Al Hurricane

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Al Hurricane, known as the “Godfather of New Mexico music” for developing a distinct sound bridging the state’s unique Hispanic traditions with country and rock, died.

His son, Al Hurricane Jr., told The Associated Press that his father died from complications related to a long battle against prostate cancer. Two of his daughters were at his side. Hurricane Jr. said his father, who was 81, had already said his goodbyes to his friends, fans and children.

“He didn’t want people crying when it was his time to go,” his son said.

The death of Hurricane Sr. came two years after he went on a farewell tour following an announcement that he had Stage 4 prostate cancer. He kept performing despite receiving chemotherapy. Born Alberto Nelson Sanchez on July 10, 1936, in the tiny village of Dixon, New Mexico, he was raised for a time in Ojo Sarco before moving to Arizona and later Albuquerque. He learned to play the guitar thanks to his mother and his father, a miner.

Hurricane began his professional music career by singing in Albuquerque Old Town restaurants before releasing his first songs, “Lobo” and “Racer” under the band Al Hurricane & the Night Rockers in 1962. He released his first album, “Mi Saxophone,” in 1967. The album contained his signature song “Sentimiento,” a ballad he wrote for his first wife and mother of his four children. Years later, a young Tejano singer named Selena would hear the song and record her own version of it. In 1969, while on a trip to Colorado, a car carrying Hurricane and five band members skidded on an icy bridge and flipped five times. A piece of glass struck Hurricane, and he lost his right eye. He wore an eye patch for this rest of his life, and it became part of his unique look.