Ben Tavera King (born 1952) is a
Latin American musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer from the
United States. He has recorded various genres from
Tex-Mex to
new-age and is proficient on numerous stringed instruments including
guitar,
lute, and
vihuela.
King received notice in the 1980s and early 1990s on
public radio for his releases, many of which were issued on his own labels, Inner Ear Records, Talking Taco Music, and Iago Records.[1] He has composed the music for several
PBS programs including Heritage and Mujeres Con SIDA. The album entitled Themes Of Passion was composed as the soundtrack for the PBS special, Los Mineros.
His most commercially successful album was 1990's Coyote Moon which peaked at #5 on the
Billboard World Music Albums chart.[2]
Discography
1980: Ben Tavera King - Manic Hispanic (Inner Ear)
1982: Frank Corrales, Ben Tavera King, And The Los Folkeros Group - Saturday Night San Antonio: Tex-Mex Dance Music (
Folkways)
1983: Los Polkeros De Ben Tavera King - Border Bash: Tex-Mex Dance Music, Vol. 2 (Folkways)
1984: Ben Tavera King Y Los Jazztecs - Border Crossings: New Directions In Tex-Mex Music (Folkways)