Trisha Yearwood remembered Raul Malo as “one of the finest voices of our generation” in a tribute to the frontman for the Mavericks, who died Monday (Dec. 8) at the age of 60.
“I don’t have words to express my sadness at the passing of Raul Malo,” Yearwood wrote on Instagram, celebrating his singular voice and “larger than life personality to go with it.” Yearwood collaborated with the Mavericks in 1995 on a rendition of the C. Carson Parks song, “Something’ Stupid,” which appeared on the band’s album, Music for All Occasions. (At the time, Yearwood was also married to then-Mavericks bassist, Robert Reynolds.)
Yearwood continued: “I’ve been sitting with my memories this morning, and just want to send my love and strength to [his wife] Betty and the Malo family, to the Mavericks, and to everyone who loved Raul and his music. Gone too soon.”
Along with Yearwood, Malo was honored by Shooter Jennings, who wrote on X, “I loved the Mavericks. We got to hang many times and I used to tell [Malo] how much I went crazy for his version of [Pink Floyd’s] ‘Us and Them.’ A performer and craftsman of the highest order.”
Chris Isaak, who collaborated with Malo and the Mavericks on numerous occasions, remembered him as a friend and a deeply talented musician. “I can tell you he was unparalleled in his singing,” Isaak said. “I could listen to him all day. He had a gift. I used to tell him if they ever made a film about me I wanted him to do the singing…that way I’d sound better than ever.”
Hit songwriter Desmond Child called it a “very sad day,” but said Malo “left us a rich legacy of incredible music with his band the Mavericks. He had the voice of an angel and a devilish contagious laugh with the biggest most generous welcoming heart. Te quiero para siempre hermano.”
With his resonant, dynamic voice, Malo earned the nickname “El Maestro” among bandmates and fans. His potent vocals anchored the Mavericks as they moved seamlessly between, and blended, elements of American country and roots music, along with elements of Tex-Mex, Afro-Cuban, and other Latin styles.
Malo was diagnosed with colon cancer in June 2024, and the following September he revealed that he was fighting LMD (leptomeningeal disease), an incurable form of cancer that affects the brain and spinal cord. Just days before his death, Malo was celebrated with a two-night tribute at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium with a lineup featuring Rodney Crowell, Eddie Perez, Ray Benson, Maggie Rose, and former Mavericks bassist Robert Reynolds.
Malo was supposed to attend the event, where he was to receive the American Eagle Award from the National Music Council of the United States. But he was rushed to a hospital just days before the show. Still, he sent along a letter, which his longtime champion and label head, Scott Borchetta, read to the crowd.
“Music has been the guiding force of my entire life,” Malo wrote. “In these past months, I’ve had to fight battles I’ve never imagined. But on the hardest of days, music remained my companion. Your letters, your stories of how a song helped you through loss, heartbreak, joy, those became our songs. You all carried me more than you know.”