The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American rock band, formed in

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in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record producer Huey Meaux), the band relocated to the West Coast. Their move coincided with the burgeoning San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid 1960s to early 1970s. Overall, the quintet were exponents of good-times music with strong roots in blues and Texas-regional traditions.

Group's origins

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important pe ...

, a veteran of the professional music scene who first sang on radio at the age of five, formed the Quintet (first called simply 'Sir Douglas') in 1964 with longtime friend Augie Meyers and the other original members, Jack Barber, Frank Morin, and Johnny Perez. Sahm had started in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

and had played (at age eleven) on-stage with Hank Williams, Sr. during the latter's final performance. Sahm went on to play in blues clubs in his teenage years and had gained experience as a band leader. The initial success of the new group, the Quintet, on the airwaves and sales charts was achieved when they made records in conjunction with Houston music producer Huey P. Meaux. Houston's recording industry had become the center of Texas R&B music. The Quintet was born in a cross-cultural south Texas musical melting pot that included the sounds and traditions of Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia, Bohemia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and African-America. Aware of major trends, producer Huey Meaux advised connecting the new group with the English pop-music trend. As a consequence, the Texas-local R&B,

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

, and other veins the musicians were familiar with initially went through a period of influence by the British pop bands of the early and mid 1960s. For a short while, the youthful members of the group emulated Beatles-like "mop-top" demeanor and antics on stage. However, they soon outgrew these trappings.

Best known tracks

The Quintet is perhaps best known for the 1965

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

" She's About a Mover"

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute ...

by Doug Sahm. The song, which has a

12-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

structure, was once named the number one 'Texas'

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

by ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and i ...

''. With an infectious

Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It sup ...

organ

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompanim ...

provided by Augie Meyers and soulful vocals from Sahm, the track has a

sound. The regional smash became a breakaway hit, and the recording was used in the soundtracks of the films ''Echo Park'' (1986), ''American Boyfriends'' (1989), ''The Doors'' (1991), ''Riding in Cars with Boys'' (2001), ''Sorority Boys'' (2002), and ''Beautiful Darling'' (2010). The Quintet's recordings were used as well in the soundtracks of other films, such as ''Cisco Pike'' and ''An Officer and a Gentleman''. In addition to "She's About a Mover," the band is known for its songs "The Rains Came" (1966), "Mendocino" (1968), "It Didn't Even Bring Me Down" (1969), and "Dynamite Woman" (1969). "Mendocino" was released in December 1968 and reached No. 27 in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

''Billboard'' Hot 100 by early 1969, spending 15 weeks in the chart. It was more successful in

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, selling over three million copies there. The track was featured in the generally highly regarded film '' High Fidelity'', starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack (; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays '' Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and political activist. He is a son of filmmaker Dick Cusack, and his o ...

and

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

. Having made considerable musical impact, the Quintet at one point went on to share the same European bill as

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Style

The Quintet played varied styles with an instrumental line-up that was typical of blues bands: one guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and drummer, and a member who could play either trumpet or saxophone. Despite the blues band line-up and a musical influence from the blues, the Quintet's live sets did not overemphasize misery or tension in the lyrical content or musical feeling of the songs. In their sets and on record, the Quintet included such blues classics as "I Don't Believe" (originally by Bobby Blue Bland) along with the upbeat "Hey Little Girl" (originally by

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 190 ...

man Frankie Lee Sims) and "T-Bone Shuffle" (originally by blues giant

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''Ro ...

). The Sir Douglas Quintet is considered a pioneering influence in the history of rock and roll for incorporating Tex-Mex and

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

styles into rock music. However, early influences on the band's emerging Texas style were of course broader than this, and included ethnic and pop music from the 1950s and 1960s, such as

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 19 ...

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became pop ...

