La Alondra de la Frontera, Lydia Mendoza was the beloved queen of Tejano music. A Houston-born singer and guitarist, she started out making music with her family's band. They cut sides in '28 for Okeh and made enough money for the whole family to move to Detroit for a time. Upon returning in the early '30s to Texas the family signed to RCA's Bluebird imprint, including Lydia as a solo artist. She was also a radio star around this time. She hit big with "Mal Hombre".
WW2 put a halt on recordings but afterward she continued to tour and record for several Texas labels into her 70s. She was author of the favorite "Amor Bonito". She lived to be 91. She was the subject of a US postage stamp.