The Ventures - Tequila

The Ventures - Tequila

(Written By: Chuck Rio)

«Tequila» is a 1958 Mexican-flavored surf instrumental written by Chuck Rio and recorded by the Champs. «Tequila» became a No. 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, Gene Autry's record label, Challenge Records, signed Dave Burgess (born 1934), a rockabilly singer - songwriter from California who often recorded under the name «Dave Dupree". At the end of 1957, having produced no hits, Challenge Records looked to Burgess, who organized a recording session on December 23 in Hollywood. In the studio that day were Burgess on rhythm guitar, Cliff Hills on bass, the Flores Trio (Danny Flores keyboards, Gene Alden on drums, and lead guitarist Buddy Bruce), and Huelyn Duvall contributing backing vocals. Flores, also a saxophonist, suffered a jaw injury the night prior to the session in a brawl at a local establishment. He was unable to play saxophone for the session so another saxophonist was called in to play the trademark ««dirty sax» solo at the last minute. They gathered primarily to record «Train to Nowhere», a song by Burgess, as well as «Night Beat» and «All Night Rock» (a song that has never been released). The last tune recorded was «Tequila», essentially just a jam by the Flores Trio. It is based on a Cuban mambo beat. The word «Tequila» is spoken three times throughout the tune. There were three takes, and Danny Flores, who wrote the song, was also the man who spoke the word «Tequila!» solo. The song served as the B-side for «Train to Nowhere», which was released by Challenge Records (No. 1016) on January 15, 1958. Duvall recalls that the record initially found little success, but, after a DJ in Cleveland played the B-side, «Tequila» reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart on March 28, 1958. Daniel Flores had written «Tequila», but, because he was signed to another label, the tune was credited to «Chuck Rio», a name he adopted for the stage. Those present for the December 23 session began recording together again on January 20, 1958, under the name the Champs; the group technically formed after recording «Tequila». The tune has been noted to have a similar rhythm structure to Bo Diddley's 1958 release «Dearest Darling». The Champs recorded a sequel to «Tequila» entitled «Too Much Tequila». Released as a maroon-label Challenge single, it reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2020, group leader Dave Burgess resurrected The Champs and recorded 12 new tracks for an LP entitled Tequila Party. The album contains a «party» version of «Tequila». The tune has been covered by an enormous number 0f musicians. The Ventures covered the song in their 9nth album «The Ventures Play Telstar and the Lonely Bull», released in 1963. It consisted entirely of cover versions of popular instrumentals from the late 1950s to early 1960s (all of which reached the Top 15 on Billboard, including eleven Top Tens and three No 1's) and became their highest charting album, peaking at No 8 on Billboard and earning the band a gold record for over 500,000 copies sold.

Album: The Ventures - Golden Greats By The Ventures

Credits

Art Direction: Woody Woodward
Design: Gabor Halmos
Liner Notes: Stuart L. Leech
Photography By: Peter Whorf
Producer: Joe Saraceno

Companies, etc.

Record Company: Liberty Records, Inc.
Manufactured By: U.A. Records, Limited
Distributed By: U.A. Records, Limited

Label: United Artists Records ‎– LST-8053
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Reissue, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: 1967
Genre: Rock
Style: Surf

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