"TEQUILA" -- The Champs -- Live 1958

The song Tequila has remained one of the most recognizable instrumental hits to ever top the charts. The song has an unlikely story, and it brought into existence a band with its own unlikely impact on modern music. The popularity of the song basically kept the Champs on the road for years, and in the process played a role in the careers of musicians such as Glen Campbell, Delaney Bramlett, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts.
Below is an introduction to an article I wrote for AllAboutJazz about Seals and Crofts with a bit of background about Tequila.
"Train to Nowhere" by Dave Dupree was the aptly named single released by Challenge Records on January 15, 1958. Newly founded by Gene Autrey, "The Singing Cowboy" of Hollywood fame, the Los Angeles based label was looking to land its first hit record. The single itself was on the road to "nowhere" until something highly unlikely happened-a disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio listened to the flip side of a single by an unknown artist on an obscure new label. He liked what he heard and put the B-side in rotation, and by March 28, 1958 it was the #1 song on the Billboard Charts. That flip side, as you've probably guessed from the title of this piece, was "Tequila," one of the best selling instrumental singles in music history-a song eventually covered by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Wes Montgomery, David Sanborn, and Larry Carlton.
"Tequila" had been hastily recorded by the session musicians who were in the studio for Dupree's "Train to Nowhere." There was no band at that point, they had simply needed to fill the other side of Dupree's disc. The idea for the song came from the saxophonist Danny Flores and it was quickly worked out in the studio. The drummer and guitarist from his trio were also part of the session. Because Flores was under contract with another label, he used the pseudonym Chuck Rio for the B-side song credits. Dave Dupree was a stage name, the actual name of the artist on "Train to Nowhere" was Dave Burgess. He was under contract with Challenge and suddenly he and his new label had a hit on their hands and needed a band to hit the road.
A touring band, the Champs, was organized around Dave Burgess on rhythm guitar, Chuck Rio on saxophone, and the original drummer from the sessions. A new bassist and lead guitarist were hired and by April the band was in the studio recording enough material for an album. After that they embarked on a bitter end tour. Weeks later, May 3, 1958, they actually played "Tequila" live on Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show. Dick Clark displayed their Gold Record for selling a million copies, and they rocked the house. Behind the scenes things did not go well and this born-out-of-necessity band quickly imploded following angry clashes between Dave Burgess and Chuck Rio. The following month, Chuck Rio and his drummer, Gene Alden, abruptly quit the band and left the tour. In a panic Dave Burgess desperately sought a replacement saxophonist and drummer. At this point, the already unlikely story gets even more improbable when two Texas teenagers enter the picture.
If you’d like to read the rest of the story, here’s the link:
www.allaboutja...