THE CHAMPS, “TEQUILA”

Welcome to The Minute of Spin, a bite-sized music segment in which we explore a single song that came to define an entire band. Unfortunately, we can't afford the rights to the songs we spotlight, so you won't actually hear the song. But you're welcome to listen to it here.

Certain songs have their time, then disappear into history.  Others come back into vogue, due to a resurgence of interest in the artist, or because it’s the right time of year.  Still others find new life because of movies.  In 1985, Tim Burton’s film “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” introduced a new generation – including yours truly – to a song from 1958 that had, in its time, been something of a sensation.  In the film, hapless Pee Wee Herman stumbles into a biker bar, and is trying to make a phone call when he’s suddenly threatened with extinction.  Pee Wee’s solution?  Throw a quarter in the jukebox and jump up on the bar.  The song that plays? inspiring a bizarre dance routine that eventually wins over the bikers?  “Tequila” by The Champs.

I’m willing to bet there aren’t many #1 singles that were written in ten minutes.  Yet that’s the legend behind “Tequila.”  Originally intended as a throwaway B-side to a song by The Champs’ guitarist Dave Burgess called “Train to Nowhere,” “Tequila” was literally written on the fly.  Luckily, the band had saxophonist Danny Flores on hand, whose wailing drove the song all the way to #1, making The Champs the first band to debut in that position with an instrumental.

The Champs began with Burgess, who was under contract to L.A.-based Challenge Records, owned at the time by singing cowboy Gene Autry.  After Burgess and his session men cut “Tequila,” they decided they needed a name, so they took it from Autry’s horse, Champion.  Aside from topping the charts, “Tequila” would sell a million copies and take home the 1959 Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording.

The Champs stuck around until 1965, by which point they’d almost completely revamped their lineup, which came to include such soon-to-be’s as Glen Campbell, Delaney Bramlett, Jim Seals, and Dash Crofts.  And yes, those are the guys who went on to become Seals & Crofts.  But that’s another story.