That little band of nice Catholic boys from East LA...

...otherwise known as Los Lobos, gets the tip of the Black Hat today. March 8 is the Feast of Saint John of God (1495-1550), who is memorialized (well, sort of) with an original song "Little John of God," appearing on their album "The Neighborhood."

"He can't run
He can't play
He does things in a different way
Little John, Little John of God..."

(Click on the words for a link to the story behind the story.)

The song is dedicated to the Saint John of God Community Services of Westville, New Jersey, which cares for the mentally and physically challenged. Drummer Louis Perez (who has the image of Our Lady of Guadelupe on his bass drum head) wrote the words, and multi-instrumentalist David Hidalgo set it to music, in a story of "the joys and fears of a handicapped child with a simple eloquence." The song is dedicated to the work of the facility, which is operated by the Hospitallier Brothers of Saint John of God.

"You can say with your eyes
What others only say inside..."

Many of you would remember them as the musicians playing in the bordello scene in the Richie Valens bio movie La Bamba. They also did most of the soundtrack of that movie, including the title song. It seems the band members are practicing Catholics.

Or at least, like me, practicing until they get it right.