Pat Vegas

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Pat Vegas
Pat Vegas at L.A. prepares for its first Indigenous Peoples Day (cropped).jpg
Vegas speaks in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day in Los Angeles in 2018
Background information
Birth namePatrick Morales Vasquez-Vegas
Born (1941-03-17) March 17, 1941 (age 83)
Coalinga, California
Origin Fresno, California
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, vocals, drums
Years active1961–present
Member of Redbone
Formerly ofThe Sharks, The Avantis, Pat & Lolly Vegas

Patrick Vasquez-Vegas (born March 17, 1941) is a Native American musician of Yaqui/Shoshone descent, vocalist, writer, and producer of Redbone, known for their hit singles "Come and Get Your Love", "The Witch Queen of New Orleans", "Maggie", and "We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee". He has played in numerous ensembles which include Pat and Lolly Vegas, The Avantis, and Redbone. Vegas, along with his Redbone bandmates, was featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian for being the first rock/Cajun group of Native American ancestry to have a No. 1 single.

Contents

Background

Pat Vegas was born in Coalinga, California. [1] He was originally known as Patrick Vasquez-Vegas. Both Pat and his brother Candido "Lolly" Vasquez-Vegas played in local bands. They changed their name to Vegas when they came to Los Angeles in 1960 to work as musicians. [2] Vegas started out as a member of the Shindig house band. Later he performed with his brother Lolly as The Vegas Brothers. After that they formed the group Redbone [3] which had the 1974 hit, "Come and Get Your Love". [4]

Career

In 1961, Vegas released a single, "I Wanna Be A Movie Star". The following year, "That Smile" b/w "The Best Girl in the World" was released on the Unity label. [5]

Pat and Lolly led a band called The Avantis. The line-up included drummer Mike Kowalski and guitarist Danny Hamilton. They became a support act for the Beach Boys. [6] [7] The Avantis worked closely with Judd Hamilton (Older brother of Dan Hamilton [8] ) who was the arranger and co-composer on their records. [9] [10] In 1963, they had a minor hit with "Wax 'Em Down". [11] [12] On 12 October 1963 the record reached 36 in the Canadian charts. [13] [14]

In 1969, along with his brother Lolly, rhythm guitarist Tony Bellamy and drummer Pete DePoe, he formed the band Redbone, which produced the commercially successful singles "Maggie", "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" and "Come And Get Your Love". [15]

Later years

Vegas was featured in the 2017 film Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, a documentary which explores the influence that Native Americans had on rock ’n’ roll. [16]

In April 2018, CBC Music announced that Vegas as well as Ansley Simpson and Indian City were to perform at the CBC Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg in May. [17]

Vegas was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in Redbone. [18]

Vegas has four children.

Solo discography

Albums

Singles

TitleLabel and catYearNotes #
"I Wanna Be A Movie Star" // "I've Traveled The Whole Wide World"Lute L-60141961
"That Smile" // "The Best Girl in the World"Unity CP-21131962 [5]
"The Giggler" // "Green Tomatoes" (as 'Pat & The Wildcats')Crusader C-1001964

Related Research Articles

Lolly may refer to:

Redbone or red bone, may refer to:

Redbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 by brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas. All members during their commercial peak and success were of Mexican American and Native American heritage, which was heavily reflected in their songs, stage costumes, and album art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Kowalski</span> American drummer, percussionist, musicologist (born 1944)

Mike Kowalski is an American drummer, percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as a longtime touring and session drummer for the rock band the Beach Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come and Get Your Love</span> 1974 single by Redbone

"Come and Get Your Love" is a song by the American rock band Redbone. The song was originally released as a promo track under the name "Hail" and was later featured on their fifth album, Wovoka (1973), under its current name. The song was released as the album's first single the following year. Written and produced by band members Pat and Lolly Vegas, it is one of the band's most successful singles. It made them the first Native American band to reach the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number five. The song later appeared on many "greatest hits" albums released by the band, as well as on numerous compilation albums of the 1970s. A cutout style-animated music video was released in 2020.

<i>Redbone</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Redbone

Redbone is the first (double) album by Native American rock band Redbone. In Europe it was also released as a single record. The double album contains 4 instrumentals, 3 of which are extended.

<i>Message from a Drum</i> 1971 studio album by Redbone

Message from a Drum is the third album by Native American rock band Redbone released in 1971. It was released in Europe under the name The Witch Queen of New Orleans with the same track list and a different cover. The CD version released in the early 2000s has the European cover and title of the original LP and includes the single version of "Chant: 13th Hour" as a bonus track.

<i>Already Here</i> 1972 studio album by Redbone

Already Here is the fourth album by Native American/Mexican American band Redbone.

<i>Wovoka</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Redbone

Wovoka is the fifth album by the American rock band Redbone. It was recorded between June and October 1973, and released in November 1973 on Epic Records. The album was produced by brothers Pat Vegas and Lolly Vegas, in addition to sound engineer Alex Kazanegras. It was the last Redbone album to feature Peter DePoe on drums. Wovoka was recorded with the help of multiple session musicians, including several additional backing vocalists. All main members of the band notably contributed to vocals. As with the band's other releases, Wovoka features songs with Native American themes; each of the band members at the time had either Native American or Mexican American heritage. The album is named after the Paiute religious leader Wovoka, who founded the ghost dance movement.

