Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez, the singer, songwriter, and accordionist who collaborated with artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Dwight Yoakam, has died.
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Jiménez spent over 70 years popularizing Mexican music from his native South Texas, often called conjunto or Tejano, though he preferred the term Tex-Mex.
Jimenéz’s family announced his passing on July 31 in a Facebook post. They didn’t disclose his cause of death. He was 86 years old.
Jiménez was born in San Antonio, Texas, into a family of accordionists, including his grandfather Patricio and his father, Santiago Jiménez Sr., a conjunto music pioneer. Influenced by German and Czech polkas and waltzes, Santiago’s music inspired Jiménez, who taught himself to play the accordion at age seven by listening.
“I was self-taught,” Jiménez told NPR in 2014. “You know, I used to watch my dad play at home and feeling the instrument—not just playing it, but feeling it, you know.” He earned the nickname “Flaco,” or “Skinny,” just like his father did when he started playing music.
Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez Breakthrough Came in 1973 After Playing Years in Dance Halls
Jiménez rose to fame in the 1960s, performing in dance halls across the state, according to his obituary for the International Songwriters Association. He later teamed up with Douglas Sahm, forming the Texas Tornados, a renowned conjunto supergroup that released seven albums.
In 1973, Sahm invited Jiménez to collaborate on his Doug Sahm and Band album, where Jiménez had the opportunity to work alongside legends like Bob Dylan and Dr. John. This experience became a pivotal moment, setting the stage for Jiménez’s own breakthrough.
“Doug told me ‘you’re not supposed to play just that simple, traditional conjunto music,’” he recalled to Roots World in 2000. “There are so many players who stayed in the same crater like my papa did. Doug showed me there were other worlds out there.”
Over the years, Jiménez played the accordion with the Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt, Dwight Yoakam, and others.
He released more than 25 studio albums throughout his career and earned six Grammy Awards, including Best Country Instrumental Album in 1996 and the first-ever Best Tejano Music Performance for his 1998 album Said and Done.
Jiménez received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2015 after releasing his final album in 2014, Flaco Jiménez y Tomas Ortíz de los Alegres de Terán.