The Challengers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Challengers were an instrumental surf music band started in late 1962. They were located in Los Angeles. They represented a growing love for surf music and helped make the genre popular. Their debut album "Surfbeat" was the biggest selling surf album of all time and helped bring surf music from California to the rest of the world.
. The Bel-Airs were still in high school at the time, but scored a hit with an instrumental song titled "Mr. Moto." Their potential was cited by many, but it was an argument about use of the then new Fender reverb unit that led to their breakup. The Bel-Airs were originally formed by two guitarists, Eddie Bertrand and Paul Johnson, both 16 years old at the time they recorded "Mr. Moto". In early 1963, Eddie Bertrand heard Dick Dale
using the Fender
reverb unit and wanted to start incorporating heavy reverb into The Bel-Airs songs. He felt reverb was the sound that would come to define surf music. Even at 17, Johnson was something of an independent thinker and told Bertrand that The Bel-Airs had done quite well without reverb and he didn't see any reason at all to begin using it. The argument escalated until Bertrand finally left the band which then broke up for good shortly after. Johnson confirmed this story in the liner notes he contributed to The Bel-Airs reunion album released in 1986.
and The Standells
) and a local school friend named Richard Delvy
. Delvy saw value in publishing, promoting and recording and began a career of managing and producing surf music. He then ultimately recorded numerous Southern California bands in the latter part of the 1960s. Since the 60's Delvy has produced many different musical artists and has made music management his lifelong passion.
The year before The Bel-Airs breakup, Richard Delvy left The Bel-Airs to form a new band called The Challengers. The only band member he brought from The Bel-Airs was keyboardist Jim Roberts. Delvy then recruited Randy Nauert (bass guitar), Glenn Grey (lead guitar), Don Landis (rhythm guitar) and Nick Hefner (saxophone). They played at many high schools and many local dances and clubs. They eventually earned enough money to rent a recording studio "World Pacific" to start recording. In about three and a half hours, they had an album titled "Surfbeat". Saxophonist Nick Hefner played on only one track. Surfbeat was released in January 1963 on Vault Records and quickly went up the charts. Just months earlier, The Beach Boys
released a vocal single called "Surfing Safari" Some months before The Challenger's "Surfbeat" release, surf music icon Dick Dale's first album "Surfers Choice" was released. "Surfbeat" contained songs that were early influences on surf rock, including songs first recorded by The Fireballs
and Duane Eddy
. In the early years Rick Griffin
contributed cartoons of the band that appeared on their albums and a fan oriented "Challengers Band Cartoon Book". He later became well known for his work creating psychedelic poster art later in the 60's. The original group released a second album titled "Lloyd Thaxton
Goes Surfing With The Challengers" with the benefit of being associated with the popular teen television show host.
" hosted by Sam Riddle in '65-66. Saxophonist Phil Pruden left the group starting with the release of "California Kicks" in 1966 making The Challengers a four piece guitar driven group for the remainder of their run. During this time the group and surf music popularity overseas in Japan and other countries was exploding. This led to the creation of four more groups with members from The Challengers. The Surfriders, The Good Guys, The Clee-Shays and The De-Fenders all produced albums for these foreign markets. In addition The Challengers produced some tracks for the car & hot rod music scene that was gaining popularity in the US on the heels of the surf craze. Delvy could see a music trend coming and capture it at just the right time. Although primarily an instrumental band, the group added vocals to the following albums as all band members could also sing:
At The Teenage Fair
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
A Go Go
Light My Fire
In the mid to late 1960s, as music changed, so did The Challengers. They began recording more pop-oriented music, like an instrumental version of "Kicks
" by Paul Revere & The Raiders
, "Light My Fire
" by The Doors
, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" from the TV show and many others. By 1967, they had gone the way of most other surf bands and stopped performing live, but still continued recording and releasing albums. Their album "Billy Strange
And The Challengers" brought the collaboration of another fine guitarist from the GNP Crescendo label to work with The Challengers. A 1970 greatest hits release of the band was fittingly titled "Where Were You In The Summer Of '62?".
).
In 1995, after 25 years of no new recordings, The Challengers reunited with some new members to release the album "New Wave" produced by band leader and founder Richard Delvy. Paul Johnson graciously joined the group to play guitar and composed. Art Fisher played guitar on Mr. Moto, Ed Fournier contributed a new song he wrote and Richard Delvy plays drums on the new tracks. It was released on compact disc on the independent label Atmosphere, Miraleste Music. Richard Delvy died on February 6, 2010 ending his lifelong influence on music in the Los Angeles area.
