09-08-43 This singer-songwriter-bandleader was born Ildefonso Fraga Ozuna in San Antonio, Texas.
1946 As a child, his parents nicknamed him “Bunny” because he looked like a baby rabbit.
1954 Sunny, a member of St. James Catholic Church Boy Scout Troop 95 achieved the highest rank in
scouting –Eagle Scout.
09-57 Bunny and three classmates formed The Sequins, a street corner doo wop vocal group.
01-58 They added Manuel Ornelas and changed their name to The Galaxies.
05-59 Bunny and Rudy Guerra, alto sax; Al Conde, guitar; Norwood Perry, bass; and George Strickland
on drums became The Sun-Glows. It was at this time, he changed the
“B” in Bunny to “S” to rhyme with Sun-Glows.
08-59 Henry Nañez replaced Conde on guitar; Bobby San Miguel replaced Perry on bass; and Toby
Reyna replaced Strickland on drums.
Next, they added Pete Villaseñor on organ and in the process, Sunny became the first Chicano to
incorporate an organ into a combo. However, Villaseñor never recorded and the is the benchmark or
requirement to be named the first due to its audio documentation.
1960 Manny brought in piano/organ/keyboard player Arturo “Sauce” Gonzalez.
Sauce did record with The Sunglows. So, he is the one credited as being ‘the first.’
1960 Tenor sax man Tommy “Gato” Luna (3-7-41) joined Sunny & the Sun-Glows
1961 Luna quit to quit Sonny Ace
06-61 Manny joined the band full-time replacing Reyna on drums.
04-61 Greg Ramírez replaced Bobby San Miguel on bass
Late ’61 When Manny Guerra wanted Sunny to sing in Spanish, Sunny rebelled.
“We didn’t want to record in Spanish, and we rebelled because we wanted to succeed in the Top
40 market. Later, during our travels, when we worked with the Isidro López Orchestra, we
started to imitate his style by recording some of his hits,” Sunny said.
late 1962 The Sunglows broke up, Rudy Guerra stayed with his brother Manny Guerra, who than
recruited Bobby “Mack” Flores, vocals; and Freddy “Sal” Salas, keyboards & vocals
early 62 Sunny and The Sunglows recorded Little Willie John’s “Talk To Me” on the Sunglow label
02-63 Sunny picked up the Rockin’ Vees, in Houston, and together they became Sunny and the
Sunliners. They were were: Jesse Villnueva, Oscar Villanueva, Ray Villanueva, Alfred Luna,
Tony Tostado, Gilbert “Woody” Fernandez,
Manny kept the Sun-Glows with Mack and Sal; and later Tony Rey(naga) on vocals.
TRIVIA: It was the original recording of “Talk to Me” with The Sunglows that was included
in this album.
11-2-63 Sunny became the first Tejano artist to appear on Dick Clark’s national televised “American
Bandstand.” The keyword is “nationally televised” because in 1957, Mando and the Chili
Peppers, also from San Antonio, had appeared on “American Bandstand” when it was just a local
Philadelphia television program.
1964 Marked the release of “Cariño Nuevo,” Sunny’s first Spanish-language album

It was also this year that Rudy left his brother Manny’s Sunglows to rejoin Sunny
1966 Sunny and Rudy formed Key-Loc Records. Shortly thereafter, John Zaragosa was brought in to
manage the record company.
06-67 Ramírez quit to form the Greg Ramírez Combo
1969 Rudy quit to form Latin Breed and Zaragosa became a full partner in Key-Loc Records
1970 Sunny was operated for nodes and Jimmy Edward filled in for many of his artistic
commitments. Sunny was now a mega star. Everyone patterned themselves after him and every
musician wanted to be in his band. However, from this point on, the band was a revolving door
as musicians came in and out because Sunny was very disciplined and a strict bandleader who in
their eyes held too many rehearsals in order to maintain the band honed to perfection.
Late 70 Latin breed broke up and Rudy rejoined Sunny and the Sunliners
1972 Rudy quit to reform Latin Breed
1978-79 Sunny suffered a heart attack
1992 Sunny, Joe Bravo, René René, Carlos Guzmán and Roy Montelongo joined forces and embarked
on a “Legends Tour” all over Texas and the southwestern states with Ramón Hernández to
document their tour.
1997 Freddie Martínez convinced Sunny, Guzmán and Augustine Ramírez to join him in the recording
studio to work on a “Legends/Leyendas” compact disc.
1989 Sunny moved to Houston and became a radio personality. And his co-host was Laura Canales.
04-98 The Freddie Records CD proved so popular; it created a demand to see them perform together.
Early ’99 Sunny became a record promoter for Freddie Records.
8-5-99 Sunny underwent a quadruple bypass operation following a second heart attack.
2001 He started performing with the Latin Express Band in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; and with
Super Aldaco in the Tri-State area of Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.
2008 Sunny continued to record for Freddie Records and to tour with Latin Express and Houston’s
Aviso Band. He joined a roster of America’s greatest vocalists when he became a part of the
American Oldies Concerts tours where each artist performed his greatest hits to sold-out crowds
throughout the United States.
2000 Sunny, Freddie Martínez, Joe Bravo, Carlos Gúzman, and Augustine Ramírez earned a Grammy
Award as Las Leyendas/The Legends. And once more, they took Ramón Hernández along to
document the event.
2008 Little Joe y La Familia recorded a CD Tribute to Sunny Ozuna
2016 Sunny became a headline act on Tejano music cruises to the Caribbean Sea.
2017 Sunny and Little Joe boosted cruise sales when they became the headliners for West Coast
cruises out of Long Beach, California to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Baja California, México
2024 Sunny is blessed with having remained in demand for concerts at casinos, festivals, American
oldies concerts, cruises, arenas, convention centers, night clubs, and dancehalls since 1959. And
of course, at prestigious venues such as the Hollywood Palladium or the Greek Theater in Los
Angeles – all because of his God-given voice, charisma, showmanship, and love for his fans. He

is not to shy away, avoid, or hide from his fans. Instead, he will not leave a venue until everyone
that wants an autograph, a selfie or just wants to give him a hug is satisfied.
6-1-24 Sunny released “La Estrella Que Brilla,” his 69 th album on Key Loc Records (his own label)
7-13-24 Sunny participated in Freddie Martínez and Carlos Guzmán’s Farewell Performance at the 20 th Annual
Las Vegas Tejano Takeover. And no, Sunny does not plan to retire anytime soon, but ask him.
Biography based on personal interviews with Sunny and his musicians by Ramón Hernández

Hernández has served as a member of the “Code Red” Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas. He has also chaired both the Teaching Hospitals of Texas (2005–08) and the Texas Hospital Association (2013).

The American Hospital Association and CHIME awarded Hernández and University Health’s Chief Information Officer the Transformational Leadership Award in 2008. In 2009, the Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers honored Hernández as the recipient of the Frank M. Adams Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Modern Healthcare Magazine named him as a Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare for 2010. In 2016, Hernández received the Reynaldo G. Garza Lifetime Achievement Award by the State Bar of Texas, Hispanic Issues Section, for his commitment to addressing concerns affecting the Hispanic community and advancing diversity and access to justice in the practice of law. In 2020, Hernández was honored with the prestigious Earl M. Collier Award by the Texas Hospital Association. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Living the Chaminade Legacy Award from St. Mary’s University. In 2023, Texas & M-San Antonio honored him with its Dream Maker recognition.

Hernández is a native Texan. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University and a law degree from George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C.