Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles in 1957 by cowboy singer
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
and former
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
A&R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short-lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958.
The label's first success came with instrumental group
the Champs, who had their biggest hit in 1958 with "
Tequila", a Latin-flavored
Rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
instrumental song written by
Daniel "Danny" Flores and recorded by the Champs themselves. "Tequila" became a No. 1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts at the time of its release and continues to be strongly referenced in pop culture to this day.
History
Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1957 by cowboy singer
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
and former
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
A&R Representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short-lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in October 1958. The label's first success came with instrumental band
The Champs, who had their biggest hit in 1958 with ''
Tequila''.
The first Challenge label was blue with silver print, followed after the first half dozen releases by a short-lived light-blue label with red print, then a maroon-colored label with silver print. Finally, around late 1959, the company issued their singles on a green label with silver print. Early Challenge Records releases contained a crest above the Challenge logo with the letters "G A" symbolizing Gene Autry's ownership interest. They had a sublabel called
Jackpot Records
Challenge Records was founded in Los Angeles in 1957 by cowboy singer Gene Autry and former Columbia Records A&R representative Joe Johnson. Autry's involvement with the label was short-lived as he sold his interest to the remaining partners in ...
.
In 1957 Challenge Records signed
Dave Burgess (born 1934), a singer-songwriter from California who often recorded under the name "Dave Dupré". At the end of 1957, having produced no
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, Challenge Records looked to Burgess, who organized a recording session on December 23 in Hollywood. In the studio that day were Burgess on rhythm guitar,
Cliff Hills
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...
on bass guitar, the Flores Trio (
Danny Flores on
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
and keyboards,
Gene Alden on drums, and lead guitarist
Buddy Bruce
Buddy may refer to:
People
*Buddy (nickname)
*Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present)
*Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992)
*Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...
), and
Huelyn Duvall
Huelyn Wayne Duvall (August 18, 1939 – May 15, 2019) was an American rock and roll and rockabilly musician.
Career
Huelyn Duvall was born on August 18, 1939 in Garner, Texas to William Daniel Duvall and Ila Lee Measures Duvall. Duvall is kno ...
contributing backing vocals.
They gathered primarily to record "Train to Nowhere", a song by Burgess, as well as "Night Beat" and "All Night Rock".
The last tune recorded was "
Tequila", essentially just a jam by the Flores Trio. It is based on a
Cuban mambo beat. The word "
Tequila" is spoken three times throughout the tune. There were three takes, and Danny Flores, who wrote the song, was also the man who spoke the word "Tequila!". Flores also played the trademark "dirty sax" solo. The song served as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
for "Train to Nowhere", which was released by Challenge Records on January 15, 1958. Duvall recalls that the record initially found little success, but, after a DJ in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
played the B-side, "Tequila" skyrocketed up the charts, reaching No. 1 on the
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
chart on March 28, 1958.
Daniel "Danny" Flores had actually written the song ''Tequila'', but, because he was signed to another label, the tune was credited to ''Chuck Rio'', a name he adopted for the stage. Those present for the December 23 session began recording together again on January 20, 1958, under the name the Champs; the group technically was formed ''after'' recording "Tequila". The tune has been noted to have a similar rhythm structure to
Bo Diddley's 1958 release "
Dearest Darling".
The Champs recorded a sequel to "Tequila" entitled "Too Much Tequila". Released as a maroon-label Challenge single, it reached No. 30 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
The group also had a series of hits with pop singer
Jerry Wallace
Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "Primrose Lane" that was later used as the theme ...
("
Primrose Lane
"Primrose Lane" is a song made famous by country music singer Jerry Wallace. Originally released in 1959, the song rose to number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was ranked #47 on '' Billboard'' magazine's '' Top Hot 100'' songs of 195 ...
") and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
singer
Wynn Stewart ("Wishful Thinking"). Other recording artists with the label included
Jan and Dean,
Gary Usher,
the Knickerbockers, and singer-songwriter
Jerry Fuller
Jerry Fuller (born November 19, 1938) is an American songwriter, singer and record producer.
Biography
Jerry Fuller was born in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, to a musical family. He and his brother Bill performed as a duo in their home state ...
.
Challenge Records went out of business in the late 1960s.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...
owns the catalog today.
Challenge Records artists
*
Bobby Austin
*
Marty Balin
*
The Brogues
The Brogues were an American garage rock band formed in Merced, California, in 1964. Much of the group's brief recording career was marked by distorted-guitar melodies and rhythm and blues, R&B-influenced vocals. They released two regionally suc ...
*
The Champs
*
Huelyn Duvall
Huelyn Wayne Duvall (August 18, 1939 – May 15, 2019) was an American rock and roll and rockabilly musician.
Career
Huelyn Duvall was born on August 18, 1939 in Garner, Texas to William Daniel Duvall and Ila Lee Measures Duvall. Duvall is kno ...
*
Jan Howard
*
Al Hurricane
*
Jan & Dean
*
Johnny & Jonie
*
The Knickerbockers
*
Baker Knight
*
The Kuf-Linx
The Kuf-Linx were an American rock and roll vocal group, active in the 1950s. Other groups used similar names at the same time, and even recorded some of the same songs, causing some confusion. Band members included John Jennings (lead tenor), John ...
*
Donna Loren
*
Darnell Miller
*
Bob Morris
*
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
*
The Peanut Butter conspiracy
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy was an American, Los Angeles-based, psychedelic pop/rock group from the 1960s. The band is known for lead singer Barbara Robison and for briefly having Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane as a band member.
History ...
*
We The People
The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...
*
Wynn Stewart
*
Gene Vincent
*
Jerry Wallace
Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "Primrose Lane" that was later used as the theme ...
*
The Falling Leaves
''The Falling Leaves'' is a poem written by Margaret Postgate-Cole (1893–1980) in November 1915 about World War I. Cole was an English atheist, feminist, pacifist, and socialist; her pacifist views influenced her poetry. Her brother was jaile ...
*
The Four Teens
*
Dave Burgess
*
Dean Beard
Dean Beard (August 31, 1935 - April 4, 1989) was an American rockabilly musician, known as the "West Texas Wild Man".Dean ...
*
Rochell & the Candles
*
Kip Tyler and the Flips
Kip Tyler and the Flips were an American rock and roll band best known for recording "Jungle Hop." Beginnings
The group started in Los Angeles, California in 1957, right after Kip Tyler was no longer needed for the band, 'Jimmy Daley and The Ding-A ...
*
Kip Tyler
*
George W. Weston
George Weston (born August 10, 1931 – October 31, 2006) was an American singer.
Early life
He was born in Los Angeles, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United ...
See also
*
List of record labels
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Record labels established in 1957
1957 establishments in California