Rocker who got his start playing at area clubs dies at age 70
BY KIMBER SOLANA •
[email protected] • March 10, 2010
Before the world knew him as Lolly Vegas of the 1970s band Redbone, Lolly Vasquez, with brother Pat and friend Robert Howard, played the Salinas club circuit in the 1950s.
"They played in those rinky-dink bars," said his sister, Marie Vasquez-Diaz of Salinas. "He knew he was going to be a musician no matter what, and it was just going to be a matter of time."
More than a decade after leaving Salinas, Vasquez and Redbone came out with their biggest hit, "Come and Get Your Love," in 1974.
"Because of that song, he'll always be remembered and he'll be rediscovered for years to come," Vasquez-Diaz said.
Lolly Vegas died Thursday in his Los Angeles home after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 70.
Born in Coalinga and raised in Fresno, the then-17-year-old Vasquez and his family moved to Salinas in 1958. With his brother and Howard, they formed The High Tensions band. Lolly Vasquez played lead guitar while his brother played mostly bass and drums.
After Pat Vasquez graduated from Salinas High School, the brothers pursued their music careers in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. Three years later, Vasquez-Diaz said, they returned to Salinas.
Performing as Pat and Lolly Vegas — Vasquez-Diaz said they chose the name simply because it was close to Vasquez — the brothers also backed up the likes of Bobby Darin, Ike and Tina Turner and other visiting performers.After another three years, the brothers tried again in Los Angeles with their Native American rock music. With their new band name, Redbone, their first big break was their 1970 release of "Maggie." The band's 1972 LP "Witch Queen of New Orleans" sold 3 million copies.
Two years later, Redbone's single "Come and Get Your Love" climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard charts, stayed in the top 40 for 18 weeks, and sold 7 million copies. The song has been used in several commercials and movies, including "The Postman."
"They played that song to me before they even recorded it," Vasquez-Diaz said. "They were like, 'Hey sis, what do you think of this song? Just listen to it.'
"I told them, this is it ... This will take you to the top."
In the next three decades, the band continued to tour and make music. But during a tour stop at Minneapolis 12 years ago, Vasquez-Diaz said, Lolly suffered a stroke. Although he couldn't play the guitar after the stroke, he continued to write songs until his death.
A viewing is planned today in Reseda. A Rosary is set for Thursday, Vasquez-Diaz said, and is expected to draw some of her brother's celebrity friends including Della Reese, Cher and Stevie Nicks.
Vasquez is to be buried March 16 in Fresno, next to his grandparents.
"Most of our family is buried in Fresno, so he wanted to be with them," Vasquez-Diaz said. "But the roots of their music are from Salinas."
http://www.thecalifornian.com/articl...one-remembered