https://youtube/watch?v=HCre91Q6qkM Chuck Rio (Tenor Saxophone) was born Danny Flores in Santa Paula, California. His parents migrated from Mexico in the 1920s. “Little” Danny Flores was playing guitar in church at age five and was singing and playing with a Mexican trio by age fourteen. In the late 1940s he moved to Long Beach and formed a group called the 3-D Ranch Boys. They played local bars at night and were in great demand as studio musicians. In 1957 Flores teamed up with guitarist Dave Burgess, head of A&R and the first artist signed to Gene Autry’s Challenge label. They recorded “Train To Nowhere” and used Flores’s band to record it. They needed a “B” side of the record so they used a song that Danny wrote. They didn’t have a title for the song yet, but everybody knew that Flores drank a lot of tequila and one of the musicians said, “Call it Tequila,” so they did. Flores also introduced a technique to a new generation of sax players when he added the “flutter tongue” to the melody. The studio band consisted of Flores, Gene Alden (drummer), Buddy Bruce (guitar), Cliff Hills (bass) and Dave Burgess (guitar). Challenge told Flores that he would have to change his name because he was signed to Modern Record Company as a vocalist under his real name Danny Flores. So he took his mother’s middle name (Carlos) and his father’s middle name (Del Rio), and Challenge signed him up as an instrumentalist. However, as soon as “Tequila” was released, Modern went after Rio. He said one word on the record—“Tequila!”—and they said that was vocalizing! The touring band was named the Champs, after Autry’s horse, Champion. “Tequila” is a timeless classic and has become an international standard. In 1957, “Tequila” received the first Grammy Award ever awarded for the best R&B category. Chuck Rio, age 77, passed away on September 19, 2006 of pneumonia in Westminster, Calif and resided in Orange County, California, and continued to perform with his wife Sharee, who is also a singer and musician. Chuck’s appearances include the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, Angel Stadium, Lake Tahoe, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan Show, Dick Clark Show, and the Al Jarvis Show. “Tequila” has been used in movies such as Pepe, Overboard, Peggy Sue Got Married, Ninja Turtles, The Freshman, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and many radio commercials. (2006—I spoke with Danny’s wife several times this year. According to Sharee, Danny had Alzheimer’s disease. He was no longer able to perform but really appreciated his “fans” staying in touch.) Discography: 1998 The Tequila Man—Ace Other members of the band included: Buddy Bruce —“Tequila” lead guitar. Dave Burgess — rhythm guitar — Lancaster, California. Dale Norris — lead guitar — Springfield, Mississippi. Cliff Hills — “Tequila” upright bass. Chuck Rio — sax — Rankin, Texas — replaced by Jimmy Seals eight months after “Tequila” was recorded. “Van” Norman — upright bass — replaced by Bobby Morris — Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gene Alden — drums — Cisco, Texas — replaced by Dash Crofts. “Hi John, Thanks a million for the copy of the book that you sent. I really enjoyed reading the story about Danny, except for the fact that he died Sept. 19, 2006. You’re a great writer and have alot of talent and knowledge. I also enjoyed reading about the other “Sax Greats”. I hope all is well and that you are doing wonderful, as well as your book. Stay in touch. Love to hear from you!” Love, Sharee Flores 1/10/2010 Additional corrections; 1) Dave Burgess wasn’t lead guitar but rhythm guitar; lead was Dale Norris, but not at first, in “Tequila” recording lead guitar was Buddy Bruce, Norris came months later. 2) “Ben” Norman was “Van” Norman and he wasn’t on bass guitar, but on upright bass (quite sure); anyway, he wasn’t into “Tequila”, that time bass player was Cliff Hills. Regards Posted by Maurizio on April 14, 2008
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 13:21:37 +0000
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