over into country, Emilio finds "Life Is Good."'' Section: Features; Page D1. This success lead to mainstream commercial exposure, with companies such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

and

Wrangler Jeans Wrangler is an American manufacturer of jeans and other clothing items, particularly workwear. The brand is owned by Kontoor Brands Inc., which also owns Lee. Its headquarters is in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, in the United States, wit ...

using his songs in their advertisements in the 1990s. Emilio had also gained a sponsorship with

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Molson Coors (previously MillerCoors) of Chicago, Illinois. The company also produces Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life. Miller Lite competes mainly with Anheuser-Busch' ...

beer, who had persuaded him to use their slogan at the time, "Life is good," as the title of his first country album. Emilio signed with Capitol Records and released his first country music single called "It's Not the End of the World" which reached the Top 30 on the country charts in 1995. His album was a surprise success as well reaching No. 13 on the country charts and also a high placing on the Top 200. Several more singles including a Spanish version of "It's Not the End of the World" followed but none of these singles came close to the Top 40 except "Even If I Tried" which reached No. 41 in 1996. In 1997, he released a second country album, "It's on the House" but it was not as successful as his first country album. Two more minor country singles followed and gradually Emilio faded from country music and increasingly came back to Tejano music. His 2002 album ''Acuérdate'' won the Grammy Award for Best Tejano Album and his 2007 album ''De Nuevo'' won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tejano Album.

Personal life

Navaira has five children. His three children from his first marriage to Cynthia Navaira also perform for Grupo Rio. Emilio Navaira IV plays drums, and Diego Navaira plays guitar and daughter Emely. Emilio IV and Diego also had a band named Ready Revolution; in 2014 they formed The Last Bandoleros, a

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

-foursome that toured with Sting in 2017. Diego is mainly known for vocals and credited with being on The Voice, which he did not win. He also has two children from his second marriage to Maru Navaira, Navaira has two siblings: Raul "Raulito" Navaira, who performs back-up vocals for Grupo Rio; and Yvette Navaira.Emilio undergoes more surgery
ABC13. Retrieved May 22, 2016. Navaira was a Republican.

Driving accidents

Navaira was hospitalized in

critical condition Medical state is a term used to describe a hospital patient's health status, or condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians. Two aspects of the patien ...

after his tour bus crashed early in the morning on March 23, 2008, in Bellaire (a small municipality partially surrounded by

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas). Navaira had performed the previous night at Hallabaloos, a Houston

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

and he was at the wheel of the tour bus as it traveled north along west

610 Loop Interstate 610 (I-610) is a freeway that forms a loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the ...

near the Southwest Freeway when it crashed into a set of freeway barrels shortly before 4 am. Emilio was taken by Life Flight to

Memorial Hermann Hospital A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

where a blood clot in his head was removed; Emilio's initial treatment included being kept in a medically induced coma and

induced hypothermia Targeted temperature management (TTM) previously known as therapeutic hypothermia or protective hypothermia is an active treatment that tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature in a person for a specific duration of time in an e ...

to minimize brain swelling. Doctors cautioned that he might not survive. On September 24, 2008, Emilio was involved in another car accident in San Antonio as a passenger while his wife was driving. According to a witness, the Navairas were stopped in a turn lane when a truck crossed at least two lanes of traffic and struck their vehicle. Both Emilio and his wife Maria were released from the hospital the following day. Emilio's agent, Joe Casias, stated that Emilio and his wife were headed home from a rehabilitation therapy appointment stemming from the March tour bus accident."Emilio leaves hospital after wreck,"
. '' San Antonio Express-News'' via ''MySA.com'', David Saleh Rauf and Hector Saldana, September 26, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2008.

Death

Emilio was found dead by his wife in his New Braunfels home on May 16, 2016, at 53 Emilio performed his last known concert in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, on May 11, 2016, as part of a concert celebrating

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

in that city. Reports indicated he suffered a massive heart attack. Authorities said their investigation into the death of Navaira showed that he died of natural causes because of cardiovascular disease, and found no sign of foul play.

Discography

Studio albums

*^A''Southern Exposure'' also peaked at No. 39 on US Heatseekers.

Singles

*^ACredited to Emilio Navaira. *^B"No Es El Fin del Mundo" is a Spanish-language version of "It's Not the End of the World". *^C"Por Siempre Unidos" also peaked at No. 7 on

Guest singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navaira, Emilio 1962 births 2016 deaths American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners American musicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians Musicians from San Antonio Musicians from New Braunfels, Texas Spanish-language singers of the United States Capitol Records artists People from New Braunfels, Texas Writers from San Antonio Tejano musicians Latin music songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Country musicians from Texas