A. B. Quintanilla

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A. B. Quintanilla
Quintanilla in December 2020
Background information
Birth name	Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III
Also known as	A. B. Quintanilla III A. B. Quintanilla King of Kumbia
Born	(1963-12-13) December 13, 1963 (age 57) Toppenish, Washington, United States
Origin	Lake Jackson, Texas, United States
Genres	Cumbia Tejano Reggae Latin pop R&B
Occupation(s)	Record producer songwriter composer musician
Instruments	Bass guitar guitar vocals
Years active	1982–present
Labels	EMI Latin (1989–2009) Capitol Latin (2009–2012) Universal Music Latin Entertainment (2012–2016) DEL (2016–present)
Associated acts	Selena Selena y Los Dinos Abraham Quintanilla Chris Pérez Cruz Martínez Frankie J DJ Kane Abel Talamantez Pee Wee Melissa Jiménez Kumbia Kings Kumbia All Starz Los Super Reyes
Website	www.abquintanilla3.com

Abraham Isaac Quintanilla III (born December 13, 1963), known professionally as A. B. Quintanilla III or A. B. Quintanilla, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician, and the older brother of "The Queen of Tejano music" Selena. Along with Selena, his other sister Suzette, and his father Abraham, he became a member of Los Dinos in 1980. As a member of Los Dinos, A. B. played bass guitar, produced, and wrote songs for Selena that became successful singles such as "Como la Flor", "Amor Prohibido" and "No Me Queda Más" ^[1]

Early life

A. B. Quintanilla III is the oldest of the three children of Abraham Quintanilla Jr., including the late Selena Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla.^{[citation needed]}

Career

While living in Lake Jackson, Texas, A. B. learned to play the guitar and bass. Alongside Selena, his sister Suzette, and their father, Abraham, he became a member of the successful band Los Dinos. A. B. also became Selena's producer.

He co-wrote Selena's hit songs like "Como la Flor" ("Like the Flower") and "Amor Prohibido" ("Forbidden Love").

A. B.'s sister, Selena, was murdered on March 31, 1995, which greatly devastated him. He helped produce "Como Te Extraño" ("How I Miss You") by Pedro "Pete" Astudillo, which was written for Selena as well as Astudillo's late grandmother. The song earned Astudillo a Premios Lo Nuestro award for Best Song of the Year in 1996.^[2]

A. B. Quintanilla later resurfaced in 1999 by creating the Kumbia Kings, which mixed cumbia and pop music. The Kumbia Kings went on an international tour, had several CD releases and participated on such shows as Cristina Saralegui's El Show de Cristina. Quintanilla also produced for such entertainers as Thalía, Alicia Villarreal, Verónica Castro and Cristian Castro.

He produced and arranged the 2004 album, A. B. Quintanilla III Presents Joe Lopez, which includes "Cuando Estoy Contigo" ("When I Am with You") and "Soy Tan Feliz" ("I'm So Happy"), co-written by Quintanilla and Luigi Giraldo.

A. B. Quintanilla left Kumbia Kings in mid-2006 due to a controversy with member Cruz Martínez. A. B., along with new members and ex-Kumbia Kings Chris Pérez (A. B.'s brother-in-law, Selena's widower) and Pee Wee; started the group Kumbia All Starz in 2006. This new group had hits such as "Chiquilla", "Parece Que Va a Llover", and "Speedy Gonzales". The Kumbia All Starz have become immensely popular in South America, especially in Bolivia, where they performed a series of concerts in 2014.

A. B. Quintanilla signed with DEL Records and formed Elektro Kumbia in 2016.^[3] In 2017, he released a single called "Piña Colada Shot".^[4]

In media

In the 1997 film Selena, which depicted his sister's stardom, Quintanilla was played by Jacob Vargas, while Rafael Tamayo played him as a child.

Personal life

A. B. Quintanilla has eight children, including a son Svani (b. 1991) and a daughter Martika (b. 1989) with his first wife Vangie. Quintanilla also has five other sons and one daughter born between 2002 and 2007.^[5] He also has one grandchild.

He married his longtime girlfriend Rikkie Leigh Robertson on November 12, 2011.^[6] On July 5, 2016, he announced after a concert that he was getting divorced from his wife. They have no children together.

