Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs The MGM Singles (CD)

(2011/SUNDAZED) 28 MGM masters! digipac

First ever collection of 60s MGM singles-A & B sides! These days, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs are best remembered for such infectious 60s hits as Wooly Bully and Lil Red Riding Hood, and for the sartorial splendor of turbaned frontman/organist Sam the Sham (ne Domingo Samudio) and his bandmates. But the one-of-a-kind Memphis-by-way-of-Texas quintet produced a large and highly original body of R&B/blues/Tex-Mex/garage tunes that established them as one of the greatest singles bands of the 1960s. While the bands wacky humor and flamboyant visual image may have threatened to brand them as a novelty act, their raw exuberance, rootsy grit and playfully subversive streak made it clear that Sam and his Pharaohs were the genuine article.

Throughout the second half of the 60s, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs turned out a lengthy string of killer seven-inchers. Many of those singles boasted non-album B-sides that were as memorable as their better-known A-sides. Now, for the first time ever, Sundazed Music has gathered both sides of every one of the bands original MGM Records singles on these lovingly packaged compact disc collection. The sizzling set includes such immortal Pharaohs classics as Wooly Bully, Lil Red Riding Hood, Ju Ju Hand, Ring Dang Doo, Red Hot, The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin, How Do You Catch a Girl and (Im in With) The Out Crowd, along with an amazing assortment of rare non-album B-sides, solo efforts and side projects.

These long-out-of-print gems have been sourced from the original MGM masters and sound better than ever!!! "I just returned home to cold, frigid Boston from a month in the California desert and the Sierra Nevada to find my copy of your new double vinyl Sam the Sham release, along with the accompanying CD awaiting me at my office. I rushed home from work, beelined it to the basement to clean the LPs (yes, even new albums get the treatment!), and proceeded to listen to the entire set twice (that's 64 tracks). I was and am amazed at the great sound and the near perfection of your set. I know these old favorites like the back of my hand, but with the better sound (especially on the formerly 45rpm only releases) and the inspired concept of tracking each single A & B in chronological order, I almost felt like I was hearing them for the first time--they sounded THAT fresh! Everything about the packaging is top notch, too: the inner gatefold sleeve layout with the Billboard and Cashbox adverts is great; love Scott's notes; the bold typeface used on the front cover, paired with the shot of the band playing "Monkey See, Monkey Do" shouts out as loudly as "uno, dos, tres, cuatro."

The rear cover with its record labels shows just how prolific the band was. Thanks for including the Sham-ettes' singles as bonus tracks on the LPs. This vinyl release blows all previous compilations out of the water. The Rhino CD had a different focus and was fine for its time, but your superior concept, packaging and sound should make you and your entire team very proud. I hope Sam is as enthusiastic about this project as this booster is. Just thought I'd let you know. Now I've got to get back to some serious fun listening." -Robert Kruse Sam the Sham Archivist

For Domingo Samudio, coming up with a Top Five hit was as easy as "uno, dos, one, two, tres, cuatro." Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs broke out of obscurity in Texas to place "Wooly Bully" at the top of the charts in 1965. Domingo Samudio (his friends called him Sam) always wanted to be in show business. At his Dallas high school, he formed a rock-and-roll band with Trini Lopez who later scored a Top Five hit with "If I Had a Hammer" in 1963. After graduation, and following a four-year stint in the Navy, Sam studied classical music, moonlighting as a rock and roller in the evenings. The rigid regimen of college wasn't for him, and, after two years, he quit to become a carny. But the draw of music was stronger than the lure of carnival life, and soon he was back in the clubs, playing keyboard for a variety of bands. In 1963, he decided to start his own group. He needed a catchy name. One night, a musician gave Sam a new nickname. Watching Sam gyrate around the stage when he sang, the guy called him a sham artist — R & B slang for someone who dances, shaking his hips as he performs. Sam the Sham — he liked the sound of it. It was a good start, but he still needed a name for the backup musicians. A trip to the local bijou solved that problem. Taking in Me Ten Commandments, the band members thought the king of Egypt looked rather hip. That next day, they became the Pharaohs, investing a few dollars in brightly colored material to make flamboyant Arab-inspired stage clothes.

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' good-time shows quickly gained a following in the Texas clubs, and a handful of independent single releases fared well locally. In 1964, MGM Records came calling, offering to bring Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' rollicking sound to a larger audience. Sam had the perfect song for the first single. It was a dance song, featuring a heavy beat provided by drummer Jerry Patterson. With words based on "The Hully Gully," a popular dance that had been the subject of several hits ("Baby Hully Gully" by the Olympics, "Hully Gully Again" by Little Caesar and the Romans and "Hully Gully Baby" by the Dovells), Sam was sure he had a song that couldn't miss. In the studio, just minutes before they were set to record, an MGM executive notified the band that MGM wasn't interested in releasing another "Hully Gully" record. They would have to come up with something else. Sam counted in the band, making up new lyrics on the spot.

Wooly Bully was the name of his cat and fit the meter of "Hully Gully," so he started from there. He improvised a whole new set of lyrics as the band recorded three takes of the song. The now-famous Tex-Mex "Uno, dos, one, two, tres, cuatro" countdown to the song was also done on the spur of the moment. Sam wanted it taken off the record, but the rest of the band loved it. So the bilingual opening stayed.