Tequila

"Tequila" is a 1958 rock instrumental by the band The Champs. The title of the song constitutes the entire lyrics, and is spoken three times during the song. "Tequila" became a number-one hit on both the pop and R&B charts,^[1] at the time of its release and remains popular amongst fans of the golden age of rock and roll, but the band was a one-hit wonder.

"Tequila" has been heavily referenced in American popular culture, and was notably featured in the 1985 film Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

History

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 guitar, the Flores Trio (Danny Flores on saxophone and keyboards, Gene Alden on drums, and lead guitarist Buddy Bruce), and Huelyn Duvall contributing backing vocals.^[2] They gathered primarily to record "Train to Nowhere," a song by Burgess, as well as "Night Beat" and "All Night Rock."

The last song recorded was "Tequila," essentially just a jam by the Flores Trio. There were three takes, and Daniel Flores (d September 19, 2006), who wrote the song, was also the man who actually spoke the word "Tequila!". Flores also played the song's trademark "dirty sax" solo.^[3] The song served as the B-side for "Train to Nowhere," which was released by Challenge Records on January 15, 1958. Duvall recalls that 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.

Daniel Flores had written "Tequila," but, because he was signed to another label, the song 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 its most famous song. The song has been noted to have the same sound and structure of Bo Diddley's 1958 release "Dearest Darling".

Covers

• Eddie Platt took the song to #20 in the U.S. in 1958.

• The song was covered by The Ventures twice.

• In late 1960s Joe Loss Orchestra, British light music band, recorded their danceable version, available today on a Latin jazz compilation album "The Best Latin Jazz Album in the World... Ever!".

• Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded a version of the song on his 1966 album Tequila on Verve Records.

• Jazz guitarist Larry Carlton recorded a version of the song on his 1983 album Friends.

• A Latin hip hop cover in 1992 by A.L.T. was a Top Ten in numerous countries and entered the Billboard Top 40.

• Tony Levin and his band released a version of the song on his 2002 album Pieces of the Sun, though this version bears next to no resemblance to the original, aside from a quiet utterance of the title three times during the course of the song.

• An instrumental segment of the song also appears in the song "What Happened?" by California Punk/Ska band, Sublime. The song is about the morning after a party and the word "Tequila" is replaced with "What happened?".

• Industrial Metal band Klutæ released a reworking entitled "Tequila Slammer" on their 1995 EP Excepted, using samples of the original lyrics and horns layered with drum machines and heavy guitar.

• Dr. Feelgood covered the song on their 1974 debut album, Down by the Jetty.

• Bad Manners covered the song on their album Loonee Tunes!.

• Spanish duo Azúcar Moreno on their 2002 album Únicas.

• The saxophone riff was used by Suggs on his song "(No More) Alcohol".

"Tequila" in pop culture

In the 1985 film Pee-wee's Big Adventure 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" has since been closely linked with the song in popular culture. This usage of the song was further referenced in rapper Joeski Love's track "Pee Wee's Dance", which also utilized the song's melody.

"Tequila" has also been used in advertisements for TGI Friday's and in a Papa John's commercial for the "Fajitas Pizza", with the call-out altered to 'Fajita'. In Australia in 2005, the song was similarly altered to advertise Toshiba televisions.

The song "Esta llegando la banda" ("The band is arriving") uses the tune of "Tequila". "Esta llegando la banda" is usually sung at Mexican Football Federation football matches.

In the movie "The Sandlot" the song is played during the county fair scene while the boys are on a ride.

In the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie the song is heard at one point, while the boys do a song and dance number to it, but replace the word "tequila" with "ninjitsu"!

In September 2009, the song by The Ventures was on "Local on the 8s" on The Weather Channel

References

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 109. 
2. ^ Huelyn Duvall. "Memories of the Tequila Recording Session". http://www.huelynduvall.com/champs.htm. Retrieved August 21, 2006. 
3. ^ http://www.spectropop.com/remembers/DannyFlores.htm