<i>Beaded Dreams Through Turquoise Eyes</i> 1974 studio album by Redbone

Beaded Dreams Through Turquoise Eyes is the sixth studio album by the Mexican American/Native American funk rock band Redbone. It was released on Epic Records In October 1974, and was met with mixed reviews. It was co-produced by the brothers Pat Vegas and Lolly Vegas. It contains five songs on each side, and six extra tracks when it was re-released on CD in 2013. The record charted on the US Billboard 200 in 1974, peaking at number 174. The record is just over a half hour long. All four members of the band contributed to vocals, and an additional three backing vocalists were recruited for this project. Several members contributed to various percussion, and three additional personnel members were recruited for string arrangements.

<i>Cycles</i> (Redbone album) 1977 studio album by Redbone

Cycles is the seventh album by Native American/Mexican American band Redbone, released on the RCA label in 1977. The lyrics on this album have substantially less to do with Native American history and traditions in comparison to many of the band's previous efforts and the music employs a more disco-inspired feel with longer compositions to match.

<i>The Very Best of Redbone</i> 1991 compilation album by Redbone

The Very Best of Redbone is one of several compilation albums by American band Redbone which includes their 1973 European hit "We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee".

<i>Redbone Live</i> 1994 live album by Redbone

Redbone Live is a live album by American band Redbone. The album was recorded live on tour in 1977, while opening for War, Average White Band and Tower of Power.

Peter DePoe, also known as Last Walking Bear, is an American rock musician who was the drummer for the Native American band Redbone. Born in Neah Bay, Washington in 1943, his tribal ancestors are Southern Cheyenne, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Rogue River/Siletz. DePoe is also of French and German descent. He first played with Jimi Hendrix in Seattle's local taverns as a young man and moved to California and became Redbone's drummer in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Witch Queen of New Orleans</span> 1971 single by Redbone

"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is a 1971 song by Redbone. The single was released from Redbone's third album Message from a Drum, which is also titled The Witch Queen of New Orleans in its European release. The song peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 21 in the United States.

Candido Albelando "Lolly" Vasquez-Vegas was a Native American musician of Yaqui, Shoshone and Mexican heritage. He played in numerous ensembles with his brother Pat, including Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Avantis, and Redbone.

Judd Douglas Hamilton is an American musician, former band leader, writer, film producer, actor, inventor. He recorded for the Dolton, Liberty, American International, United Artists and RCA Victor labels. He contributed to the music of California, and to surf music from his involvement with the T-Bones and 1960s surf groups, the Avantis and the Ventures. During the 1960s, he was part of the groups Judd Hamilton & the Furys, The Marketts and The T-Bones. As a film and television producer, he was the executive producer and co-screenwriter for the films Maniac and The Last Horror Film, and the executive producer for The 7th Annual Sci-Fi Awards, a 90-minute TV special. His brother was Dan Hamilton. He was married to English actress Caroline Munro for some years.

Daniel Robert Hamilton was an American musician and singer. He was a member of The T-Bones with his brother Judd Hamilton and later formed the soft-rock group Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, performing lead vocals on the band's two biggest hits, "Don't Pull Your Love" and "Fallin' in Love". He was also a composer who, in addition to co-writing "Fallin' in Love", was the sole songwriter for the Ventures hit song "Diamond Head".

The Avantis were a surf group from Los Angeles, California, that was active from around 1963 to 1964. They recorded some singles on a couple of labels. They are known for their 1963 surf rock instrumental, "Wax 'Em Down".

<i>Peace Pipe</i> (Redbone album) 2005 studio album by Redbone

Peace Pipe is the eighth and final studio album by Native American rock band Redbone. It was initially released in 2005 under the name One World and was re-titled and re-released in 2009. The album was released in digital format in 2012, along with a music video for the track "One World".

References

  1. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet – Page 157 Redbone
  2. ↑ Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop, edited by Jeff Berglund, Jan Johnson, Kimberli Lee – Page 99 REDBONE
  3. ↑ Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe, By Tara Murtha – Page 46
  4. ↑ Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era, By Bruce Pollock – Page 60 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE
  5. 1 2 45Cat – Pat Vegas – Discography
  6. ↑ 45Cat – The Avantis (Los Angeles) – Discography, sleeve back notes for Sundazed / Chancellor S 287
  7. ↑ Written in Music, 22 February 2017 – Pat ‘Redbone’ Vegas heeft nog steeds een droom – Ans van Heck
  8. ↑ AllMusic – Dan Hamilton, Biography by Bruce Eder
  9. ↑ Walk-Don't Run – The Story of the Ventures, By Del Halterman – Page 102
  10. ↑ 45Cat – The Avantis (Los Angeles) – Discography
  11. ↑ Ask Mr Music – FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2003
  12. ↑ Walk-Don't Run – The Story of the Ventures, By Del Halterman – Page 102
  13. ↑ Cashbox, October 5, 1963 – Page 13 MR. DEALER-MR. ONE STOP MR RACK JOBBER look what ABC PARAMOUNT just cooked up !
  14. ↑ Vancouver Top 40 Radio – C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY, WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 1963
  15. ↑ Redbone's Official Website – Redbone Forever Archived May 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Slate, August 18, 2017 – MOVIES, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World – By Jack Hamilton
  17. ↑ CBC, April 24, 2018 – World-class artists round out performers for 2018 CBC Indigenous Music Awards
  18. ↑ ChrisD.ca, May 19, 2018 – Entertainment » Musicians Celebrated at Indigenous Music Awards

Further reading

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