{"id":643422,"date":"2026-03-09T15:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/643422\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T15:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:12:16","slug":"san-antonio-music-icon-augie-meyers-has-died-at-age-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/643422\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio music icon Augie Meyers has died at age 85"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AugieAugie Meyers, who died at 85, had a career that encompassed Tex-Mex, rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, country and more. Credit: Josh Huskin<\/p>\n

San Antonio music legend Augie Meyers, known for fusing Tex-Mex and rock as keyboardist for trailblazing \u201960s act the Sir Douglas Quintet and Grammy-winning supergroup the Texas Tornadoes, has died at age 85. <\/p>\n

The bearded, ponytailed musician beloved for the distinctive reverb-drenched trill of his Vox Continental Organ died in his sleep next to his wife Sara, according to a statement shared on his Facebook page Monday morning. <\/p>\n

Meyers, who lived in the Texas Hill Country town of Bulverde, was the last survivor among the four original members of The Texas Tornados. His solo hit \u201c(Hey Baby) Que Paso\u201d still draws singalongs on bar jukeboxes across the Alamo City and beyond. <\/p>\n

Late Sir Douglas frontman Doug Sahm and Meyers were childhood friends who kicked around in various San Antonio musical groups until record producer Huey P. Meaux brought them together in 1964 to replicate the runaway success of a little band across the pond called the Beatles. <\/p>\n

Meyers\u2019 propulsive organ riffs featured prominently in the band\u2019s hits \u201cShe\u2019s About a Mover,\u201d \u201cMendocino\u201d and \u201cNuevo Laredo,\u201d making him as vital to the band\u2019s sound as Sahm\u2019s voice. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur record was doing real good in England, and we did a show called\u00a0Ready, Set, Go!\u00a0and George and John and Paul [of The Beatles] came in and said, \u2018How do you get your sound on your Vox? We can\u2019t do that.\u2019 I said, \u2018Super Reverb,’\u201d Meyers told the Current in 2015<\/a>. \u201cNext week all the stores in England had it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meyers and Sahm rejoined forces in the 1990s with the Texas Tornadoes, who had surprise hits with \u201cWho Were You Thinkin\u2019 Of\u201d and \u201cAdios Mexico,\u201d which widened the audience for San Antonio\u2019s homegrown Tejano and conjunto sounds. Flaco Jim\u00e9nez and\u00a0Freddy Fender, both South Texas music icons in their own right, featured in the original lineup. <\/p>\n

In addition to his work with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados, Meyers released a total of 23 solo albums, often on his own labels, including Texas Re-Cord Co., Superbeet Records and White Boy Records.<\/p>\n

Thanks to his singular approach to the Vox, Meyers also became a sought-after sideman, recording with musicians as diverse as Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, Tom Waits, Willie Nelson and rockabilly legend Gene Vincent. Indeed, Dylan praised the Sir Douglas Quintet in multiple interviews.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, eerie, stabbing notes from Meyers\u2019 Vox are loud in the mix on \u201cLove Sick,\u201d the opening track to Dylan\u2019s acclaimed album Time Out of Mind. <\/p>\n

Throughout it all, Meyers remained grounded and approachable, maintaining his San Antonio roots and performing solo gigs at decidedly unfussy venues. While he rubbed shoulders with legendary musicians \u2014\u00a0and even influenced a few \u2014\u00a0he understood that was no reason to put on airs. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou meet people as you go along down the line and they\u2019re just musicians \u2026 they\u2019re just friends,\u201d he told the Current. \u201cMy daddy was from rodeo people, and one day at the rodeo I said, \u2018Daddy, that\u2019s Roy Rogers,\u2019 and he said, \u2018Calm down, boy.\u2019 And I said, \u2018But that\u2019s Roy Rogers, Daddy!\u2019 And he said, \u2018When you go to the bathroom, who wipes you?\u2019 And I said, \u2018I do.\u2019 And he said, \u2018They do the same thing, they wipe themselves, so they ain\u2019t no different from you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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