| "Memories of El Monte" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Penguins | ||||
| B-side | "Be Mine" | |||
| Released | April 8, 1963 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1963 Pal Recording Studio, Cucamonga | |||
| Genre | Doo-wop | |||
| Length | 2:36 | |||
| Label | Original Sound | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Frank Zappa, Ray Collins | |||
| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa | |||
| The Penguins singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Memories of El Monte" is a doo-wop song released in 1963 by the Penguins featuring Cleve Duncan. It was written by Frank Zappa and Ray Collins before they were in the Mothers of Invention. The song was first released as Original Sound 27. [2]
In 1960, Art Laboe released one of the first oldies compilations, Memories of El Monte, a collection of songs by bands that used to play at the dances Laboe organized at Legion Stadium in El Monte, California. [3]
At some point in the next few years, Ray Collins visited Frank Zappa at his house at 314 W. G Street in Ontario, California. [4] Frank told him that he and a friend had thought of writing a song entitled "Memories of El Monte." Ray had been to the dances at El Monte Legion Stadium and had played there with tenor saxophonist Chuck Higgins. Ray sat down at Frank's piano, played the "Earth Angel" chord changes and immediately came up with the first lyrics for "Memories of El Monte."
Frank Zappa took the song to Art Laboe, who loved it. [3] Laboe came up with the idea of adding a section that named doo-wop groups and having the Penguins impersonate their songs. [3]
"Memories of El Monte" was recorded at Paul Buff’s Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga, California in 1963. [5] The song was copyrighted on February 20, 1963. [6]
Although the track is credited to the Penguins featuring Cleve Duncan, and Zappa claimed it was recorded by "a bunch of guys from the car wash," it was actually sung by Cleve Duncan of the Penguins, backed by the Viceroys.
The song reminisces about dances at the El Monte Legion Stadium. It consists of two verses, followed by a spoken section listing a number of songs that would be sung, as excerpts, ending with "Earth Angel", followed by another verse.
It was one of the first songs that Frank Zappa wrote that he was able to get released. It is a doo wop style song. Zappa contended that the music that was happening during the 1950s was one of the finest things in American music. [9]
"Memories of El Monte" was popular on the radio and sold well in a variety of markets but it did not chart nationally. [10] It was a local hit, and led Cleve Duncan to reform the Penguins, [3] who had broken up around 1959. It is now considered a perennial favorite, [11] and Art Laboe has played it a lot. [12]
Ray Collins has criticized the recording of the song, saying that, "Art Laboe's always had this thing about people recording R&B ballads too slow, I think he overcompensated and made "Memories of El Monte" too fast." [3]
Before his death in 2012, Ray Collins said he still got twice-yearly royalty checks from the song. [13] Frank Zappa used a $1,500 advance against the royalties of "Grunion Run" (recorded by The Hollywood Persuaders) and "Memories of El Monte" to bail his girlfriend out of jail, [10] and to get an attorney. [14]
"Memories of El Monte" was released five times as a single: [16] [17]
| Year | B-Side | Record Company | Record Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | "Be Mine" | Original Sound | OS-27 | |
| 1963 | "Never Let you Go" by The Five Discs | Chief Records | CH-101 | |
| 1984 | "Heavenly Angel" | Original Sound | OBG-4504 | |
| 1999 | "Heavenly Angel" | Collectables Records | COL-4054 | This is a reissue of the 1984 single |
| "Ballad of a Girl & Boy" by the Question Marks | Million Seller | MS-852 |
"Memories of El Monte" appears on a 1984 live LP from Ace Records called Big Jay McNeely Meets the Penguins, as part of a medley with "Earth Angel". The original version also appears on the following compilations:
A chapter in the book, Generations of youth: youth cultures and history in twentieth-century America by Joe Austin and Michael Willard, is entitled “Memories of El Monte" Intercultural Dance Halls in Post-World War II Los Angeles. [19]
"Memories of El Monte" was used in the movie Colors. [20] It is the name of an annual oldies show in El Monte. [19] It is also the name of a textbook about El Monte. [21]
When the Mothers of Invention played at The Trip, a club in Los Angeles, they got a lot of requests for "Help, I'm a Rock" and "Memories of El Monte." No one danced during these songs because there are spoken sections which would cause the audience to stop dancing and listen. Elmer Valentine wanted people to dance in his club because if someone looked in the door and saw an empty dance floor they wouldn't come in. One night, the Mothers of Invention played the "Help, I'm a Rock" and "Memories of El Monte" for an hour and no one danced. Immediately after that they were selling pop bottles to get money for cigarettes and bologna. [3] [14]
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
The Penguins were an American doo-wop group from Los Angeles, California, that were active during the 1950s and early 1960s. They are known for their 1954 hit song, "Earth Angel", which was one of the first rhythm and blues songs to cross over to the pop charts. The song would ultimately prove to be their only success. The song peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores pop chart but had a three-week run at No. 1 on the R&B chart.
