Eddie & the Showmen

Eddie & the Showmen were an American surf rock band of the 1960s. Formed in Southern California by Eddie Bertrand, formerly of The Bel-Airs, they released several singles on Liberty Records.[1] Their highest-charting single in Los Angeles was "Mr. Rebel", which reached number four on the Wallichs Music City Hit List on February 10, 1964.

The band originally formed because Bertrand wanted to move on from the Bel-Airs. While the Bel-Airs focused more on guitar interplay, and a moderate sound, Eddie & the Showmen played more in the style of Dick Dale with a prominent lead guitar and heavy sound.[2] The band's original drummer was former Mousketeer Dick Dodd, who later joined The Standells. One of the guitar players, Larry Carlton, later became a famous jazz guitarist, and another was Rob Edwards of Colours who was the guitarist on the title track for the surf movie, Pacific Vibrations.[3]

One of Eddie & the Showmen's biggest hits, "Squad Car", was a cover version of the Bel-Airs track. Eddie and the Showmen are included in the Hard Rock Cafe: Surf 1998 compilation of surf bands and surf music on track 11. Mr. Rebel.[4] They are also included in The Birth of Surf compilation track 20 Squad Car [5] and are on 10 tracks of Toes on the Nose: 32 Surf Age Instrumentals compilation.[6]

Eddie Bertrand died of cancer in November 2012.[7]

1963 Performance Flyer