The Champs

{{Short description|American rock and roll band}} {{about|the band|the podcast|The Champs (podcast)}} {{other uses|The Champ (disambiguation)|Champs (disambiguation)}} {{More citations needed|date=October 2013}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = The Champs | image = File:The Champs 1958.jpg | caption = The band in 1958 | origin = Los Angeles, California, United States | genre = Rock and roll | years_active = 1957–1965, 2020 | label = Challenge }}

'''The Champs''' were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila".<ref name=uD>{{cite web |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-surf-rock-music/ |title=Best Surf Rock: Sunshine-Drenched Music To Catch A Wave To |last=McGuinness |first=Paul |date=February 9, 2022 |website= |publisher=uDiscover Music |access-date=2022-02-28}}</ref><ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|page=65}}</ref> The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion,<ref name="Larkin50"/> and was formed by studio executives at Autry's Challenge Records<ref name="sealsandcrofts">{{cite web|url=http://www.sealsandcrofts.com/champs.html |title=THE CHAMPS (1958-1965) |website=Sealsandcrofts.com |access-date=2013-10-15}}</ref> to record a B-side for the Dave Burgess single "Train to Nowhere". The intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-side, as "Tequila" went to number one in just three weeks,<ref name="Larkin50"/> and the band became the first group to go to the top spot with an instrumental that was their first release.<ref name="telegram">[http://www.presstelegram.com/passages/ci_4371644] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The song was recorded at Gold Star Studios in fall 1957, and in 1959 won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance.<ref name="Grammy's">{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/awards/1st-annual-grammy-awards |title=1st Annual Grammy Awards |website=Grammy.com |access-date=2014-03-10}}</ref> It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/98 98] | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 | url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/98 }}</ref>

== History == === Success with their 1958 song "Tequila" === "Tequila" was written by saxophonist Danny Flores, although he was credited as "Chuck Rio" because he was under contract to another record label (RPM Records) at the time.<ref name="Larkin50"/> Flores, who was of Mexican heritage and died in September 2006, was known as the "Godfather of Latino rock".<ref name="telegram" /> Flores' "dirty sax" and his low-voiced "Tequila" are the hallmarks of the song.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Vikings linebacker |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-sep-24-me-passings24.s1-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 24, 2008}}</ref> Flores signed away the US rights to the song, but retained worldwide rights until his death.<ref name="ocregister">{{cite web |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/abox/article_1283251.php |title=Danny Flores, 'Tequila' songwriter, dies at 77 |author=Pete Larsen |website=Ocregister.com |access-date=2013-10-15 |archive-date=March 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313052830/http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/entertainment/abox/article_1283251.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The many cover versions of the tune include a jazz version by guitarist Wes Montgomery in 1966. It has also been recorded by rappers A.L.T. and XL Singleton. The Champs also had success with instrumentals such as "Limbo Rock" and "El Rancho Rock". In 1985, "Tequila" featured prominently in the film ''Pee Wee's Big Adventure''. The Champs also recorded a sequel to "Tequila" entitled "Too Much Tequila".

=== 2020 band reunion === In 2020, group leader Burgess resurrected the Champs for a new album, ''Tequila Party'', scheduled for November release. The LP contains 12 newly recorded tracks, including a "party" rendition of their signature hit plus seven new compositions.

==Band members== *Chuck Rio – saxophone, vocals (born Daniel Flores on July 11, 1929, Santa Paula, California, died on September 19, 2006, Huntington Beach, California) *Dave Burgess – rhythm guitar ("Dave Dupree", born on December 3, 1934, Beverly Hills, California, died on October 19, 2025, Dover, Tennessee)<ref>{{cite web |title=Dave Burgess |url=https://www.anglinfuneralhome.com/obituaries/david-burgess?fbclid=IwZnRzaAODO9ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeAJKBAbRcwP_3HC9OzejdassyZi8NWVfQ8rxIhqDAbzbAMpSlYRG6bKfL_nM_aem_r3xKdLEsoIdiZ65PnhplmA |website=Anglin Funeral Home, Inc. |access-date=14 November 2025}}</ref> *Dale Norris – lead guitar (born Springfield, Missouri) *Buddy Bruce – lead guitar (born 1930, Missouri, died 2014, Tulsa, Oklahoma) *Bob Morris – bass guitar (born Hasty, Arkansas) *Benjamin Van Norman – bass (born on July 19, 1928, Ann Arbor, Michigan, died on November 3, 1958, Buena Park, California in a car accident) *Cliff Hills – bass (born 1918, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) *Joe Burnas – bass (born 1923, Chicago, died on April 12, 1999) *Gene Alden – drums (born 1930, South Dakota) *Dean Beard – piano (born on August 31, 1935, Santa Anna, Texas, died on April 4, 1989, in Coleman, Texas) *Jim Seals – saxophone (born on October 17, 1942, Sidney, Texas, died on June 6, 2022) *Dash Crofts – drums (born on August 14, 1938, Cisco, Texas, died on March 25, 2026)

