Rafael Leon René (March 30, 1927 – November 25, 2007), known as Googie René, was an American musician, bandleader, and songwriter.

Biography

He was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, the son of songwriter and record producer Leon René, and acquired the nickname "Googie" as a child. He graduated from

Dorsey High School Susan Miller Dorsey High School, commonly referred to as Dorsey High School, is a secondary public school located in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. History The school ...

Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles Baldwin Hills is a neighborhood within the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Often referred to as the "Black Beverly Hills", Baldwin Hills is home to Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park and to ...

, studied piano, and began writing songs and working in his father's recording studio. After serving in the US military in Europe, he returned to help set up Class Records with his father and his business partner Preston Love. Googie René oversaw the label, which had its greatest success later in the 1950s with

Bobby Day Robert James Byrd (July 1, 1930 – July 27, 1990), known by the stage name Bobby Day, was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit record " Rockin' Robin", written by Leon René un ...

's hit " Rockin' Robin". René began recording himself in 1956, with the instrumental "Wham Bam", credited to the Googie René Combo. Later records by the Combo featured – as well as René on piano and organ – many of the leading

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s in Los Angeles, including guitarists Johnny Watson,

René Hall René Joseph Hall (September 26, 1912 – February 11, 1988) was an American guitarist and arranger. He was among the most important behind-the-scenes figures in early rock and roll, but his career spanned the period from the late 1920s to the ...

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early life Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 — a ...

, and Jimmy Nolen; bassist

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

; saxophonists

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. () (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s " The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and bar ...

and Clifford Scott; and drummer

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

. Their recordings covered

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and 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 African ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. Some of the Googie René Combo's recordings in the early 1960s have been described as "the start of hipster lounge music—a form of jazz-infused pop with an easy-listening sheen". "Googie René: Romesville", ''JazzWax.com''
May 31, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2019. The Googie René Combo released singles on the Class and

Rendezvous Rendezvous or rendez-vous may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Rendezvous'' (1923 film), a silent film adventure melodrama * ''Rendezvous'' (1930 film), a German musical directed by Carl Boese * ''Rendezvous ...

labels from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. They had three minor hits: "The Slide, Part 1" (No. 20 R&B, early 1961), "Flapjacks, Part 1" (No. 25 R&B, 1963) and "Smokey Joe's La La" (No. 77

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, No. 35 R&B, 1966). "Smokey Joe's La La" featured on the soundtrack of the 2017 film ''

Baby Driver ''Baby Driver'' is a 2017 action crime film written and directed by Edgar Wright. It stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver seeking freedom from a life of crime with his girlfriend Debora (Lily James). Kevin Spacey, Eiza González, Jon Ber ...

''. The Combo also released three LPs: ''Beautiful Weekend'' (1957); ''Romesville'' (1959), inspired by Italian movies of the period; and ''Flapjacks'' (1963). Several CD compilations of the Combo's recordings have been released, including ''Wham Bam: The Best of Googie René'' (2003) and ''From Romesville to Manhattan'' (2010). Googie René died in 2007, aged 80. His son is singer and songwriter

Chris Rene Christopher Rene (previously René; born December 25, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He was in a band called Diversion and also had a solo career, releasing the album ''Soul'd Out''. Chris auditioned for the fi ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rene, Googie 1927 births 2007 deaths American bandleaders Musicians from Los Angeles Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni