Charles Ellsworth "Pee Wee" Russell was an American jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but he eventually focused solely on clarinet.
The Champs are an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by studio executives at Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-side for the Dave Burgess single, "Train to Nowhere". The intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-side, as "Tequila" went to No. 1 in just three weeks, and the band became the first group to go to the top spot with an instrumental that was their first release. The song was recorded at Gold Star Studios in fall 1957, and in 1959 won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.
"Baby Elephant Walk" is a song composed in 1961 by Henry Mancini for the 1962 film Hatari! Lyrics by Hal David were not used in the film version. The instrumental earned Mancini a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement in 1963.
"Dance to the Music" is a 1967 hit single by soul/funk/rock band Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic/CBS Records label. It was the first single by the band to reach the Billboard Pop Singles Top 10, peaking at #8 and the first to popularize the band's sound, which would be emulated throughout the black music industry and dubbed "psychedelic soul". It was later ranked #223 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Smoke Two Joints" is a song originally written by The Toyes, who performed it in traditional Reggae style and released it in 1983. According to The Toyes, "one fine fall day on a small island" of Oahu in Hawaii, two of the band members, Mawg and Sky, were sitting under a large banyan tree on Kuhio Beach, "tokin' on some sweet bud & jammin' on a rootsy reggae funky town" when they conceived the song "Smoke Two Joints."
"Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" – by Patti Page.
"We're Going to Be Friends" is a song by American alternative rock band White Stripes from their album White Blood Cells. It was released in 2002 and tells the story of meeting a new friend at the beginning of a school year.
"Deep in the Heart of Texas" is an American popular song about Texas.
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album Slayed? It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 1 in the UK, giving the band their third number one single, and remained in the charts for ten weeks. In the United States, the song reached No. 76.
Daniel Flores, also known by his stage name Chuck Rio, was an American Rock and roll saxophonist. He is best remembered for his self-penned song "Tequila", which he recorded with The Champs, the band of which he was a member at the time, and which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry and former Columbia Records A&R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short-lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958.
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart. The complete recording, more than seven minutes long, was included on an album of the same name.
"Cielito Lindo" is a Mexican folk song or copla popularized in 1882 by Mexican author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés. It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word cielo means "sky" or "heaven", it is also a term of endearment comparable to "sweetheart" or "honey". Cielito, the diminutive, can be translated as "sweetie"; lindo means "cute", "lovely" or "pretty". The song is commonly known by words from the refrain, "Canta y no llores", or simply as the "Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay song".
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" is an African-American spiritual song that originated during the period of slavery but was not published until 1867. The song is well known and many cover versions of it have been recorded by artists such as Marian Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Harry James, Paul Robeson, and Sam Cooke among others.
Planeta Kumbia is the second studio album by Mexican-American cumbia group A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia All Starz and the sixth studio album by Mexican-American musician A.B. Quintanilla. It was released on March 4, 2008 by EMI Latin. Production on the album was handled by A.B. Quintanilla and Luigi Giraldo.
"Darktown Strutters' Ball" is a popular song by Shelton Brooks, published in 1917. The song has been recorded many times and is considered a popular and jazz standard. There are many variations of the title, including "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball", "The Darktown Strutters' Ball", and just "Strutters' Ball".
Irvin Salinas, known professionally as Pee Wee, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He was a former singer for the band Kumbia Kings and was a lead singer for Kumbia All Starz, both created by A.B. Quintanilla. In early 2008, he left Kumbia All Starz to become a solo artist. His debut studio album Yo Soy was released on August 11, 2009.
"Bonaparte's Retreat" is the title of several related songs. Although there are several different fiddle tunes titled "Bonaparte's Retreat," the one that is most common is an American old-time tune dating back to at least the late 1800s and probably well before that. In 1950, American country music artist Pee Wee King recorded a modified version of that tune, with lyrics added, which he also called "Bonaparte's Retreat". King's version has since been covered by many country artists.
"The Chicken" or simply "Chicken" is an instrumental funk tune composed by Pee Wee Ellis that was the B-side to James Brown's 1969 single "The Popcorn". The tune gained greater exposure with versions by jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius.
Dave Burgess is an American guitar player, singer, songwriter, and band leader of The Champs.
