Texas artist Trini Lopez was heard as the Big Beats on "Clark's Expedition" on Columbia 41072, an obvious attempt to score a spot on Dick Clark's various television shows. Philadelphia based Gerry Granahan scored a national hit as Dickey Doo & the Don'ts with the great "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu;" ironically, this was not precisely an instrumental as the title was shouted out at the start of the record (but the same thing happened with "Tequila" and that's considered an instrumental) -- on Swan 4006.
Out of Detroit came the Royaltones whose Jubilee debut, "Poor Boy" charted well, though many fans of the genre prefer their noncharting flipside, "Wail." They had one other hit, the great "Flamingo Express" and then disappeared.
New Mexico produced the Fireballs. Unfortunately, their self-titled "Fireball" on Kapp 248 failed to ignite the flames of passion in fans. But later releases like "Torquay" and "Bull Dog" did actually set the charts on fire. Later, they hit behind vocalist Jimmy Gilmer, but by then the fires had been largely stamped out.
It was Arizona based Duane Eddy who controlled the instrumental charts of 1958 with hits like "Rebel 'Rouser" (Jamie 1104), "Ramrod" (1109), which was discussed at length in last week's article and "Cannonball" (1111), every one a major chart hit.
But it was the menacing sound of Link Wray & the Wraymen, an American Indian guitarist from North Carolina and his great cruising track "Rumble" (Cadence 1347) that spoke to most teenagers in that great year of the guitar instrumental. "Rumble" combined ominous teen slang with the suggestion of feedback in Wray's guitar, a combination that is credited with being the first psychedelic or even the first heavy metal record long before either term had any application to the sound of rock and roll.
By 1959, the reverberations from all of these great and largely unique instrumentals were producing a cacauphany of guitar and sax bands from coast to coast. Sometimes, the confusion paid off, as in the case of the surprise hit for a Seattle combo called the Wailers. Their great guitar original "Tall Cool One" was issued on the New York based on Golden Crest label (518) in early 1959. Because it began charting in the group's hometown area of Seattle, the national charting specialists who assumed that it was an East Coast band because it was on a New York label, concluded that it was having national impact and placed it on the pop charts. Radio play took care of the rest.
Speaking of New York, it was in the distinctly non-surfing suburbs of Buffalo that one of the first surf oriented hits emerged. A local disc jockey who was on the air during the weekends needed a theme song for his radio gig. He hired a local high school band called the Rebels to do the catchy theme and dubbed the composition "Wild Weekend," after his time-slot. Shannon then released this medium tempo sax and guitar workout on his own label (Marlee 0094)and it hit in certain East Coast cities, earning the Rebels a spot on American Bandstand.
Enter Dick Clark of the same Bandstand show who arranges that this catchy instrumental by reissued on Swan (4125), a label in which he has an interest. After a short lived Swan issue under the Rebels name, the group is changed to the Rockin' Rebels - no doubt because some pre-existing Rebels group threatned suit. Eventually, the song hit big, #8 on the national charts of 1962, causing most non-Buffalo rock and roll fans to assume it was a West Coast surf oriented instrumental, because it hit in the middle of that craze. Few realized that "Wild Weekend" was the work of a very good Buffalo band fresh out of high school. Other records by the Rebels, the Buffalo Rebels and the Rockin' Rebels followed on both Marlee and on Swan. All of these were good, but nothing matched the original "Wild Weekend."
Though not especially rare or of great value, the original Rebels' pressing of "Wild Weekend" on Marlee is in big demand. The Rebels on Swan is also collectible, while the hit version on Swan and a subsequent Swan reissue (4248) in 1966, are both fairly commonly found.
Some information from Don Riswick, "Nothin' But Instrumentals" privately published.
Next: Venturing back to the Pacific Northwest.
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