Music memorial inductee mastered American, Mexican and German genres
The newest class of musical icons to be inducted Friday to the Austin Music Memorial includes a surname familiar to Tejano
Ramon Guerrero Donley, who died in 1963, was a highly sought-after bandleader and violinist whose orquesta specialized in Mexican and American pop music and performed regularly at weddings, fiestas and at Scholz Garden.
Donley was the father of another musical icon, Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, who blazed his own musical trail in the 1950s, pioneering an amplified, guitar- and horn-driven sound that would become a cornerstone of the Tejano genre. Manuel Donley is a member of the Tejano Music
“My father was a master violinist,” Donley said.
He was versatile, too, teaching himself to read and write music, to play the piano and learn German polkas and waltzes. “He knew them all by heart,” his son said.
Born in Waelder and of Mexican and Irish descent, Ramon Donley spent much of his younger years in Durango, Durango, Mexico, where he played with mariachis and with orquestas at the popular Sunday bullfights. He was a violinist with the Durango municipal symphony.
Back in the U.S., after serving with the Army, Donley married Dolores Quinones, then opened his City Barber Shop at 708 E. 6th Street. Cutting hair was merely a day job and way to pay the bills. “He was dedicated to the music,” Manuel Donley said.
In all 10 musicians will be inducted in the memorial at ceremonies Friday at 7 p.m. at the City Hall. Commemorative plaques are installed along the outer ring of the Long Center terrace overlooking Lady Bird Lake.
The newest class will bring the total in the Austin Music Memorial to 40.
For more information and a list of the inductees, visit http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/music/memorial.htm
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