National Music Council Honors The Legacy Of Raul Malo With 2026 American Eagle Award

On January 23, 2026, The National Music Council of the United States honored the iconic singer, songwriter, and producer Raul Malo — lead singer of The Mavericks — with the highly prestigious American Eagle Award at the 2026 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. The award was accepted on his behalf by his wife, Betty Malo, and bandmate Eddie Perez, with Dwight Yoakam serving as the special presenter. The award honors Malo’s career-long excellence as a music creator, an ambassador for the celebration and preservation of bi-lingual American musical traditions, and a champion of music education for all students across the nation and around the world.

“It was a true honor for the National Music Council to help kick off

Grammy Week 2026 in Los Angeles at the NAMM convention with a celebration of the life of one of the most uniquely talented contributors to American musical culture of the past half century, Raul Malo,” said Board Chair Charles Sanders. “We are most gratified of all, however, by the fact that Raul was so moved prior to his untimely death from cancer this past December by his well-earned, unanimous selection as the 2026 American Eagle Awardee. According to his family, close friends, and the members of his iconic band, The Mavericks, the award helped Raul to realize the truly enormous level of esteem in which he was held throughout music industry, while bringing even greater, much deserved public attention to his career-long accomplishments as a modern maestro, music educator and humanitarian. Paying tribute to music community members of the caliber and character of Raul Malo is exactly the reason why the American Eagle Award exists in the first place.”

The American Eagle Award is given each year to an individual or individuals who have made unique, extraordinary and sustained contributions in support of US musical culture.  The prestige and significance of this peer-determined tribute is illustrated by the enormous stature of its recipients over the decades, including such giants as Kris Kristofferson, Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Marian Anderson, Wynton Marsalis and the Marsalis family, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Kenny Rogers, Vince Guaraldi, Van Cliburn, Benny Goodman, Lena Horne, Morton Gould, The Chapin Family, The Sesame Street Workshop Team, Paquito d’Rivera, George Clinton, Hal David, and Steven Sondheim, to name just a few.

The Anaheim presentation marked the second public recognition of Raul Malo with the American Eagle Award, following the first at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on December 5. The honor was part of a two-night tribute, Dance the Night Away: A 35-Year Musical Legacy Celebrating the Mavericks & Honoring Raul Malo, which featured performances by The Mavericks alongside a host of guest artists.

“Music has been the guiding force of my entire life,” Malo wrote in a letter to fans, read at the Nashville presentation. “In these past months, I’ve had to fight battles I’ve never imagined. But on the hardest of days, music remained my companion. Your letters, your stories of how a song helped you through loss, heartbreak, joy, those became our songs. You all carried me more than you know. To my family band, the National Music Council, my musical collaborators, and every fan around the world: Thank you for giving my voice a place to live, even when my body cannot be the one delivering it. I accept this award with profound gratitude and with the hope that the music we create continues to inspire, to heal and bring people together.”

From his early years performing at the punk clubs of Miami Beach to leading The Mavericks through more than three decades of acclaimed recording and touring, Raul remained a dynamic creative force. Under his leadership, The Mavericks cultivated a multicultural Americana sound that merged rock & roll, country, R&B, Tex-Mex, Cuban rhythms, Jamaican ska, and other Latin influences. With a catalog defined by bold experimentation and timeless songwriting, Raul Malo leaves behind a profound musical legacy.