, and

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

. In the mid-1960s, the band relocated to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

and absorbed features of the nascent San Francisco Sound, including the loud and lush

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

tone and freer percussion and guitar stylings. Band members also explored musical elements specific to modern jazz. For

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

recordings, they sometimes added an extra

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

or two, often to flesh out the brass dimension of a track's sound. Good examples of what they produced by absorbing the new jazz and psychedelic elements into their music can be found on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Sir Douglas Quintet + 2''. The lyrics in a Quintet song like "The Song of Everything" are plainly in the realm of the mystical, whimsical lyrics regarded as one of the characteristics of psychedelic music. In live performances, blues, often with swing or shuffle beats, was usually a substantial component of the set. Besides doing their own original material, the Quintet revived several classics such as Jimmie Rodgers' " In the Jailhouse Now" and

Freddy Fender Freddy Fender (born Baldemar Garza Huerta; June 4, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados. He was best ...

's "

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" is an American country and pop song recorded by Freddy Fender. It is considered by many to belong to the swamp pop idiom of south Louisiana and southeast Texas that had such a major musical impact on Fender. Song ...

" to be found on the albums ''Son of San Antonio'' (originally on ''The Best of The Sir Douglas Quintet'', 1966) and ''Texas Fever'' (originally on ''The Return of Doug Saldana'', 1971), respectively. In 2005, they were among the new class of musicians nominated for induction into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

for the 2006 induction ceremony.

Members

In addition to Sahm and Meyers, original Sir Douglas Quintet members included Jack Barber on bass; Frank Morin on saxophone, trumpet, and keyboards; and Johnny Perez, Ernie Durawa, or T.J. Ritterbach on drums. Martin Fierro joined the band on tenor sax in 1968. In 1969 Harvey Kagan joined the Quintet on bass, forming their most familiar line up - Kagan, Morin, Perez, Sahm, and Meyers. Bassist Jim Stallings also contributed to several albums during this period of shifting personnel which included, among others, guitarist Tom Nay of

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

(who played with the group for about a year) and

John York John C. York (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American cancer research pathologist, married to Marie Denise DeBartolo York, and former co-owner and current co-chairman of the San Francisco 49ers.Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

, and contributions from San Antonio crooner/saxophonist Danny Segovia. Sahm and Meyers were later also members of the Texas Tornados (with

and

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, ...

) in the early 1990s. In 1972, the group split up when Sahm contracted to produce a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

album. Meyers, Perez, Morin, and Stallings briefly regrouped as The Quintet, with Sonny Farlow taking Sahm's place. In 1973, several Sir Douglas Quintet outtakes were released in their final album from the group's classic era, ''Rough Edges.'' Sahm and Meyers continued to work together throughout the late 1970s, and rejoined with Perez in 1980 for a reunion tour and album. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the band was joined by Louie Ortega, formerly of the 1960s band Louie & the Lovers and currently of the

Texas Tornados Texas Tornados is a Tejano supergroup, composed of some of country music's biggest artists who modernized the Tex-Mex style including Flaco Jiménez, Augie Meyers, Doug Sahm, and Freddy Fender. Its music is a fusion of conjunto (German and No ...

. Founder Doug Sahm died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

in his sleep in a motel room in

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando C ...

, on November 18, 1999, at the age of 58. Johnny Perez owned Topanga Skyline Studios, with "the Vibe and the Magic of the '70's." Skyline's grand woodwork, welcoming business culture, and "western fort" dirt courtyard set the stage for drummer Perez to mentor and inspire generations of young artists - until his death on September 11, 2012 at the age of 69, in a California hospital, from complications of cirrhosis of the liver. Harvey Kagan performed with a San Antonio area wedding/event band, The Oh So Good! Band, best known for discovering American Idol contestant Haley Scarnato. Kagan died on July 5, 2019, aged 73. "Harvey Kagan memorial", ''Austin Chronicle'', July 21, 2019
/ref> Augie Meyers continues to tour, and record on his own independent record labels, based in

Bulverde, Texas Bulverde ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, United States. Bulverde is known for its small-town, slow pace of life, coupled with the German emigrant history of the town's founders. Bulverde was originally named Piepers Settlement after a promi ...

