When brothers John and Lawrence Perez decided to start playing music in 1962, they recruited neighborhood friends George Delgado and Frank Zuniga and formed this band. All of them came from East Los Angeles, specifically San Gabriel, and their band started out by holding rehearsals in the Perez brothers’ backyard.
After a short period, neighbors and friends began forming crowds at their rehearsals, liking what they heard, and the group got the attention of a popular East L.A. manager, Billy Cardenas. Cardenas remade the still-teenaged boys’ attire by dressing them in matching suits. He also got them some gigs at local venues, opening for names like Chris Montez. When it came time to record, Cardenas wanted to capture to spirit of “Louie Louie,” which had recently become a huge hit for The Kingsmen.
He presented them with this song, written and first recorded by rock and roll duo Don and Dewey. Although the band was hesitant to record the song, they eventually warmed up to it and released it on Faro Records in the summer of 1964. It was misleadingly labeled as having been recorded “live” at the Rhythm Room in Fullerton, California, but was actually recorded at Stereo Masters in Hollywood, California.
Much like the Beach Boys’ Party! album that would be recorded in 1965, this song had the “live audience” qualities overdubbed. In this case, the girls heard on the song had come into the studio from The Chevelles car club. The song reached number nineteen on the US charts and led to the band touring with acts such as The Supremes, The Crystals, Cannibal & the Headhunters, The Dave Clark Five, and many others.
10 Comments (since 5 May 2014)
music_xplosion
When brothers John and Lawrence Perez decided to start playing music in 1962, they recruited neighborhood friends George Delgado and Frank Zuniga and formed this band. All of them came from East Los Angeles, specifically San Gabriel, and their band started out by holding rehearsals in the Perez brothers’ backyard.
music_xplosion
After a short period, neighbors and friends began forming crowds at their rehearsals, liking what they heard, and the group got the attention of a popular East L.A. manager, Billy Cardenas. Cardenas remade the still-teenaged boys’ attire by dressing them in matching suits. He also got them some gigs at local venues, opening for names like Chris Montez. When it came time to record, Cardenas wanted to capture to spirit of “Louie Louie,” which had recently become a huge hit for The Kingsmen.
music_xplosion
He presented them with this song, written and first recorded by rock and roll duo Don and Dewey. Although the band was hesitant to record the song, they eventually warmed up to it and released it on Faro Records in the summer of 1964. It was misleadingly labeled as having been recorded “live” at the Rhythm Room in Fullerton, California, but was actually recorded at Stereo Masters in Hollywood, California.
music_xplosion
Much like the Beach Boys’ Party! album that would be recorded in 1965, this song had the “live audience” qualities overdubbed. In this case, the girls heard on the song had come into the studio from The Chevelles car club. The song reached number nineteen on the US charts and led to the band touring with acts such as The Supremes, The Crystals, Cannibal & the Headhunters, The Dave Clark Five, and many others.
music_xplosion
They even opened for The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and The Zombies in Alabama and the Southeast United States. From : http://abitlikeyouandme.blogspot.fr/2013/06/the-premiers-farmer-john-1964.html
music_xplosion
TV performance here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gayhpUyz2os
debutch
The audience are stars on this recording too!
covermount
I first learned this song from Neil Young's 1990 cover version.
music_xplosion
@decarter Yeah, that recording session must have been fun!
music_xplosion
@covermount The Delmonas' cover is pretty good (from 1989) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIb0e3xV1I8