Lolly Vasquez

LOS ANGELES
Lolly Vasquez, 70, known by his stage name as Lolly Vegas, passed away Thursday, March 4, 2010, in his home in Los Angeles. The singer/guitarist had been battling cancer for some years.
Vegas was born Oct. 2, 1939, in Coalinga and grew up in Fresno and for a period of his life in Salinas. He and his brother Pat, a singer and bassist, were session musicians who performed together as Pat and Lolly Vegas in the 1960s at Sunset Strip clubs and on the TV variety show "Shindig!"
Vasquez and his brother, Patrick Vegas, were co-founders of the popular 70's band Redbone, whose members consisted of Latino and native American origin.
In 1974, Redbone hit No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart with their hit "Come and Get Your Love," and stayed on the top 40's chart for an impressive 18 weeks. The song was written by Lolly Vegas, produced by Patrick Vegas, and sold over a million copies in the U.S., for which the band is most widely recognized.
The song was so popular it was featured in a commercial by telecommunications provider Alltel and in various Hollywood movies like "The Postman" "Dick" and remade and used by Cindy Lauper in "Too Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar"
Earlier, Redbone hit the chart with their 1972 hit "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans," which peaked at No. 21 on the chart.
Their first recording success as a group came from their 1970 release "Maggie" on the Epic label.
The group was known for its unique sound and its music has been classified as pop, rock, Latin, tribal and Cajun.
In concert, Redbone often dressed in traditional Native American attire, and some of the group's songs, including "We were all wounded at wounded knee" emphasized the members' Indian background. They appeared in the 1964 Spy Comedy, Parody/Spoof Movie "The Nasty Rabbit" and the 1967 comedy "It's A Bikini World" which also included pop/rock groups The Animals, The Toys, The Gentrys, and The Castaways, as well as "Monster Mash" hitmaker Bobby Pickett.
Many of their life career successes can be viewed at http://www.myspace.com/redbonemyspace and as well as youtube.
Survivors: In addition to his brother Pat, Vegas is survived by his mother, Eloise Vasquez; two other brothers, Ramon and Rudy; and three sisters, Marie, Theresa and Linda, all of Salinas.
Viewing: From 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, at Lorenzen Mortuary, 19300 Sherman Way, Reseda.
Rosary: Recited at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at Lorenzen Mortuary.
Benediction: 7:30 p.m.Thursday, March 11, at Lorenzen Mortuary.
Funeral: Thursday, March 18, at Lisle Funeral Home, 1605 L St., Fresno.