Johnny Canales, the famous Mexican TV host who introduced many new musical acts, including a young Selena Quintanilla in the 1980s, has passed away.
His show’s Facebook page announced his death on Thursday, but no more details were given. His wife, Nora Canales, mentioned in a video update on May 20 that he had been ill. Johnny Canales was believed to be in his late 70s or early 80s, but his exact birth year is unknown.
Starting in the 1980s, many new artists saw performing on Johnny Canales’s bilingual variety show as a big milestone. It was a chance to gain new fans, as the show was watched by millions.
Some artists who performed on his show became very famous. Johnny was a popular TV host known for his catchphrase: “You got it. Take it away.”
“The Johnny Canales Show” started on KRIS in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1983. Later, Univision picked it up, expanding its reach beyond South Texas.
Many groups and singers performed on his show over the years, like La Mafia, La Sombra, Los Temerarios, and Ramon Ayala. But the most famous was a young Selena Quintanilla with her band Selena y Los Dinos in 1985, one of her first live TV performances.
“She’s got something,” Johnny said in a 2015 interview with Univision’s morning show “Despierta América” about the first time Selena performed on his show. He joked that he once scolded her for not speaking Spanish well.
Johnny was impressed by how well Selena could sing and dance. He noticed her performances and Spanish skills improved every time she returned to his show.
Selena and her band, Los Dinos, played Tejano music, a mix of traditional Mexican music influenced by U.S. pop music. As she became known as the Queen of Tejano music, she also mixed R&B into her songs.
“Keep on trucking,” Johnny said he told Selena as her career grew.
Ramón Hernández, a writer and music historian, told the Los Angeles Times in 2020 that Johnny Canales was like the “Mexican American version of Dick Clark because he helped everyone become famous.”
“You didn’t have to be famous or have a top-selling record,” Ramón said. “He would just put you on his show.”
Johnny’s guests included not only musical acts but also comedians, actors, and politicians. In July 2015, he invited Donald Trump on his show after Trump made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants. Johnny publicly invited Trump to apologize or at least recognize Mexican and Mexican-American veterans who served the country.
Johnny’s show continued on other networks, including Telemundo, until 2020, with breaks due to his health issues. Nora Canales, his wife, said in 2022 that he had been treated for a stroke and needed a quadruple bypass.
Johnny Canales, born Juan José Canales, came into the world in General Treviño, Nuevo León, in the early 1940s. The exact year is unclear.
His family moved to Robstown, Texas, when he was less than two months old. He spent most of his life there.
As a child, Johnny shined shoes for 10 cents and sang songs in bars for 25 cents. After graduating from Robstown High School, he served two and a half years with the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany before being honorably discharged.
After his Army service, Johnny returned to Texas, worked as a DJ for a Spanish-language radio station, and started a band called “Johnny Canales y su Orchestra.”
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
After a few years off due to health issues, Johnny announced in 2011 that he would return to his show to support new artists again.
“We can come back and really help our people,” he said. “Because this is our music.”