S.O.D. "Tequila" by The Champs
1/22/2016 With all of the passings lately, how about something fun. We'll go with the song for now, your choice to brave the drink. This is a 1958 Latin flavor release with a lot of history. The date was December 23, 1957. A recording session in Hollywood, California for the label, Challenge Records was arranged by rhythm guitarist and vocalist, Dave Burgess. The label's owner and cofounder was none other then the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. Four songs were recorded during the session, three written by Burgess and one by Danny Flores of the Flores Trio. He was on keyboards and saxophone that day and wrote "Tequila" which started out as only a jam by the trio. The other three members joined in and the tune ended up as the B side to "Train to Nowhere," also recorded that day.
Once the song was played on the radio, it became an epidemic and moved quickly to #1 on the Billboard chart. The group did not call themselves The Champs until after this session occurred.
Yes the song has been covered more than 30 times by such groups as Dizzy Gillespie, Hot Butter, Sublime and George Benson. It has also seen its share of media spots including in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's," playing in the background of the party that Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) was hosting.