Wooly Bully - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Sam the Sham & the
Ju Ju Hand - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Samudio, Domingo
Medicine Man - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Addington, Milton
Don't Try It - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Samudio, Domingo
Pharaoh-A-Go Go - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Kesler, Stan
A Long Long Way - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Gibson, Paul
Green'ich Grendel - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, White, Paul [1]
Ring Dang Doo - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Byers, Joy
I Couldn't Spell !!*@! - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Thompson, Wayne [1]
Oh That's Good, No That's Bad - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Blackwell, DeWayne
Li'l Red Riding Hood - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Blackwell, Ronald
The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Blackwell, Richard
Black Sheep - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, McDill, Robert Lee
Monkey See, Monkey Do - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Farrow, Johnny
How Do You Catch a Girl - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Blackwell, Ronald
Red Hot - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Emerson, Bill
Sorry 'Bout That - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Kesler, Stan
Let Your Love Light Shine - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Malone, Deadric
I Never Had No One - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Samudio, Domingo
Big Blue Diamonds - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Carson, Earl "Kit"
(I'm in With) The Out Crowd - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Samudio, Domingo
Take What You Can Get - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Achison, Geoff
Monkey's My Problem - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Carabetta, Frank
Banned in Boston - Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, Morier, John
The parade of one-hit wonders who populated large chunks of the pop charts in the 1960s and '70s could usually be categorized two ways: marginal talents overly burnished with slick production and the best studio chops mone... more »y could buy, or hard-rocking garage gods who finally caught a break. Come to think of it, things haven't changed much! Dallas's Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs fell firmly into the latter category, scoring big in '65 with the novelty song "Wooly Bully" and following it with the lesser hit "Little Red Riding Hood." Like ? and the Mysterians and the Sir Douglas Quintet, Sam (Domingo Samudio; "the Sham" a self-deprecating jab at his vocal talents) and the Pharaohs pioneered fusing the sounds and rhythms of Tex-Mex border music into pop, though it would take critics a decade or two to catch on. To contemporary listeners, they were just a monster party band--one that this generous, well-chosen collection puts in better perspective. Their initial novelty status kept proceedings decidedly on the loopy side, as tracks like "Pharaoh-a-Go-Go" and "Ring Dang Doo" attest. Still, there's a raw, rootsy rock & roll frenzy here that's as infectious as it is unhinged. Hail Sam and the Pharaohs, garage rock royalty! --Jerry McCulley« less
The parade of one-hit wonders who populated large chunks of the pop charts in the 1960s and '70s could usually be categorized two ways: marginal talents overly burnished with slick production and the best studio chops money could buy, or hard-rocking garage gods who finally caught a break. Come to think of it, things haven't changed much! Dallas's Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs fell firmly into the latter category, scoring big in '65 with the novelty song "Wooly Bully" and following it with the lesser hit "Little Red Riding Hood." Like ? and the Mysterians and the Sir Douglas Quintet, Sam (Domingo Samudio; "the Sham" a self-deprecating jab at his vocal talents) and the Pharaohs pioneered fusing the sounds and rhythms of Tex-Mex border music into pop, though it would take critics a decade or two to catch on. To contemporary listeners, they were just a monster party band--one that this generous, well-chosen collection puts in better perspective. Their initial novelty status kept proceedings decidedly on the loopy side, as tracks like "Pharaoh-a-Go-Go" and "Ring Dang Doo" attest. Still, there's a raw, rootsy rock & roll frenzy here that's as infectious as it is unhinged. Hail Sam and the Pharaohs, garage rock royalty! --Jerry McCulley
CD Reviews
Put On Your Turban And Get Ready To Party!
Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 05/27/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Okay, so they weren't Egyptian, or even Arab for that matter. But "Wooly Bully" was one of the defining songs of 1965. And follow-up hits like "Ju Ju Hand" and "Ring Dang Doo" continued the band's Tex-Mex brand of rock 'n' roll with its pumping organ and rollicking sax. Their last big hit was 1966's semi-novelty number "Lil' Red Riding Hood," which sold a million copies on its way to No. 2. A similar style was used on the next single, "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin," but it would do no better than No. 22. By 1967, the band broke up and Sam began a solo career under his given name, Domingo Samudio. [He would have no chart success as a solo act, but he would receive a Grammy for his liner notes to his 1971 album "Sam, Hard and Heavy." He also has two songs on the 1982 soundtrack to "The Border."]If you enjoyed the hits of Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs, this album is a treat. Stellar sound, informative liner notes and each song is a glorious reminder of what made pop music fun in the Sixties. Ready? Sing. "Uno, dos, one, two, tres, cuatro..." (Enjoy!) RECOMMENDED"
Sam the Sham's Outasight!
