Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic,[5] and Robert Plant.

[8] Vocalist and guitarist David Hidalgo and drummer Louie Pérez met at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California, and bonded over their mutual affinity for musical acts such as Fairport Convention, Randy Newman and Ry Cooder.

[9] They later enlisted fellow students Frank González, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano to complete the group's lineup, in 1973.

The band members were unsatisfied with playing only American Top 40 songs and began experimenting with the traditional Mexican music they listened to as children.

[10] This style of music received a positive reaction from audiences, leading the band to switch genres, performing at hundreds of weddings and dances between 1974 and 1980.

[citation needed] However, Los Lobos took notice of the popular groups on the Hollywood music scene and added influences of rock to its sound.

[11] The band's first noteworthy public appearance occurred in 1980 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, when they were hired by David Ferguson and CD Presents to open for Public Image Ltd. On September 28, 1983, the band released an extended play entitled ...And a Time to Dance, which was well received by critics but sold only about 50,000 copies.

[5] Steve Berlin, who was born in Philadelphia, played saxophone for the Blasters then left the group to join Los Lobos.

When he joined the band, Berlin spoke about his similar record collection to the other members of Los Lobos, where they shared loves for George Jones and Hank Williams.

In 1986, members of Los Lobos appeared alongside Tomata du Plenty in the punk rock musical Population: 1.

In the same year, they recorded some Ritchie Valens covers for the soundtrack of the film La Bamba, including the title track, which became a number one single for the band plus "Come On Let's Go" and "Donna" which also charted.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the band toured extensively throughout the world, opening for such acts as Bob Dylan, U2 and the Grateful Dead.

Los Lobos signed to Mammoth Records (a music division of The Walt Disney Company) in 1997 and released This Time in 1999.

The Ride featured Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, Bobby Womack, Elvis Costello and others covering Los Lobos music with the band.

[15][16] The album's lyrics deal with Louis Perez's childhood in East Los Angeles, while the music provides complex and original soundscapes reminiscent of their previous release Kiko.

[25] During their session, the belt holding the 100Ib weight that powered the 1924 cutting lathe broke and Jack White had to rush to an upholstery shop to repair it.

On January 1, 2020, Los Lobos performed on a Wells Fargo float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

Two shows earlier that week in Los Angeles also sold out immediately: The Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood and The Paramount Theatre in Boyle Heights.

Among the people interviewed about Los Lobos are musicians Tom Waits, Linda Rondstadt, Ozomatli, Bonnie Raitt and actors Cheech Marin, Edward James Olmos and Chicano activist Dolores Huerta.