Chicano soul groundbreaker Sunny Ozuna has released new music, and we couldn’t be more stoked.
Released earlier this month, the single — currently available online — features the bluesy rocker “Giving It Up for Your Love” backed with “I’m So Glad.” The A side, written by Dallas-born Jerry Lynn Williams, was made famous in 1980 by Fort Worth bluesman Delbert McClinton.
"'Giving It Up for Your Love' is uptempo, and I use it to come onstage every time I perform now,” Ozuna said. “I got such a good reaction for the song, we decided to put it out as a single and have an uptempo [backed by] an oldie.”
The oldie in question, “I’m So Glad,” is a relaxed, down-tempo track that leans a little more toward soft rock than the Chicano soul sound Ozuna helped pioneer.
If you’re unfamiliar with Ozuna or his band Sunny and the Sunliners, that's a bit of San Antonio musical history well worth exploring. Mr. Brown-Eyed Soul, a collection released in 2017, provides a great starting place.
Alongside acts like the Royal Jesters and the Westside Horns, Sunny and the Sunliners were part of a San Antonio-bred movement that amalgamated soul, R&B, rock and conjunto.
Ozuna was the first Mexican-American to land a slot on American Bandstand back in 1963. He continues to perform and release music, charming new generations with his soulful crooning.
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