A. B. Quintanilla married Anjelah O., an Argentinian woman, on September 16, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.^[7]

Discography

Albums with Selena

• Mis Primeras Grabaciones (1984)
• Alpha (1986)
• Muñequito de Trapo (1987)
• And the Winner Is... (1987)
• Preciosa (1988)
• Dulce Amor (1988)
• Selena (1989)
• Ven Conmigo (1990)
• Entre a Mi Mundo (1992)
• Selena Live! (1993)
• Amor Prohibido (1994)
• Dreaming of You (1995)

Albums with Kumbia Kings

• Amor, Familia y Respeto (1999)
• Shhh! (2001)
• All Mixed Up: Los Remixes (2002)
• 4 (2003)
• Presents Kumbia Kings (2003)
• La Historia (2003)
• Los Remixes 2.0 (2004)
• Fuego (2004)
• Duetos (2005)
• Kumbia Kings Live (2006)
• Greatest Hits (2007)
• Lo Mejor De (2016)

Albums with Kumbia All Starz

• Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz (2006)
• Planeta Kumbia (2008)
• La Vida de un Genio (2010)
• Blanco y Negro (2013)
• Éxitos en Vivo (2014)

Albums with Elektro Kumbia

• Elektro Kumbia (2017)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2000	Premio Lo Nuestro	Regional Mexican Group of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
		Regional Mexican New Artist of the Year		Won
	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Pop Album of the Year, Group	Amor, Familia y Respeto	Nominated
		Pop Album of the Year, New Artist		Won
	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Tejano Album		Nominated
2001	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Tejano Album	Shhh!	Nominated
2002	Premio Lo Nuestro	Regional Mexican Group of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
		Tejano Performance		Nominated
		Video of the Year	"Shhh!"	Nominated
	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Pop Album of the Year, Group	Shhh!	Won
		Top Latin Albums Artist of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
2003	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals	4	Nominated
		Best Regional Mexican Song	"Ay! Papacito" (Límite) (with Alicia Villarreal)	Nominated
	American Music Awards	Favorite Latin Artist	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
2004	Premio Lo Nuestro	Regional Mexican Group of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings, Juan Gabriel, El Gran Silencio	Won
		Regional Mexican Song of the Year	"No Tengo Dinero" (with Juan Gabriel and El Gran Silencio)	Won
	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Latin Pop Album of the Year, Duo or Group	4	Won
	Premios Juventud	Dynamic Duo	Thalía with A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
		Best Moves	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
		Best Re-Mix	"No Tengo Dinero" (with Juan Gabriel and El Gran Silencio)	Nominated
		Party Starter	"Sabes a Chocolate"	Nominated
2005	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Latin Pop Album of the Year, Duo or Group	Fuego	Won
	Premios Juventud	I Hear Them Everywhere	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
		Favorite Urban Artist		Nominated
	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Regional Mexican Song	"Na Na Na (Dulce Niña)" (with Cruz Martínez and Luigi Giraldo)	Nominated
		Best Engineered Album	Fuego (Seth Atkins, Javier Garza, Cruz Martínez and Robert "Bobbo" Gómez III)	Nominated
2006	Premio Lo Nuestro	Pop Album of the Year	Fuego	Nominated
		Pop Group of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia Kings	Nominated
	Premios MTV Latinoamérica	MTV Tr3́s Viewer's Choice Award		Nominated
	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Tropical Regional Mexican Album	Kumbia Kings Live	Won
2007	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Latin Pop Album of the Year, Duo or Group	Ayer Fue Kumbia Kings, Hoy Es Kumbia All Starz	Nominated
2008	Premio Lo Nuestro	Pop Album of the Year		Nominated
		Pop Song of the Year	"Chiquilla"	Nominated
		Pop Breakout Artist or Group of the Year	A. B. Quintanilla and Kumbia All Starz	Nominated
	Latin Grammy Awards	Best Pop Album by a Duo/Group with Vocals	Planeta Kumbia	Nominated
	Premios Oye!	Popular Field Best Tropical by a Duo/Group or Solo		Nominated
2009	Latin Billboard Music Awards	Latin Pop Album of the Year, Duo or Group		Nominated

See also

• Selena
• Los Dinos
• Kumbia Kings
• Kumbia All Starz
• Elektro Kumbia
• Honorific nicknames in popular music
• Music of Texas
• Music of Latin America

References

External links

• Official website Archived from the original on May 17, 2014.
• A. B. Quintanilla at IMDb
• A.B. Quintanilla at Allmusic