Grupo Yndio (also known simply as
Yndio) is a Mexican pop group in the grupero ranchera style. Originating in Sonora in 1972 with former members of Los Pulpos, they established themselves by arranging grupero-styled covers of American soft rock and pop ballads in the norteno manner. Between 1973 (when they hit the top spot on the singles chart with a cover of
Los Strwck's "Él" and remained there for four weeks), and 1986, they recorded seven albums for Polygram and scored a number of Top Ten hits in Mexico with covers of
Nazareth's "Love Hurts,"
ELO's "Telephone Line," the
Righteous Brothers' version of "Unchained Melody,"
Paul Young's "Everytime You Go," and
Dave Maclean's "We Said Goodbye." In 1985, their album
Adios landed in the Top Five of the Mexican Regional albums chart. The band parted ways with Polygram Mexico for Philips Colombia in 1987 and the hits kept coming for the rest of the decade, with the albums Dame un Beso and Dime Adi? going gold.
The original sextet were road warriors. They recorded infrequently because they played hundreds of concerts across two continents each year, from Mexico through Central and South America and into the United States. By some estimates, they played over 290 dates annually.
Yndio recorded even less during the '90s. While they lost their label deal, they could easily have signed with virtually any independent they chose. Instead, they issued singles -- usually for Prodisc or Joey International -- rather than albums, simply as vehicles to continue touring. In 2007, the band slimmed down to a quintet, but still comprised all the original members. Universal's Fonovisa label owned their catalog and has continued to issue compilation after compilation of hits, B-sides, live albums, and rarities. In 2017, they were featured on a two-disc set entitled Historia Grupera on International Music Treasure that featured ten of the group's hits alongside those of
Los Caminantes,
Los Bondadosos, and
Industria del Amor. ~ Thom Jurek