39.4

Background

39.4 formed in 1967 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, when vocalist Enrique “Larry” Sánchez Ruiz and organist Ariel Castellanos Villanueva assembled a rock quintet with guitarist Guillermo “Willow” Brizio Domínguez, bassist Luis Sarmiento, and drummer Roberto Caravallo.

Sánchez Ruiz and Castellanos met as students at the Escuela Vocacional. Ruiz knew Brizio from an earlier group. The musicians initially called themselves Galers, a name derived from their initials, until Brizio proposed the numerical designation adopted by the band.

The quintet played extended engagements in Puerto Vallarta. Within months, Caravallo and Sarmiento stepped aside for frummer José Luis Zúñiga Lazcarro and bassist René Alonso. In 1968, 39.4 added reedist José Luis Guerrero and trumpeter Octavio García Hernández, followed by trombonist Carlos Híjar Medina. The musicians spent time in Tijuana that year, where local groups exposed the band to additional blues, soul, and rock repertoire. They incorporated brass arrangements associated with Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears and expanded their engagements throughout western Mexico.

In 1970, 39.4 participated in the First Festival de Conjuntos Tapatíos, organized by Alejandro Díaz Romo at the Radio Internacional studios in Guadalajara. The group recorded demos of “Faith” and “I Can Live Without You” for the project. CBS signed 39.4 and issued both songs as a single late in the year. The label subsequently included “Fe” on the 1971 compilation Ofensiva Pop 71.

The band relocated to Mexico City, where trombonist Luis Vicente “Luisillo” Arciniega joined the horn section. Castellanos returned to Guadalajara, while Sánchez Ruiz assumed rhythm guitar. The musicians played Raffles alongside Los Locos and shared a La Place du Soul engagement with the American group Mill Street Depo. Singer Valorie Green joined 39.4 from Mill Street Depo for several months. Guitarist Efrén “Oso” Olvera and bassist Eugenio “Keno” Guerrero also joined the changing Mexico City lineup.

A subsequent hotel engagement took 39.4 back to Guadalajara. Sánchez Ruiz, Brizio, and Zúñiga remained in the city when the engagement ended. In 1971, Olvera, Guerrero, and the Mexico City horn players departed to establish Bandido. The Guadalajara trio retained the 39.4 name and reunited with organist Castellanos, trumpeter/flutist García, and trombonist Híjar. Bassist Jorge A. Salles and saxophonist Jaime Arturo Hernández completed the reconstructed eight-member group, which entered the studio for the self-titled CBS debut album.