Doo-wop is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres.
El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles.
Freak Out! is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture and the nascent freak scene of Los Angeles. It was also one of the earliest double albums in rock music, as well as the first two-record debut album. In the UK, the album was originally released as an edited single disc.
"Earth Angel", occasionally referred to as "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", is a song by American doo-wop group the Penguins. Produced by Dootsie Williams, it was released as their debut single in October 1954 on Dootone Records. The Penguins had formed the year prior and recorded the song as a demo in a garage in South Central Los Angeles. The song's origins lie in multiple different sources, among them songs by Jesse Belvin, Patti Page, and the Hollywood Flames. Its authorship was the subject of a bitter legal dispute with Williams in the years following its release.
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets is the fourth album by the Mothers of Invention, and fifth overall by Frank Zappa, released under the alias Ruben and the Jets. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MGM Records, it is a concept album, influenced by 1950s doo-wop and rock and roll. The album's concept deals with a fictitious Chicano doo-wop band called Ruben & the Jets, represented by the cover illustration by Cal Schenkel, which depicts the Mothers of Invention as anthropomorphic dogs. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, We're Only in It for the Money and Uncle Meat.
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in May 1982 and digitally remastered in 1991. It features five tracks composed by Zappa, and one song, "Valley Girl", co-written with his daughter, Moon Zappa, then a teen, who provided the spoken monologue mocking Valley girls, including phrases like "Gag me with a spoon!".
The Mothers of Invention was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
For Real! is an album by Ruben and the Jets, and the debut of musician Rubén Guevara Jr.'s new lineup, after the group name had previously been used as an alias of The Mothers of Invention in 1968. Released in 1973, For Real! was produced by Frank Zappa, who wrote the first track and played guitar on the second track. The album consists of blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll music.
Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968). Later, musician Rubén Guevara Jr. continued the band with his own lineup. Guevara's "Jets" recorded two albums, For Real! (1973) and Con Safos (1974).
Art Laboe was an American radio host, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner. He was generally credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies".
Ray Collins was an American musician.
As an icon of counterculture and underground rock the American rock musician and composer Frank Zappa has been featured and referenced in various different media.
The Solitaires were an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1957 hit single "Walking Along". Although they never had a national chart hit, they were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s.
The Four Deuces were an American rhythm and blues vocal quartet, formed in the mid-1950s in Salinas, California. The band was started by lead singer Luther McDaniel, and recorded several songs before they broke up in 1959. While active, the Four Deuces had moderate but short-lived popularity, mainly along the West Coast, mostly due to the frequent radio airplay of their hit song, "W-P-L-J."
You Are What You Is is a 1981 double album by American musician Frank Zappa. His 34th album, it consists of three musical suites which encompass pop, doo-wop, jazz, hard rock, reggae, soul, blues, new wave and country. The album's lyrics satirize a number of topics, including hippies, socialites, fashion, narcotics use, cultural appropriation, religion, televangelists and the military draft.
Cucamonga is a compilation album consisting of songs recorded with the involvement of Frank Zappa and Paul Buff at Pal Recording Studio in 1963-1964. In 2004, Rhino Records re-released the album with extra tracks and a new track order, after acquiring Del-Fi. The two songs performed by Paul Buff and the two songs performed by the Pauls have no Zappa involvement.
The El Monte Legion Stadium—also known as Legion Stadium, El Monte Union High School Auditorium, El Monte Auditorium, El Monte Gymnasium, Old El Monte Gym, and The Pink Elephant—was a 3,500-seat multi-purpose indoor venue in El Monte, California.
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