Dave "Snuffy" Smith played bass from late 1959 to 1960. Other members around this time were Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, with Johnny Meeks (originally of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps) on lead guitar.<ref>Dave Smith Oct 1999</ref> Later band members included Glen Campbell,<ref>{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=Glen|title=Rhinestone Cowboy|year=1994|publisher=Villard Books|location=New York|isbn=0-679-41999-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/rhinestonecowboy00camp/page/50 50]|url=https://archive.org/details/rhinestonecowboy00camp/page/50}}</ref> Jerry Cole, Chuck Downs (drums), Rich Grissom, Gary Nieland (drums), Jerry Puckett (guitar), Marvin Siders, and Leon Sanders. The last lineup of the band, in 1964,<ref name="Larkin50"/> included Johnny Trombatore (who co-wrote some songs with Seals and Crofts), Maurice Marshall, bassist Curtis Paul, and Seals' replacement, Keith MacKendrick (who later stayed on saxophone when Seals returned).

In 1969, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts, who met as teenagers in Texas, formed the duo Seals and Crofts, attaining international acclaim for such Top 10 hits as "Summer Breeze" (1972), "Diamond Girl" (1973), and "Get Closer" (1976).

==Singles== {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated ! colspan="3"| Chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Album |- ! style="width:45px;"|US ! style="width:45px;"|US R&B ! style="width:45px;"|UK |- |rowspan="6"| 1958 |"Tequila" b/w "Train To Nowhere" | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 |rowspan="3"|''Go, Champs, Go!'' |- |"El Rancho Rock" | style="text-align:center;"| 30 | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Midnighter" | style="text-align:center;"| 94 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Chariot Rock" b/w "Subway" | style="text-align:center;"| 59 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |rowspan="2"|''Everybody's Rockin''' |- |"Turnpike" b/w "Rockin' Mary" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Beatnik" b/w "Gone Train" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |rowspan="4"|Non-album tracks |- |rowspan="3"|1959 |"Caramba" b/w "Moonlight Bay" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Night Train" b/w "The Rattler" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Sky High" b/w "Double Eagle Rock" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |rowspan="4"| 1960 |"Too Much Tequila" b/w "Twenty Thousand Leagues" (Non-album track) | style="text-align:center;"| 30 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 49 |''Great Dance Hits'' |- |"The Little Matador" b/w "Red Eye" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |rowspan="4"|Non-album tracks |- |"Alley Cat" b/w "Cocoanut Grove" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Tough Train" b/w "The Face" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |rowspan="2"|1961 |"Sombrero" b/w "The Shoddy Shoddy" (from ''Great Dance Hits'') | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Hokey Pokey" b/w "Jumping Bean" (Non-album track) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |rowspan="3"|''Great Dance Hits'' |- |rowspan="6"| 1962 |"Tequila Twist" / | style="text-align:center;"| 99 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Limbo Rock" | style="text-align:center;"| 40 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Experiment In Terror" b/w "La Cucaracha" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |Non-album tracks |- |"I've Just Seen Her" b/w "What A Country" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |''The Champs Play All-American'' |- |"Limbo Dance" b/w "Latin Limbo" | style="text-align:center;"| 97 | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |rowspan="10"|Non-album tracks |- |"That Did It" b/w "Varsity Rock" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |rowspan="4"|1963 |"Nik Nak" b/w "Shades" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Mr. Cool" b/w "3/4 Mash" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Cactus Juice" b/w "Roots" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"San Juan" b/w "Jalisco" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |rowspan="2"|1964 |"Only The Young" b/w "Switzerland" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |"Kahlua" b/w "Fraternity Waltz" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |1965 |"Bright Lights, Big City" b/w "French 75" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- |1966 |"Anna" b/w "Buckaroo" | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | 1987 |"Tequila" b/w "Pee Wee's Dance" (by Joseki Love) | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| 82 | ''Pee Wee's Big Adventure'' (Soundtrack) |}

==See also== *Chicano rock

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p16381|label=The Champs}} * {{discogs artist|The Champs}} * [http://www.history-of-rock.com/champs.htm "The Champs"] on the History of Rock website * {{IMDb name|1843349}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champs, The}} Category:Challenge Records artists Category:Apex Records artists Category:Musical groups from Ventura County, California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American rock and roll music groups Category:American instrumental rock musical groups Category:Challenge Records (1950s) artists