Junk Box Jury

Back liners taken from the album “Wipeout” on (Impression Records LPIMP 5) 1984

Wipeout | 20 Instrumental Greats |(Impression) | SIDE ONE 1. THE CHAMPS ‘TEQUILA‘ No. 5 in U.K. Charts, 1958 | A fine example of the early ‘group instrumental’ sound, ‘Tequila’ reached number one in the U.S. charts and number five in the U.K. charts in 1958.

A follow up, ‘Too Much Tequila’ barely dented the U.K. charts although the group had a string of minor hits in the USA until 1964. Two notable members of The Champs were Texans Dash Seals and Jimmy Croft who emerged in the seventies as the successful singer-songwriter duo Seals and Croft scoring with ‘Summer Breeze’.

2. JOHNNY AND THE HURRICANES ‘RED RIVER ROCK‘ No. 3 in U.K. Charts, 1959 | Arguably one of the founders of the ‘instrumental’ hit sound, sax player Johnny Paris and his group The Hurricanes from Toledo, Ohio, charted seven times in the U.K. during their short lived career between 1959 and 1961.

Alongside ‘Red River Rock’, the group’s major hits were ‘Beatnik Fly’. (No. 8, 1960), ‘Down Yonder’ (No. 8, 1960) and the exciting ‘Rocking Goose’ (No. ,3, 1960).

3. THE JOHN BARRY SEVEN ‘HIT AND MISS‘ No. 10 in U.K. Charts, 1960 | The John Barry Seven emerged in 1960 with ‘Hit And Miss’, the theme tune of BBC TV’s legendary ‘Juke Box Jury’. (Hosted by David Jacobs, this influential weekly show featured then current personalities judging the merit of a selection of the week’s new singles).

During 1960 The John Barry Seven achieved a further seven U.K. chart entries, the highest being ‘Walk Don’t Run’ (No. 11). Television and film theme music were always John Barry’s forte however and among the many successes this notable composer and orchestra leader has been responsible for is the classic ‘James Bond Theme’ (No. 13, 1962).

4. THE SHADOWS ‘APACHE’ No. 1 in U.K. Charts, 1960. | The most loved and respected instrumental group in British popular music. Hank, Jet, Bruce and Tony (surnames unnecessary here!) changed the group’s name from The Drifters, stepped out from behind Cliff Richard, recorded a Jerry Lordan composition and made history.

‘Apache’ was the first of five number one records the group have achieved and is one of the most memorable instrumentals ever recorded. Having recently celebrated their 25th Anniversary with yet another enormously successful album. The Shadows go from strength to strength.

5. THE VENTURES ‘WALK DON’T RUN‘ No. 8 in U.K Charts, 1960. | Both The Ventures’ biggest hits came during 1960 when ‘Perfidia’ (No. 4) followed the memorable ‘Walk Don’t Run’ high into the charts. One of America’s most influential groups of the early sixties, The Ventures’ effortless style carried them through more than fifty studio and live albums in a long career which continues (mainly in the Far East) to this day.

6. FLOYD CRAMER ‘ON THE REBOUND‘ No. 1 in U.K. Charts. 1961. | A wonderful record which had ‘hit’ written all over it from the first time it was aired on British radio. Pianist on several of Elvis Presley’s greatest records. Floyd Cramer tinkled his way into the U.K. Charts and stayed for fourteen weeks with ‘On The Rebound‘.

Since those far-off days he has played on innumerable hit records becoming in the process one of the most respected American session musicians.

7. SANDY NELSON ‘LET THERE BE DRUMS‘ No. 3 in U.K. Charts. 1961 | With its unforgettable introduction, ‘Let There Be Drums’ was Sandy Nelson’s second hit in the U.K. (He had charted twice during the previous year with ‘Teenbeat’).

A succession of ‘drum’ orientated singles and albums followed, however with the slight exceptions of ‘Drums Are My Beat’ (No. 30, 1962) and ‘Drummin’ Up A Storm’ (No. 39. 1962) Sandy never came close to repeating the success of ‘Let There Be Drums’ which still sets feet tapping today.

8. THE TORNADOS ‘TELSTAR‘ No. 1 in U.K. Charts, 1962 | Written by producer Joe Meek (and recorded at his home in North London) ‘Telstar’ rocketed to number one on both sides of the Atlantic in 1962 amassing sales of some five million copies along the way.

The record had a chart life in the U.K. of twenty five weeks (yes, that’s almost six months). The Tornados followed this achievement with a further four U.K. chart entries, the highest being ‘Globetrotter’ (No. 5, 1963) before bass player Heinz (‘Just like Eddie’) Burt departed from the group to pursue a solo career. This was the beginning of the group’s demise and by the end of 1964 the original formation had completely broken up.

Joe Meek continued the concept of The Tornados with various musicians however further success eluded him and soon he disbanded the final line-up.

9. DUANE EDDY ‘DANCE WITH THE GUITAR MAN‘ No. 4 in U.K. Charts. 1962 | ‘Dance With The Guitar Man’ was the nineteenth chart record for ‘The Man With The Twangy Guitar’ Duane Eddy from Phoenix, Arizona whose formula for success was to play the melody on the bass strings.

His chart career spanned 1958-1963 in the U.K. and included the hits ‘Peter Gunn’ (No. 6. 1959). ‘Shazam’ (No. 4. 1960), ‘Because They’re Young’ (No. 2, 1960) and ‘Pepe’ (No. 2, 1961).

Following a twelve year absence from the charts he returned in 1975 reaching number nine with ‘Play Me Like You Play Your Guitar’. The Twang’s The Thang!

