The Piltdown Men McDonald's Cave - Piltdown Rides Again (7inch, 45rpm, SC)

The Piltdown Men

The Piltdown Men were an anonymous group of Capitol sessionmen, produced by Ed Cobb and Lincoln Mayorga, who doubled as the Link-Eddy Combo. While 'Bronto-saurus Stomp' was a small hit in America in 1960, the unit were much more popular in Britain, having Top Twenty hits with 'McDonald's Cave', `Piltdown Rides Again' and `Goodnight Mrs Flintstone'. Symphonic arrangements (Mayorga was an accomplished classical pianist) and fat, walloping saxes combined to create a series of epic instru-mentals meant to be played really loud.

The flips were equally good, particularly 'Bubbles In The Tar', Mayorga's neanderthal workout on a Jack Dupree-Fats Domino theme. Cobb, at one time a member of the Four Preps, wrote 'Every Little Bit Hurts' (Brenda Holloway), 'Dirty Water' (the Standells), and produced various San Jose rock groups for Tower, Uptown and his own label, Sunburst. Mayorga played piano on many hits including 'Love Letters' (Ketty Lester).