1-1                                     1                                  
 1-2                          SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 456
 1-3           WHEREAS, The Texas Senate is proud to recognize The Texas
 1-4     Tornados, who have brought brilliant musical entertainment to
 1-5     Texas and to the world; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, The original idea for the Tornados came from
 1-7     Doug Sahm, who brought the group into existence in 1989; members
 1-8     of the original group, besides Doug Sahm, were Augie Meyers,
 1-9     Freddy Fender, and Flaco Jimenez; they first played together at
1-10     Slim's 303 Club, owned by Boz Scaggs, in San Francisco in
1-11     December, 1989; and
1-12           WHEREAS, As individuals who composed the band, each player
1-13     had years of musical working experience:  Doug Sahm, the musical
1-14     genius who contributed his enthusiasm, knowledge of musical
1-15     styles, and skill as a stellar guitar player; Augie Meyers,
1-16     lifelong friend of Doug, who played guitar, accordion, and
1-17     keyboards; Freddy Fender, vocalist and guitarist, who had already
1-18     had two successful careers as a Hispanic pop star and a country
1-19     pop star; and Flaco Jimenez, an outstanding conjunto accordionist
1-20     who is still winning Grammy Awards; and
1-21           WHEREAS, Individually, each member of the Tornados has had a
1-22     successful career on his own; together, they made a unique sound
 2-1     composed of country and western two-steps, waltzes and polkas,
 2-2     romantic ballads, and Hispanic-flavored rock and roll; after
 2-3     signing a recording contract in 1990, the first record the group
 2-4     made, "The Texas Tornados," contained two songs which did extremely
 2-5     well on the charts; and
 2-6           WHEREAS, While stretching its musical boundaries, the group
 2-7     maintained a cohesive identity in its recordings and appearances;
 2-8     next, in 1991, they recorded "Zone of Our Own," which was met with
 2-9     great popular acclaim; the group then made a hit record roughly
2-10     every two years; the last CD the group recorded was "Live from the
2-11     Limo, Volume 1," and the group included Ernie Durawa, Speedy Sparks,
2-12     Louie Ortega, Max Baca, and Oscar Tellez; and
2-13           WHEREAS, Throughout the 1990s, The Texas Tornados performed
2-14     many times in Europe; they appeared at places as far away as
2-15     Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; the Tornados made appearances
2-16     regularly at Farm Aid benefits, innumerable state fairs, the
2-17     Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and in 1997, they were invited
2-18     to perform at an inaugural ball for President Clinton; and
2-19           WHEREAS, Always in demand for live performances, the group
2-20     spent many months each year touring; after the untimely death of
2-21     Doug Sahm, in November, 1999, The Texas Tornados disbanded; now,
2-22     therefore, be it
2-23           RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,
2-24     77th Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the artistic excellence
 3-1     of The Texas Tornados and wish the remaining members success in
 3-2     all their endeavors; and, be it further
 3-3           RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
 3-4     them as an expression of the highest regard of the Texas Senate.
 3-5                                                              Armbrister
 3-6                                  ______________________________________
 3-7                                          President of the Senate
 3-8                                       I hereby certify that the above
 3-9                                  Resolution was adopted by the Senate
3-10                                  on March 15, 2001.
3-11                                  ______________________________________
3-12                                          Secretary of the Senate
3-13                                  ______________________________________
3-14                                           Member, Texas Senate