Overview
The band was formed out of the pioneer surf band called The Bel-AirsThe Bel-Airs
The Bel-Airs were an early and influential surf rock band from Southern California, active in the early 1960s.They were best known for their 1961 hit "Mr. Moto", an instrumental surf rock song that featured a flamenco inspired intro and contained a melodic piano interlude...
. The Bel-Airs were still in high school at the time, but scored a hit with an instrumental song titled "Mr. Moto." Their potential was cited by many, but it was an argument about use of the then new Fender reverb unit that led to their breakup. The Bel-Airs were originally formed by two guitarists, Eddie Bertrand and Paul Johnson, both 16 years old at the time they recorded "Mr. Moto". In early 1963, Eddie Bertrand heard Dick Dale
Dick Dale
Dick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...
using the Fender
Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
reverb unit and wanted to start incorporating heavy reverb into The Bel-Airs songs. He felt reverb was the sound that would come to define surf music. Even at 17, Johnson was something of an independent thinker and told Bertrand that The Bel-Airs had done quite well without reverb and he didn't see any reason at all to begin using it. The argument escalated until Bertrand finally left the band which then broke up for good shortly after. Johnson confirmed this story in the liner notes he contributed to The Bel-Airs reunion album released in 1986.
Early years
During their peak years, from late 1960 to Summer 1963, The Bel-Airs had two drummers who played gigs with the band alternately, original Mouseketeer, Dick Dodd (Eddie & the ShowmenEddie & 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. Their highest-charting single in Los Angeles was "Mr...
and The Standells
The Standells
The Standells are a garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as the "Godfathers of Punk Rock", and are best known for their 1966 hit "Dirty Water," now the anthem of several Boston sports teams.-The 1960s:...
) and a local school friend named Richard Delvy
Richard Delvy
Richard Delvy was an American drummer who played with The Bel-Airs and The Challengers. He also worked as a composer, music manager and producer. He owned the rights to several iconic surf and rock songs including "Wipe Out", "Mr. Moto" and "Chick-A-Boom "...
. Delvy saw value in publishing, promoting and recording and began a career of managing and producing surf music. He then ultimately recorded numerous Southern California bands in the latter part of the 1960s. Since the 60's Delvy has produced many different musical artists and has made music management his lifelong passion.
The year before The Bel-Airs breakup, Richard Delvy left The Bel-Airs to form a new band called The Challengers. The only band member he brought from The Bel-Airs was keyboardist Jim Roberts. Delvy then recruited Randy Nauert (bass guitar), Glenn Grey (lead guitar), Don Landis (rhythm guitar) and Nick Hefner (saxophone). They played at many high schools and many local dances and clubs. They eventually earned enough money to rent a recording studio "World Pacific" to start recording. In about three and a half hours, they had an album titled "Surfbeat". Saxophonist Nick Hefner played on only one track. Surfbeat was released in January 1963 on Vault Records and quickly went up the charts. Just months earlier, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
released a vocal single called "Surfing Safari" Some months before The Challenger's "Surfbeat" release, surf music icon Dick Dale's first album "Surfers Choice" was released. "Surfbeat" contained songs that were early influences on surf rock, including songs first recorded by The Fireballs
The Fireballs
The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, is an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s...
and Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
. In the early years Rick Griffin
Rick Griffin
Richard Alden Griffin was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. As a contributor to the underground comix movement, his work appeared regularly in Zap Comix. Griffin was closely identified with the Grateful Dead, designing some of their best known...
contributed cartoons of the band that appeared on their albums and a fan oriented "Challengers Band Cartoon Book". He later became well known for his work creating psychedelic poster art later in the 60's. The original group released a second album titled "Lloyd Thaxton
Lloyd Thaxton
Lloyd Thaxton was an American writer, television producer, director, and television host best known for his syndicated pop music television program of the 1960s, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, which began as a local show on KCOP Los Angeles in 1961.-Life and career:The son of a newspaperman, Thaxton was...
Goes Surfing With The Challengers" with the benefit of being associated with the popular teen television show host.
