SAM THE SHAM AND THE PHARAOHS
According to Wikipedia, the Farfisa Organ first showed up in the music of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, who had a big hit in 1965 with “Wooly Bully”. The song is about lead singer Domingo Samudio’s cat; I was 14 when the song came out, and there was a rumor among the kids I hung out with that a “wooly bully” was a vagina. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs were one of the early “Tex-Mex” bands that brought Latin rhythms to rock and roll. I don’t remember where exactly (or why I still remember it so well after all this time, for that matter) – there really weren’t a lot of news outlets for rock news and trivia in the mid-1960’s – but I have never forgotten something that I read once about this band: “Sam the Sham has been changing Pharaohs [bandmembers] the way other people change their shirts”. They had one more big hit, a really clever novelty song called “Li’l Red Riding Hood”; I have been hearing that one on a TV commercial lately. (December 2012) * * * Near the end of 1958, the Big Bopper decided to film three of his hit songs at a local nightclub: “Chantilly Lace”, “Big Bopper’s Wedding” and “Little Red Riding Hood” (not the same song as the Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs hit, “Li’l Red Riding Hood”).
(June 2013/1)
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