EMI's Capitol Nashville wants Latin country star

04/02/2006 5:44 PM, Reuters
Sue Zeidler

Wanted: Hispanic country music star who can sell millions of records to Spanish- and English-speaking fans.

"All we need is a hero, somebody the Hispanic community would relate to and who wants to play country music and get a song on country radio," said Mike Dungan, president and chief executive of EMI Group Plc's Capitol Nashville, home to stars like Kenny Rogers and Keith Urban.

Appealing to the Latino community has become a priority across all media, as the Hispanic population grows at three times the rate of the overall U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census.

"There are a handful of American-born, Hispanic artists out there performing this (country) music, but like everything else in this business, the big stars are few and far between," Dungan said.

Dungan is looking for an artist of Hispanic heritage who can compete for space on contemporary country radio. "We know that there exist Hispanic fans of country music. We see them at our shows. I believe that a bona fide star that comes from this community could have a huge career," said Dungan, who also serves as president of the Country Music Association.

"I believe that a Hispanic country star is out there, and that this will happen soon," Dungan said. "I also believe that when it does, it will be a woman because female artists in general just seem to make that leap from 'wannabe' to 'star' with more ease," he said.

Still, a limiting factor has been country radio music stations themselves.

"The gatekeeper here has been country radio because radio programmers won't commit airtime to any artist until they are convinced that the artist is the real deal -- a 'country artist' first and foremost," said Dungan, who believes it is imperative the record be sung in English.

If the artist then has success, he or she can record a similar record in Spanish or blend the two languages. Dungan is convinced that American country music fans to whom Spanish is a primary language "would love this."

To be sure, the world has already seen some great Hispanic musicians score huge success in country music, most notably Freddy Fender, a singer/songwriter whose work was defined largely by its strong Latin sensibility.

Born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas, in 1937, Fender first recorded in Spanish under his given name, but in 1959 adopted his stage name and a stronger rockabilly feel to attract "gringo" audiences.

He scored a hit with "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights," but soon wound up serving three years in prison for marijuana possession and failed to revive his career until he met Crazy Cajun label owner Huey P. Meaux in the 1970s, who steered him toward country music.

Fender's first Meaux-produced single, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," hit the top of both the country and pop charts making Fender an overnight star. Part of that song was sung in Spanish, solidifying his appeal with the Latino population.

Right now, much music coming out of Texas displays the influence of Tejano music, a Tex-Mex form unique to that region, which is a blend of country with styles from Mexico wrapped around a polka beat, according to Dungan.

But Tejano music has been, and probably will continue to be a very regionalized sound, he said. Capitol Nashville signed a Texas-based artist named Emilio back in 1994, who had already established himself as a star in the Tejano music world.

His record succeeded in southwestern markets, and a single hit No. 27 on country music charts, but the record struggled in scoring airplay on country radio stations in the Midwest.

"With the impact that the Hispanic community is having on American culture, the time is now," Dungan said.

Reuters/VNU