Ryan Madden | 10/24/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been a Sam the Sham fan for a long time, and I had listened to this album on the Rhino LP. Well, I heard that Rhino was reissuing it on CD and I was probably one of the first to buy it! Sam had one helluva drummer (Jerry Patterson)!!! If you're one of those people who get high on music by just listening to it, you'll be higher than a kite after Sam the Sham. It's one of my favorite bands. Some trivia for other Sam the Sham fans: His name is really Domingo Samudio and he is now a prison preacher."
They Did Something The Beatles Couldn't Do
Steve Vrana | 07/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Not only were they not the greatest R&R band ever, as one reviewer boldly suggests, but I doubt that they'd make the Top 25 in any poll. However, they were loads of fun and they did accomplish something that not even The Beatles could with their long string of hits: they had one of their top songs cross over to the R&B charts [Wooly Bully which reached # 2 Billboard Hot 100 and # 31 R&B in summer 1965 for the MGM label].
With its opening UNO, DOS, TRES, QUATRO it is one of the most identifiable sounds of the 1960s and was written by the group's leader, Domingo "Sam" Samudio of Dallas, Texas and actually released the year before on the small XL label before being picked up by MGM.
Following that auspicious beginning their next three offerings dipped considerably on the charts, with Ju Ju Hand reaching # 26 in August, Ring Dang Doo topping out at # 33 in November b/w Don't Try It, and Red Hot, the legendary rockabilly tune first recorded in 1955 for Sun by Billy "The Kid" Emerson, peaking at # 82 in February 1966 b/w A Long Long Way.
But they returned to the # 2 position with Lil' Red Riding Hood in the summer of 1966, and in November the sequel The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin climbed to # 22 b/w their comical take on The In Crowd, (I'm In With) The Out Crowd. Early in 1967 they were back with How Do You Catch A Girl? [# 27], and in April of that year came the funny Oh That's Good, No That's Bad [# 54] b/w Take What You Can Get.
Their final Top 100 came in summer 1967 when Black Sheep struggled to reach # 68, although you have to wonder why the funny Banned In Boston could not climb higher than # 117 Hot 100 "bubble under" in 1967 b/w Money's My Problem, and the equally-hilarious I Couldn't Spell Pthhht did not fare better than # 120 "bubble under" in 1968.
The B-sides omitted are Ain't Gonna Move [b/o their first hit], Love Me Like Before [b/o Lil' Red Riding Hood], The Love You Left Behind [b/o How Do You Catch A Girl?], and My Day's Gonna Come [b/o Black Sheep]. Track 19 was a failed 1968 single, while tracks 3, 5, 7, 14, 17, and 20 are from their several albums.
The sound quality is excellent, and with the insert you get the original vinyl-version notes written by Peter Zaremba of New York in 1985, six more pages by Bob Kruse of Boston written for this edition in 1997, a complete discography of the contents, and several more photos of the group, which also included Ray Stinnet, Jerry Patterson, Butch Gibson, and David Martin, who passed away in 1987 at age 50.
Just a fun album to have."
All of the songs have great quality, but... there's one pro
Ryan Madden | Troy, MI United States | 03/16/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As anybody can tell, this CD has a problem despite the good sound quality. I have this CD, and am not happy with the fact that all but two of the tracks are mis-titled. For example: The track that is said to be "Medicine Man" happens to be "Ju Ju Hand".
From what I found out by listening to the CD and looking at the back of the case, this is the true order of the tracks:
1. Wooly Bully
2. Sorry 'Bout That
3. Ju Ju Hand
4. Medicine Man
5. Ring Dang Doo
6. Don't Try It
7. Monkey See, Monkey Do
8. Red Hot
9. A Long Long Way
10. Big Blue Diamonds
11. Li'l Red Riding Hood
12. Green'ich Grendel
13. Pharaoh A-Go-Go
14. The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin
15. (I'm In With) The Out Crowd
16. How Do You Catch A Girl
17. Oh That's Good, No That's Bad
18. Take What You Can Get
19. Black Sheep
20. Banned In Boston
21. Money's My Problem
22. Let Our Love Light Shine
23. I Never Had No One
24. I Couldn't Spell !!*@!
I don't think anybody who is purchasing this CD would want to find out that most of the tracks on the back of the case are listed in the wrong order. The only two that are correctly listed are "Wooly Bully" and "Li'l Red Riding Hood"."
Great if you don't care about order
Ryan Madden | 06/05/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Forget about the order of titles published on the liner--the songs are in a different order on the disc--and just listen. Wolly Bully is on virtually every "best of the 1960's" CD, but there are a lot of other great (and some so-so) Sam the Sham numbers here. The audio is great. So, put the convertible top down, put on some shades, skip ahead to "Ring Dang Do" and curise by the nearest High School and let those insufferable preppies know what real "cool" is."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1