Augie Meyers, a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet who provided the distinctive organ riff on their first hit single, 1965’s #13 “She’s About a Mover,” and later re-teamed with that band’s leader Doug Sahm to form the Tejano supergroup Texas Tornados in the late ’80s, died Saturday, March 7, 2026. The news of his passing, at age 85 with his wife Sara at his side, was announced on his Facebook page on March 9.

After the British Invasion hit America, producer Huey Meaux tried to cash in on the latest rage by giving Sahm’s group with Meyers the English-sounding name Sir Douglas Quintet when, in fact, they were from Texas. The other founding members were Jack Barber, Frank Morin, and Johnny Perez, though many other musicians were involved at various stages.

The Tex-Mex flavored influential musical partnership, with Sahm on guitar and vocals and Meyers on his Vox Continental organ, delivered a pair of other hits, most notably, “Mendocino,” which reached #27 in 1969.

Watch the Sir Douglas Quintet perform “Mendocino” on Playboy After Dark

Two decades later, the pair formed the Texas Tornados with Flaco Jiménez and Freddy Fender, taking their name from Sahm’s song, “Texas Tornado.” Meyers was the last surviving member of the group. He and Sahm, his longtime bandmate, continued to work together until the latter died in 1999.

Meyers performed on a pair of Bob Dylan albums, 1997’s Time Out of Mind and 2001’s Love and Theft. Meyers’ website includes a quote attributed to Dylan. “Augie’s my man. He’s like an intellectual who goes fishing using bookworms. Seriously though, he’s the shining example of a musician, Vox player or otherwise, who can break the code. His playing speaks volumes. Speaks in tongue actually. He can bring a song, certainly any one of mine, into the real world.

“I’ve loved his playing going all the way back to the Sir Doug days when he was featured and dominant. What makes him so great is that internally speaking, he’s the master of syncopation and timing. And this is something that cannot be taught. If you need someone to get you through the shipping lanes and there’s no detours, Augie will get you right straight through….Augie’s your man.”

Meyers was born May 31, 1940, in San Antonio, Tex. He released more than a dozen solo albums, many of which are available here. Several Sir Douglas Quintet albums are available here.

Watch Meyers perform in 2019