. Frank Morin remains active in music, with teaching, production, and film soundtracks work. Jim Stallings lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he plays bass, guitar, and keyboards at local Pro-Jam sessions. He is also in the process of writing his autobiography with heavy emphasis on his time with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the effect that experience had on his life.

Selected discography

Albums

*1966 - ''The Best of Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Tribe) (not a compilation, despite its title) *1968 - ''Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues'' (Smash) *1969 - '' Mendocino'' (Smash) *1970 - ''Together After Five'' (Smash) *1970 - ''1+1+1=4'' (Philips) *1971 - ''The Return of Doug Saldaña'' (Philips) *1972 - ''Future Tense'' (as simply The Quintet) without Doug Sahm *1973 - ''Rough Edges'' (Mercury) *1975 - ''Reunion of The Cosmic Brothers'' (Crazy Cajun) LIVE SDQ with Freddy Fender, Roky Erickson at Armadillo World HQ *1977 - ''Live Love'' (Texas Re-Cord Co.) recorded at Armadillo World HQ, Austin, Texas in 1977 *1978 - ''The Tracker'' (Crazy Cajun) *1978 - ''Don Goldie & The Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Crazy Cajun) *1979 - ''Wanted: Very Much Alive'' (Sonet, UK) same 1977 LIVE material as "Live Love" *1980 - ''Motive'' (Mercury, W. Germany) "Sir Douglas Quintett" spelled with a double "t" at the end(?) on cover and labels *1981 - ''The Tracker'' (UDL 2343) white cover unauthorized LP release *1981 - ''Quintessence'' (Varrick) *1982 - ''Still Growing'' (Sonet, Sweden) Augie Meyers with Doug Sahm *1983 - ''Border Wave'' (Chrysalis) *1983 - ''Live Texas Tornado'' (Takoma) *1983 - ''Midnight Sun'' (Sonet) *1984 - ''Rio Medina'' (Sonet) *1985 - ''Luv Ya' Europa'' (Sonet) *1994 - '' Day Dreaming at Midnight'' (Elektra / Nonesuch) *1998 - ''S. D. Q. '98'' (Watermelon) with The Gourds *2006 - ''Live from Austin, Texas'' (New West) 1981 LIVE recordings from Austin City Limits TV show *2007 - ''Live from Austin, Texas'' (New West) 1975 LIVE recordings from Austin City Limits TV show *2013 - ''Nuevo Wave Live'' (Fuel Records) Re-release of "Live Texas Tornado" *2018 - ''Live From Austin, TX'' (180g Limited Edition New West Records 2LP) Recorded Live January 21, 1981 at Austin City Limits

Compilation albums

*1969 - ''The Best of The Sir Douglas Quintet'' (DBI) *1970 - ''What About Tomorrow?'' (Mercury, Switzerland) *1975 - ''Pop Gold'' (Oval, W. Germany) *1980 - ''The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Takoma) *1986 - ''The Collection'' (Castle Communication, UK) reissue of 2 Takoma LP releases *1988 - ''Sir Doug's Recording Trip: The Mercury Years'' (Edsel) *1988 - ''Spotlight'' (Sonet) *1990 - ''The Best of Doug Sahm & the Sir Douglas Quintet 1968-1975'' (Mercury) *1994 - ''Collection'' (San Juan Music Group) 22 LIVE tracks from all eras of Doug Sahm performances *1994 - ''KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 2'' (KGSR) 1 live track by the SDQ + other artists *2000 - ''The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Sundazed / Beat Rocket) *2004 - ''Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet: The Best of the Tribe Recordings'' (Westside) *2005 - ''The Complete Mercury Masters'' (Hip-O Select) *2008 - ''Scandinavian Years'' (Universal Music, Norway) *2011 - ''The Mono Singles '68-'72'' (Sundazed)

Singles

References

External links

*
The Doug Sahm Pages - Biography & discography
''The Vinyl Tourist'' (Joseph Levy)

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Douglas Quintet Musical groups from San Antonio Garage rock groups from Texas Chicano rock groups Gold Star Records artists American musicians of Mexican descent Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 1964 establishments in Texas