10. B. BUMBLE AND THE STINGERS ‘NUTROCKER‘ No. 1 in U.K. Charts. 1962 | A piano fronted smash hit in 1962 (which was a bumper year for instrumental hits) ‘Nutrocker’ shot to number one and remained in the U.K. Charts for fifteen weeks. When the record was re-released ten years later it again charted in the U.K. reaching the top twenty and having a chart life of eleven weeks. A classic instrumental.

SIDE TWO 1. THE SURFARIS ‘WIPEOUT’ No. 5 in U.K. Charts, 1963 One of the most interesting and successful instrumentals from the brief period the ‘Southern Californian’ surf-sound enjoyed. A huge hit in the U.K. (and the U.S.A. where it reached the number two slot) the record enjoyed a fourteen week stay in the charts.

Alongside The Chantay’s ‘Pipeline’, ‘Wipeout’ by The Surfaris is acknowledged as one of the instrumental classics to emerge from the surfing trend of the early sixties.

2. THE CHANTAYS ‘PIPELINE‘ No. 16 in U.K. Charts. 1963 | A U.K. hit in the spring of 1963, the atmospheric ‘Pipeline’ was, for audiences in this country, yet another glimpse of the then current American craze for beach-life surfboards, sunshine and FUN.

Surprisingly it did not climb higher in the U.K. charts. having made No. 4 in the U.S.A. This musical genre would soon explode fully upon us in its vocal form through the wonderful records of Jan and Dean then, more significantly, The Beach Boys. Catch a wave!

3. JET HARRIS AND TONY MEEHAN ‘DIAMONDS‘ No. 1 in U.K. Charts, 1963 | Former Shadows members. Jet Harris (bass guitar) and Tony Meehan (drums) achieved three top five records as an instrumental duo. Their debut ‘Diamonds’ reached number one, the second, ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ reached number two and the third ‘Applejack’ reached number four. An enviable track record indeed, especially as it all took place within a period of nine months.

4. THE SPOTNICKS ‘HAVA NAGILA‘ No. 13 in U.K. Charts, 1963 | Of this Swedish group’s four U.K. chart entries, their rather unique version of ‘Hava Nagila’ was the most successful, enjoying a twelve week stay and peaking at number thirteen. The group’s chart career between 1962-1963 saw them score with ‘Orange Blossom Special’ (No. 29, 1962) ‘Rocket Man’ (No. 38, 1962) and ‘Hava Nagila’ (No. 13, 1963) until they departed with ‘Just Listen To My Heart’ (No. 36, 1963).

5. THE DAKOTAS ‘THE CRUEL SEA‘ No. 18 in U.K. Charts, 1963 | It was Brian Epstein who teamed this Manchester group with the handsome Billy J. Kramer. a combination which resulted in six top twenty records in two years, (four of them from the pens of John Lennon and Paul McCartney) The Dakotas’ only solo chart success was with ‘The Cruel Sea’, an instrumental reminiscent of the Shadows’ early work.

6. FLEETWOOD MAC ‘ALBATROSS‘ No. 1 in U.K. Charts, 1968 | Written by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, the million selling ‘Albatross’ is one of the most beautiful (certainly the most haunting) rock instrumentals ever.

First released in 1968 ‘Albatross’ glided easily to number one and remained active in the charts for a period of twenty weeks. When it was released for the second time in 1973 the record again climbed high into the charts, peaking at the number two slot. Facts and figures are far less important than the music in the case of ‘Albatross’ however, this record will live forever.

7. LOVE SCULPTURE ‘SABRE DANCE‘ No. 5 in U.K Charts, 1968 | Formed by Welshman, Dave Edmunds, Love Sculpture specialized in lightning fast guitar adoptions of classical themes. ‘Sabre Dance’ was the group’s only hit however and Edmunds disbanded them shortly after the record’s success to persue a solo career.

He has since those days arranged and produced records for numerous artists whilst achieving a number of hits himself notably ‘I Hear You Knocking’ (No. 1, 1970), ‘Born To Be With You’ (No. 5, 1973) and ‘Girls Talk’ (No. 4, 1979).

8. BOOKER T. AND THE MG’S ‘TIME IS TIGHT‘ No. 4 in U.K. Charts, 1969 | Hailing from Memphis organist Booker T. Jones and his group The MG’s played on innumerable hit records as the houseband for Stax Records during the label’s most successful years in the sixties.

A notable member of the MG’s was guitarist Steve Cropper who along with Wilson Pickett was responsible for the soul classic ‘In The Midnight Hour’. The group’s own hits apart from the million-selling ‘Time Is Tight’ were ‘Soul Limbo’ (No 30, 1968),‘Soul Clap 69’ (No. 35, 1969) and the brilliant ‘Green Onions’ (No. 7, 1979).

9. ISSAC HAYES ‘THEME FROM ‘SHAFT’ No. 4 in U.K. Charts, 1971 | A key man in the emergence of the sixties ‘Memphis Sound’, writer/producer Issac Hayes achieved international acclaim with his score for the film ‘Shaft’.

A worldwide smash, the exciting theme from ‘Shaft’ was Hayes’ only major chart record although he continued to write and record numerous soul albums during the seventies.

10. MR BLOE ‘GROOVIN’ WITH MR BLOE‘ No. 2 in U.K. Charts, 1970 A one hit wonder indeed! The harmonica led ‘Groovin’ With Mr Bloe’ grooved its way almost to the very top of the U.K. Charts during the summer of 1970. The record eventually peaked at number two and had a chart life of eighteen weeks.

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cost of record: £2
from: The Children’s Society