Years of success
The Challengers moved on and continued to record albums. During the recording of their third album "On The Move", Hefner, Grey, Roberts and Landis all left the band. Richard Delvy and Randy Nauert remained. Art Fisher and Ed Fournier filled two guitar spots and Phil Pruden came in on saxophone. Delvy, Fisher and Fournier also contributed to song compositions for the group. In 1964, they released their hit album K-39. The title track became a big hit and is one of their best known songs. The group continued their successful career, recording several albums a year, shocking by today's "one album every two years" pattern. They also had their own TV show called "Surf's Up" hosted by Stan Richards in '65-66 and appeared frequently on another dance show called "Hollywood A Go-GoHollywood A Go-Go
Hollywood A Go-Go was a Los Angeles based music variety show that ran in syndication in the mid-1960s. It was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers.-History:...
" hosted by Sam Riddle in '65-66. Saxophonist Phil Pruden left the group starting with the release of "California Kicks" in 1966 making The Challengers a four piece guitar driven group for the remainder of their run. During this time the group and surf music popularity overseas in Japan and other countries was exploding. This led to the creation of four more groups with members from The Challengers. The Surfriders, The Good Guys, The Clee-Shays and The De-Fenders all produced albums for these foreign markets. In addition The Challengers produced some tracks for the car & hot rod music scene that was gaining popularity in the US on the heels of the surf craze. Delvy could see a music trend coming and capture it at just the right time. Although primarily an instrumental band, the group added vocals to the following albums as all band members could also sing:
At The Teenage Fair
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
A Go Go
Light My Fire
In the mid to late 1960s, as music changed, so did The Challengers. They began recording more pop-oriented music, like an instrumental version of "Kicks
Kicks (song)
"Kicks" is a song by American rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote the song for The Animals, but the band's lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down....
" by Paul Revere & The Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
, "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
" by The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" from the TV show and many others. By 1967, they had gone the way of most other surf bands and stopped performing live, but still continued recording and releasing albums. Their album "Billy Strange
Billy Strange
William E. "Billy" Strange is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor.-Recordings and songwriting:...
And The Challengers" brought the collaboration of another fine guitarist from the GNP Crescendo label to work with The Challengers. A 1970 greatest hits release of the band was fittingly titled "Where Were You In The Summer Of '62?".
Later years & reunion
The Challengers were seen in a few of 1980s surf band reunion concerts. Richard Delvy always kept in contact with his band mates. His surf band history was extensive and he maintained his friendships with his former Bel-Airs guitarist Paul Johnson (PJ and the Galaxies) and Eddie Bertrand (Eddie & the ShowmenEddie & 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. Their highest-charting single in Los Angeles was "Mr...
).
In 1995, after 25 years of no new recordings, The Challengers reunited with some new members to release the album "New Wave" produced by band leader and founder Richard Delvy. Paul Johnson graciously joined the group to play guitar and composed. Art Fisher played guitar on Mr. Moto, Ed Fournier contributed a new song he wrote and Richard Delvy plays drums on the new tracks. It was released on compact disc on the independent label Atmosphere, Miraleste Music. Richard Delvy died on February 6, 2010 ending his lifelong influence on music in the Los Angeles area.
Selected discography
| The Challengers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Album Name | ||
| 1963 | Surfbeat Surfbeat Surfbeat was the first album recorded by the Los Angeles-based surf rock group The Challengers. They recorded the album in a 3½ hour session at the end of 1962. The album was released in early 1963 and became a huge hit, helping to propel the surf genre. It was sought by collectors for many years... |
||
| 1963 | Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing With The Challengers Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing with The Challengers Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing with The Challengers is the second album by the surfband The Challengers. This album was issued in 1963, at the peak of the "surf wave", in South California... |
||
| 1963 | On The Move | ||
| 1964 | K-39 | ||
| 1964 | Sidewalk Surfing! | ||
| 1964 | At The Teenage Fair | ||
| 1965 | The Man From U.N.C.L.E. | ||
| 1965 | Surf's Up | ||
| 1966 | California Kicks | ||
| 1966 | A Go Go | ||
| 1966 | Wipe Out! | ||
| 1967 | Billy Strange And The Challengers | ||
| 1969 | Light My Fire | ||
| 1970 | Vanilla Funk | ||
| 1995 | New Wave New Wave (The Challengers album) New Wave is an album by the surfband The Challengers. It was issued in 1995, on Atmospheres, Miraleste Music.- Track listing :#"Dead Beach" #"Tsunami" #"Escape To Reality" #"Freeballin" #"Baja Girl" #"Nite Wave"... |
||
Compilations
- Where Were You In The Summer Of '62? (1970)
- Killer Surf! The Best Of The Challengers (1994)
- Tidal Wave! (1995)