An extra-special rendition of the Edmonton Oilers victory song La Bamba surprised Oilers fans at a playoff watch party at the River Cree Resort and Casino Wednesday night. Members of the band Los Lobos came out to perform the hit after the Oilers scored their overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights. The group brought the Mexican folk song to the top of the charts after covering it for the 1987 film La Bamba, which highlighted the life of 1950s crooner Richie Valens (whose version of the song is on The Rolling Stone’s top 500 greatest songs of all time). “The surprise was well-kept, I don’t think anybody knew that was going to happen,” said Steve Berlin, a saxophonist and keyboardist in the band. “I sort of got the feeling that people thought, ‘Oh, that’s a really good cover band. These guys are kind of nailing it.’ It was like 45 seconds in, there was like, ‘Wait a minute, that’s the real guy.’ So it was pretty amazing. “By the end of it, I mean, the place was going crazy.” La Bamba became a locker room anthem for the Oilers during the reign of long-time attendant Joey Moss, who would blast the song after games. When he died in 2020, the team chose to honour him by playing the song at Rogers Place after each home-game win. The song touched more hearts in 2022, when six-year-old superfan Ben Stelter inspired fans with his catch phrase, “Play La Bamba, baby,” during that year’s playoff run. A few months later, he died of cancer. Berlin said he’s known for some time the importance the song has for the Oilers and their fans. It made it all the more special to be able to catch the crowd after the series-winning goal. “When you’re a musician, the highest aspiration you have is to affect somebody emotionally,” he said. “To see this happen and to see it become sort of this rallying song (to this) whole community is, I mean, it’s the best thing you could imagine.” Los Lobos are in Edmonton for a Thursday show at the River Cree. They take the stage at 8 p.m. For a full interview with the band, tune in to CTV Morning Live on Friday morning.
