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San Antonio music legend Augie Meyers, whose bright Vox Continental organ helped define the sound of South Texas, has died at the age of 85.
His family confirmed the death in a post on Meyers’ Facebook page, writing that he “passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, March 7th at 85 with his wife Sara at his side.” The family thanked friends and fans for their prayers and said a public memorial service will be announced later.
Meyers was a co-founder of the Sir Douglas Quintet in the 1960s and later a founding member of the Texas Tornados.
With the Sir Douglas Quintet, Meyers helped pioneer a hybrid style later known as Tex-Mex rock, blending San Antonio rhythm and blues with conjunto influences and rock and roll. The group’s 1965 hit "She’s About a Mover" helped introduce that sound to national audiences.
Meyers was also part of the musical movement sometimes called San Antonio’s “West Side Sound,” a mix of rock, conjunto, Tejano and rhythm and blues that reflected the city’s cultural blend. Much of that music grew out of San Antonio dance halls and neighborhood clubs where bands experimented with styles that crossed cultural boundaries.
Hector Saldaña, a musician and curator at the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, shared the stage with Meyers many times.
“Augie Meyers is one of the greatest musicians that Texas ever produced,” Saldaña said.
Meyers was also widely known for the song, "Hey Baby Qué Pasó" — a song Saldaña calls "the national anthem of San Antonio, if not Texas."
"He was a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados and a favorite of Bob Dylan and so many other musicians,” Saldaña said.
Saldaña said Meyers was also known for his humor.
Meyers overcame significant health challenges during his life. He had polio as a child and was born with a club foot and without one ear. He later wore a prosthetic ear that was often hidden by his long hair.
Author Joe Nick Patoski said Meyers and the Sir Douglas Quintet were creating music rooted in South Texas but unlike anything else in American rock at the time.
“So much was unique and distinct about the sounds that were coming out of here compared to the rest of the United States,” Patoski said. “When you talk about Doug Sahm, Flaco Jiménez and Augie Meyers, those three together really define the sound of South Texas.”
Much of the U.S. music scene at the time was dominated by teenage love songs. In Meyers’ bands through the years, he often used humor in songs.
“He was the joker. I don't think he took life too seriously, and that's why I think he sailed through life as effortlessly as he did,” Patoski said.
“He always was upbeat, always happy, always had something to say and always had music to play.”
Though Meyers’ music reached audiences far beyond Texas, his sound remained rooted in San Antonio, where generations of musicians drew inspiration from his unmistakable Vox organ.
