La Bamba Original Motion Picture Soundtrack- -f... May 2026

While the film starred Lou Diamond Phillips as Valens, the vocals for the character were performed by the American rock band . Their faithful, energetic covers of Valens' hits became the commercial engine of the album. Key Tracks and Artists The album is a mix of Ritchie Valens covers and other period-appropriate hits covered by contemporary 80s rock revivalists.

Critically, the album is praised for its authenticity. Rather than updating the songs to sound like 1980s synth-pop (a common practice at the time), the producers chose to respect the original production styles of the 1950s. This decision gave the film a strong sense of place and time. The * La Bamba Original Motion Picture Soundtrack- -F...

Release Date: July 1987 Genre: Rock and Roll, Chicano Rock, Doowop Primary Artists: Los Lobos, Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Setzer, Howard Huntsberry Label: Slash/Warner Bros. Overview The soundtrack to the biographical film La Bamba —which chronicled the life and tragic death of 1950s rock pioneer Ritchie Valens—is widely considered one of the greatest movie soundtracks of the 1980s. It is notable for its authentic recreation of the 1950s sound and for introducing the music of Ritchie Valens to a new generation. While the film starred Lou Diamond Phillips as