The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles were an American musical ensemble, assembled for studio recordings by the producer and songwriter Kim Fowley and his friend and fellow musician Gary S. Paxton. They had a US number one hit record, "Alley Oop" (Lute Records 5905)[1][2] in 1960.

"Alley Oop"

According to Paxton – who, at the time, was half of Skip & Flip – "Alley Oop" was written by Dallas Frazier[3] as a country tune:

"As for the name, Kim Fowley and I were living in a $15-a-week room in Hollywood.... Since I was still under contract (to Brent Records) as 'Flip,'[4] I couldn't put my name on 'Alley Oop.' Seeing that the studio was on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Argyle Street, I decided on Hollywood Argyles... Richard Podolor's studio American Recording Company in the Hollywood Palladium building is where the song was recorded... Other than myself, there were no actual Hollywood Argyles. Everyone else on the track was either a friend or a studio musician who I paid $25 apiece for the session. When 'Alley Oop' suddenly took off and people wanted to book us for concerts, there was no such group."[5]

The "Alley Oop" session was produced by Kim Fowley; He recalled that "all the participants were hopelessly drunk on cider by the time they recorded the song...."[6] According to some reports, the lead vocalist on the track "Alley Oop" is Norm Davis,[7] although the voice on the record has been identified as a match with other recordings sung by Paxton from the same era, such as "Spookie Movies."[8] According to an interview with Gary Paxton, The group consisted of Ronnie Silico on drums, Gaynel Hodge on piano, Harper Cosby as the bassist, and Sandy Nelson (of Teen Beat fame) was the percussionist on the tambourine and a garbage can. He was also the vocal scream in the song. The background singers were Dallas Frazier, Buddy Mize, Scott Turner, and Diane (Smith ? ) "Alley Oop" was the first song played on WLS-AM Radio in Chicago on May 2, 1960, when it changed format from farm programming to rock and roll.

The song sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[3]

Other versions

According to Jerry Osborne, two other groups, Dante and the Evergreens (Madison 130, U.S. #15) and the Dyna-Sores (Rendezvous 120, U.S. #59),[9] had a version of "Alley Oop" on the charts at the same time.[5][10]

Later activities

Frazier is perhaps best known for writing the song "There Goes My Everything", a hit song for Jack Greene in 1966 and Engelbert Humperdinck in 1967. Frazier also wrote and recorded "Elvira" which became a 1981 country hit for the Oak Ridge Boys.[11][12]

Paxton later formed Garpax Records[10][13] and became a gospel artist.[14]

Fowley soon produced The Murmaids' 1963 hit "Popsicles and Icicles" (US #3).[15] He also helped bring together the Runaways in 1975,[15] as well as The Orchids (not the Glaswegians, but another American all-female band).[16] Their 1980 album, The Orchids, was released on MCA Records as MCA-3235.

Discography
  • "Alley Oop" / "Sho Know a Lot About Love" (1960, Lute 5905)
  • "Gun Totin' Critter Named Jack"* / "The Bug Eyed Man" (1960, Lute 5908)
  • "Hully Gully" / "So Fine" (1960, Lute 6002)
  • "You've Been Torturing Me"* / "The Grubble" (1961, Paxley 752; credit: Gary Paxton And The Hollywood Argyles)
  • "Long-Hair-Unsquare Dude Called Jack" / "Ole" (1965, Chatahoochie 691)
  • "Alley Oop '66" / "Do the Funky Foot" (1966, Kammy 105)

— * Note: some songs are covers of Four Young Men (e.g. Crest 1076)[17]

References
  1. Dalrymple, Robert (2005-12-25). "Lute 5905 - Alley-Oop - Hollywood Argyles | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  2. "Lute Records". Kavelinmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  3. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 125. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. "The Hollywood Argyles". Rockabilly.nl. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  5. ""Mr. Music"". Jerryosborne.com. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  6. Charlie Gillett (1996). The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll. Da Capo Press. pp. 104–5. ISBN 9780306806834.
  7. "Rochester Poet On Top 40". Therefrigerator.net. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  8. "'Alley-Oop' (1961) - The Hollywood Argyles]". The Song ID Blog (songids.blogspot.com). Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  9. Mitch Rosalsky (2002). Encyclopedia of Rhythm & Blues and Doo-Wop Vocal Groups. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 74. ISBN 081084592X.
    "Jimmy Norman teamed up with H.B. Barnum and Ty Terrell (Robins). This group was the Dyna-Sores and they recorded on Rendezvous 120."
  10. Joel Whitburn (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 281.
  11. Paul Kingsbury (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Sourcebooks, Inc. p. 182.
  12. Archived July 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "45 Discography for Garpax Records". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  14. Gary S. Paxton. "Testimony - Partial - Less Than - (About Two Per-Cent of It)". Garyspaxton.net. Archived from the original on 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  15. "Kim Fowley". Spectropop.com. 2003-09-18. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  16. "When The Orchids were in Bloom". Lost In The Grooves. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  17. "Wayne Moore - Four Young Men". Members.chello.at. Retrieved 2015-08-18.

Bibliography
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