The Routers

Last updated

The Routers
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres Pop, surf rock
Years active1962–1970
Labels Warner Bros. Records

The Routers were an American instrumental group in the early 1960s. Their biggest commercial success was in September 1962 with the instrumental single "Let's Go (Pony)", which reached No. 19 on the Billboard chart.

Contents

Career

Formed in 1961 by Michael Z. Gordon, [1] [2] the Routers' [3] recordings sometimes used session musicians in addition to the actual group, with the exception of Gordon, who also formed another successful group, the Marketts. [4] Gordon composed the award-winning composition, "Out of Limits" [5] with the Marketts. Gordon played on almost all of the Routers and Marketts sessions.[ citation needed ] The original line-up of the Routers was Al Kait, lead guitar; Lynn Frasier, tenor saxophone; Michael Zane Gordon, rhythm guitar, vocals; Scott Walker (then recording as Scott Engel), bass guitar; and Randy Viers, drums. [6]

The Routers' first release in September 1962 was the guitar-driven instrumental "Let's Go (Pony)", [3] which reached No. 19 on the Billboard chart. Its infectious "clap clap clap-clap-clap clap-clap-clap-clap Let's Go!" chant became a favorite of cheerleaders and crowds worldwide. The songwriting credits are given to local singer Lanny Duncan and his brother Robert Duncan. Lanny Duncan had previously recorded the original demo of the song in 1961 as a member of the Starlighters, featuring Tony Valentino on guitar and Jody Rich on bass. The demo was recorded in Glendale with engineer Eddie Brackett. [7] [8] Valentino and Rich went on to form the Standells in 1962.

The Routers' [3] recording was instigated by record producer Joe Saraceno and his co-producer and composer Michael Z. Gordon, [9] who also went on to compose "Apologize" by Ed Ames. [10] Like many pop instrumentals recorded in Los Angeles, California, at this time, such as those by B. Bumble and the Stingers, "Let's Go (Pony)" involved Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Gordon (guitar),[ citation needed ] Plas Johnson (saxophone) and Earl Palmer (drums), and probably with Plas’ brother Ray Johnson on bass guitar.

Later Routers recordings were also written by Gordon, [9] including the songs "A-ooga" and "Big Band". Their recordings continued to be issued up to 1964 but with less commercial success, and involved Gordon (guitar),[ citation needed ] Leon Russell (piano) and Hal Blaine (drums). The same group also recorded over the same period as the Marketts. Various studio and touring versions of the band also included Gordon, Randy Viers, and Scott Engel (later of the Walker Brothers).

The band appeared in the 1964 film Surf Party . [11]

Members

Original line-up
Later sessionmen used

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

YearTitlePeak chart
positions		Record Label B-side Album
US
Pop 		UK
1962"Let's Go (Pony)"1932 Warner Bros. "Mashy"Let’s Go! With the Routers
1963"Make It Snappy"——"Half Time" (BB No. 115)
"Sting Ray"50—"Snap Happy"
"A-Ooga"——"Big Band"Non-album singles
"Snap, Crackle and Pop"——"Amoeba"
1964"Crack Up"——"Let's Dance"
"Stamp and Shake"——"Ah-Ya"
1966"The Time Funnel"—— RCA Victor Walkin' Back
1973"Superbird"—— Mercury "Sack of Woe"Superbird

References

  1. ↑ "Pipeline Instrumental Review 66: Michael z. Gordon of the Marketts and The Routers". Pipeline: Instrumental Review. Pipeline Magazine. January 2005. ISSN   1470-8353.
  2. ↑ "IMDb Pro: The Routers Business Details". Pro.imdb.com. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Routers". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The Marketts". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Repertoire - Title". Archived from the original on November 24, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "The Routers". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Duncan Brothers". Soulfuldetroit.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ Burgess, Chuck (2007). Love That Dirty Water! The Standells and an Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem . Rounder Books. ISBN   978-1-57940-146-7.
  9. 1 2 "Michael Z. Gordon". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ "BMI | Repertoire Search". Repertoire.bmi.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  11. ↑ Crowley, Kent, Surf Beat: Rock 'N' Roll's Forgotten Revolution, Backbeat Books, 2011, p. 169, ISBN   9781617130076
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.