Things to Do: Hear the Krayolas and Flaco Jimenez on Under One Roof

When any musician dies—especially one who was influential with a decade-spanning career—there is naturally a spike of interest in their recordings. And particularly among casual fans.

Well, streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music surely saw numbers jump all last month for streams of the music of Flaco Jiménez. The legendary Texan singer/songwriter/accordionist passed away on July 31 at the age of 86 after having been in declining health.

Ironically, it was also on that exact day that Hector Saldaña—one half of the brother duo that make up the San Antonio-based garage pop rockers The Krayolas—received the final audio mix of a song.

A song that he (vocals/guitar), Jiménez (button accordion), and Max Baca (bajo sexto) recorded together and the end of a Krayolas session at San Antonio’s Blue Cat Studios back in September 2012. Written by Saldaña, it’s called “Under One Roof.” You can hear the song HERE.

Jiménez would of course never get to hear that completed mixed and mastered version (an earlier version had appeared on a Krayolas compilation). But he did see the cover artwork when Saldaña visited the ailing accordionist a couple of weeks before his death. It was painted by Robert Sosa and based on his winning poster for San Antonio’s annual Tejano Conjunto Festival.

“He loved the artwork. And I wanted to lift his spirits,” Saldaña recalls.

Then last month, something unexpected happened. SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel began to pick up the song, playing it across different programs. As of this writing, “Under One Roof” is at number 22 on SiriusXM Outlaw Country Top 100 Most Played Songs ranking, which measures airplay over the last 30 days according to XM playlist.com. And Saldaña is thrilled.

Hector Saldaña first met Flaco Jiménez way back in 1977 when the young musician crossed paths with him at ZAZ Studios/Joey Records.

He and brother David had formed the Krayolas two years earlier (as detailed in this Houston Press profile from 2019). Their father had brought them to the studio to record what would be the very first Krayolas single, “All I Do Is Try” with the B-side “Sometime.”

“They give the [record] to you in a little box and I was 19 years old when I walked into the office of Joey Records. And there was Flaco sitting on the couch having a beer and he said hi to me,” Saldaña says. “I had heard his name, but to be truthful, I didn’t realize at the time what a giant he was. Fortunately, later I did. And we got to play with him onstage a few times over the years.”

But Saldaña also had many opportunities to talk to and write about Jiménez in his role as a music writer for the San Antonio Express-News. And he knows about the historical impact as well, given his current position as curator of the Texas Music Collection at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.

Over the years, Jiménez recorded several songs with the Krayolas, with “Under One Roof” being the last collaboration. According to Saldaña, it sprang from an “unplanned, late-night recording” done live and in one take.

“I realize now that I should have appreciated the moment more, but I remember being nervous because I had a feeling they weren’t going to want to do it again,” he says. “The only overdub is near the very end when Flaco said a tambourine would sound good. As I was laying that down, I sang along in a couple of spots in the outro on the tambourine mic.”

During 2025, Saldaña visited his friend several times. He also received an unexpected phone call in the “very, very early morning hours” of March 12. It was the day after Jiménez’s birthday and the accordionist was in a reflective mood. So, the pair had a long conversation about music and legacy. It’s a memory that Saldaña treasures.

As expected, when someone dies, there’s always some sort of regret left with their friends and family about what they did or didn’t say or do, not knowing when there will be the “last time.” Saldaña is no exception in this case. But trite as it sounds, the music of Flaco Jiménez  lives on.

“There were so many moments with him over decades, but I should have paid more attention during ‘Under One Roof.’ Flaco played beautifully and I like that he took it to some unexpected places, musically,” he sums up. He also notes that he had Flaco’s visage embroidered onto his stage-worn Nudie suit.

Saldaña recalls that the genesis for the song came from when he was staying at New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel while the Krayolas were on tour many years ago, and he had just acquired a Taylor acoustic guitar. He thought about all those different people staying under that “one roof,” and the concepts of brotherhood, and unity. And looking at our common humanity with a “This Land is Your Land” idea. So, he began writing.

“When I played it for Flaco’s brother, Santiago Jiménez Jr., he cried. And I’ve actually gotten to hear it three or four times on the radio in my car, which I think is every musician’s dream,” he sums up. “This is a real tribute to Flaco and the musical impact he’s had. There really is nobody like him. And won’t be, ever.”