PYRAMIDS Penetration! The Best Of The Pyramids (CD)

Producer Tony Hilder changed the group’s name to The Charades and was listed as producer of Surf N’ Stomp, written by Al Garcia and Ray Jiminez for George Sherlock’s Northridge Records, even though The Charades’ website states that Garcia and Charade Ray Baradat handled production on the 1963 single. Hilder produced their followup for dance legend Fred Astaire’s Ava label later that year, Please Be My Love Tonight.  

Their trademark shaved heads glistening, The Pyramids performed Bikini Drag in the 1964 film ‘Bikini Beach’ while comic Don Rickles wore a giant bird on his head, a guy in an ape suit shared a table with actor Keenan Wynn, and Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello glowed with beautiful youth nearby. The Pyramids’ choreography was as exciting as their music, lead guitarist Skip Mercier doing a mid-solo somersault off the stage. The quintet may have been the only integrated Southern California surf outfit thanks to southpaw guitarist Willy Glover; they were rounded out by saxist Tom Pitman, bassist Steve Leonard, and drummer Ron McMullen. 

Hailing from Long Beach, California, the band formed in high school and made their debut 45, Pyramid’s Stomp, for the Long Beach-headquartered Best label at the close of 1962. Their John Hodge-produced instrumental surf classic Penetration made it to #18 on the Hot 100 in early ’64, again on Best. Despite its exposure in ‘Bikini Beach,’ Bikini Drag, written by surf titans Garry Usher and Roger Christian, didn’t appear on vinyl at the time.