After two critically acclaimed but only moderately selling albums, los Lobos were hired to record songs for the film biography of Hispanic '50s rocker Ritchie Valens, resulting in this soundtrack album, which, in addition to eight los Lobos recordings, features tracks by Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Setzer, and others. Los Lobos' remake of the title song topped the charts, as did this album, which went on to sell two million copies. The result has been something of a career dilemma for the band, who went back to being a critically acclaimed, modest seller afterward. ~ William Ruhlmann
