Danny Flores

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Daniel "Danny" Flores (born July 11, 1929 in Santa Paula , California, † September 19, 2006 in Huntington Beach , California), stage name Chuck Rio, was an American rock 'n' roll musician. He composed and played the number one hit Tequila of his band The Champs on the saxophone .

Live and act

Danny Flores came from the Chicano community of the greater Los Angeles area. His musical role models were the saxophonists Chuck Higgins , Big Jay McNeely and Joe Houston , whose R&B style he picked up and enriched with the Latino elements of his family environment. With his first band, the RD Ranch Boys, he earned the nickname "The Mexican Hillbilly" in local clubs. He also played guitar and piano, with which he also hired himself as a studio musician. So in November 1957 he played the piano on Dorsey Burnette's rockabilly title Bertha Lou .

Also in 1957 he founded The Champs with guitarist Dave Burgess , bassist Cliff Hills and drummer Gene Alden under his pseudonym "Chuck Rio" . The Champs needed a B-side for the single release of the Burgess composition Train to Nowhere . The choice fell on an instrumental for which the band came up with the title Tequila . Flores not only played the roaring saxophone, but also gave the vocal interjections “Tequila!”. In 1958, the B-side reached the top of the American Billboard charts and became Chuck Rio's signature tune, which he would perform at every suitable opportunity for the next 40 years. Although the Champs suffered the fate of a one-hit wonder , Chuck Rio was considered the "Godfather of Latino Rock" due to the world hit. However, Flores could not make the expected profit from the title, as he sold his authoring rights in the 1960s. Only the income from the overseas licenses ensured a livelihood for him and his family. Flores died in 2006, leaving behind a wife, seven children and 15 grandchildren.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steven Loza: Barrio Rhythm. Mexican American Music in Los Angeles . University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Chicago 1993, ISBN 0-252-06288-4 , pp. 82 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Flores, Danny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flores, Daniel (real name); Chuck Rio (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rock 'n' roll saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Santa Paula , California
DATE OF DEATH September 19, 2006
Place of death Huntington Beach , California