Tequila-Flavored Rock 'n' Roll

[luisam]

Ritchie Valens is mentioned as the "pioneer and a forefather of Latin rock",  for the relative success of the rock ‘n’ roll version of La Bamba, his improvised B-side of his great US hit Donna. La Bamba" reached position 22 of Top 100 ranking, nice place for a B-side but not an earth-shaking record. The point is that before La Bamba there had been other latin-flavored rock and roll recordings with greater impact.

 

Maybe the best known was Tequila, an instrumental composed by Danny Flores and recorded by The Champs. Actually, the tune has nothing to do with Mexican music or Mexican culture, except for the word "tequila"; it is based on a Cuban mambo beat. The word "tequila" is spoken three times throughout the tune. Tequila became a #1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts at the time of its release and continues to be strongly referenced in pop culture to this day.

 

 

 

In 1957, rock and roll saxophonist Danny Flores met rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Burgess who often recorded under the name "Dave Dupree". They had been briefly performing as Danny and Dave.

Flores, then 28 years old, had been playing saxophone since he was 14, forming his first band, The 3-D Ranch Boys. He played a variety of music genres — jazz, country, pop and blues — to cater to his hard-going blue-collar clientele. Much to Flores' amusement, he has remarked, during this early stage of his career, he was commonly called the "Mexican Hillbilly". In the early 1950s, Flores recorded vocals for small Pasadena-based record labels, before signing to Modern Records, and releasing his earliest rock and roll material.

In 1957 Flores and Dave Burgess were signed by Gene Autry's record label, Challenge Records to record Train to Nowhere, a song by Burgess, as well as "Night Beat" and "All Night Rock". The duo recruited former members of Flores's group, drummer Gene Alden and guitarist Buddy Bruce, along with bassist Cliff Hills and Huelyn Duvall, as session musicians, and at the end of 1957, on December 23, they organized a recording session in Hollywood.

The last tune to be recorded was Tequila, essentially just a jam by The Flores Trio. Flores had the melody kicking around for a while, and would play it as an interlude during the group's club shows. He was a tequila drinker, so when the band decided to record his melody as a B-side, he named it Tequila and added the spoken title, which he voiced. Tequila is an alcoholic beverage named after a town in Mexico. It is a key ingredient in Margaritas and is often done as a shot by licking salt, taking the drink, then sucking a lemon wedge.

 

According to Leo Kulka, who was the sound engineer, this song was an afterthought after the band recorded Train to Nowhere (the A-side of the record). Some of the musicians had already left the studio when it was brought up that nothing had been recorded for the B-side. The remaining musicians were rounded up and the song was finished on the spot. The "Tequila" part of the song was simply a silly attempt to cover up the holes in the song. After all, it was just the B-side. There were three takes, and Danny Flores, who wrote the song, was also the man who actually spoke the word "Tequila!" However, because of this one spoken word by Flores, he was credited as Chuck Rio to avoid conflicts with his other record label, where he was signed as a vocalist.  Flores also played the trademark "dirty sax" solo which, together with his low-voiced "Tequila!" are the hallmarks of the song.

The song was released as the B-side for "Train to Nowhere". The record initially found little success, but, after a DJ in Cleveland played the B-side, "Tequila" skyrocketed up the charts reaching #1 on the Billboard chart on March 28, 1958 in just three weeks. In the very first emission of the Grammy  in 1959 it won the Award for Best R&B Performance. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The band became the first group to go to the top spot with an instrumental that was their first release.

Conflicts between Flores and Burgess over leadership and the band's musical direction led to Flores's departure. Flores signed away the U.S. rights to the song but retained worldwide rights until his death. However ultimately he did not receive any royalties from the tune, despite its success. In the intervening years, he formed another group called the Original Champs and recorded for Saturn Records in 1963. Flores continued to perform across California for the rest of his life. It was not until the early 2000s that he finally received royalties — albeit only for sales in Europe — for Tequila. Flores, who died in September 2006, was known as the "Godfather of Latino Rock".

Those present for the December 23 session began recording together again on January 20, 1958, under the name The Champs; so, the group technically formed after recording "Tequila". They took their name from Gene Autry's horse, Champion.

 

By the way, Bo Diddley recorded Dearest Darling on 1958 January 29, 1958, about a month later than “Tequila” with a very similar rhythm structure.

 

 

 

 

Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry and former Columbia Records A&R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958. This "Tequila" instrumental with The Champs was the label's first success. Later they recorded a sequel to "Tequila" entitled "Too Much Tequila"; it reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

There are many cover versions of the tune including Tequila Twist, Tequila Cha-Cha Cha, Tequila Bossa-Nova and a notable jazz version by guitarist Wes Montgomery in 1966 where, by the way, no one says “tequila”. It even has been recorded by rappers. The Champs also had success with instrumentals such as "Limbo Rock" and "El Rancho Rock" and recorded a great number of other “latin-flavored” tunes. One of the good covers is this one, by The Ventures.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1985, Tequila featured prominently in the film Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It featured a scene in which Pee-wee Herman knocks over a row of motorcycles, then proceeds to win over the angered bikers by selecting "Tequila" from the jukebox and comically dancing to it. The "Pee-wee dance," as well as the character himself, have since been closely linked with the tune in popular culture. This usage of the tune was further referenced in rapper Joeski Love's track "Pee-wee's Dance", which also utilized "Tequila"'s melody.

 

 

 

 

Later band members of The Champs included Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole, Seals and Crofts (yes, Seals & Crofts of '70s fame), Dean Beard, Chuck Downs, Rich Grissom, Johnny Meeks, Gary Nieland, Jery Puckett and Leon Sanders.