The “Golden Hits Of The 60s”
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RENE & RENE
“LO MUCHO QUE TE QUIERO (THE MORE I LOVE YOU)”
(“RENE” Ornelas, “RENE” Herrera)
White Whale 287
No. 14 January 4, 1969
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At 14, Rene Victor Ornelas (b. Aug. 26, 1936, Laredo, TX) sang and played trumpet in his father’s band,
the Mike Ornelas Orchestra. But a few years later, rock and pop music would gain entry to his soul. In
high school, two Rene’s and two Juan’s–Rene Ornelas, Rene Herrera (b. Nov. 1935, Laredo, TX), Juan
Orfila, and Juan Garza-Gongora–formed the Quarter Notes, a vocal quartet patterned after the Four
Aces and the Four Lads, who were hot at the time.
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“We toured all over and got to make some records for Deluxe and Dot,” Rene Ornelas recalled in an
exclusive interview. “It was hard back then being a Latin act. The things we had to do! We had hits in
the Spanish community, and the Top 40 stations took notice, but we couldn’t come in the front door–it
had to be through the back or the side door.”
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After 10 years together, the Quarter Notes broke up in 1962. The two Rene’s, however, stayed together
and recorded as a duo for another decade. “We did a lot of records, made it to Dick Clark’s “Caravan of
Stars” and toured with the Beach Boys and the Grass Roots. But we couldn’t get away from our roots:
we’d put a Latin song on one side and a pop-rock song on the other. We couldn’t get away from it.
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“Herrera quit in ’72. For a while, I picked up a couple of guys to sing harmony with. I was the lead
singer, always. I tried to keep on touring and recording, and I still used the ‘Rene & Rene’ name. As
long as there were two of us and the sound was there, the people didn’t care.”
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For a spell in the early ’70s, Rene retired from performing. He wrote songs or did arrangements for
Herb Alpert, Vikki Carr, PETER NERO, Trini Lopez, Jose Feliciano, and Lawrence Welk. He earned a
teaching degree and tried to teach for a few years, but missed singing and was soon back in action.
Since the lat ’90s, Ornelas has been performing under the moniker of Rene Rene. “That way they’ll only
expect one of us, right?”
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