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The Blendells: 1960s Chicano Rock Hitmakers
by Mark Guerrero
The Blendells were one of three East L.A. groups who
had a national hit record during the period of 1964-65,
along with the Premiers and Cannibal & the Headhunters.
Their recording of Little Stevie Wonder’s obscure song
“La La La La La” peaked at number 62 on the national
charts. However, it was number one in Phoenix, Arizona,
where they performed as headliners for 11,000 people,
Hawaii, and Los Angeles, at a time when the number two
song was by the Beatles.
Mike Rincon, bass player and leader of the Blendells,
was inspired to form a band after attending rhythm &
blues shows in downtown Los Angeles in the late fifties
and early sixties. Thirteen year old Mike would catch a
bus by himself to see artists such as, Jackie Wilson,
Johnny Otis, and Hank Ballard & the Midnighters at grand
old movie theaters like the Orpheum and the Rialto.
When
Mike formed his own group, members came and went until
he had the right musicians. At Cathedral High School in
Montebello, where Mike attended, he found the first
piece of the puzzle, drummer Ronnie Chipres, playing in
the school band. Next he added lead guitarist Rudy
Valona. Mike and the band had just finished a recording
session that went well and Mike remembers saying that
the band sure blended well. Later, he and Rudy sat on a
curb outside the studio and used that idea to come up
with the name Blenders, which later evolved into the
Blendells. The “dells” part was an homage to the 1950s
group the Dells. Rudy brought in sax player Don Cardenas
and rhythm guitarist Tommy Esparza. Meanwhile, lead
singer Sal Murillo was singing in a duo called Sal &
Marge, who were already popular on the east side
circuit. Rudy persistently called Billy Cardenas, no
relation to Don, about managing the group. Billy finally
heard them and decided to to so. According to Mike, it
was Billy who suggested Sal as lead vocalist for the
band. All six members in place, the Blendells played the
East L.A. circuit and became very popular. At one
memorable engagement at East L.A.’s Paramount Ballroom
they were on the bill with an odd looking duo called
Caesar & Cleo, who later became known as Sonny & Cher.
The Blendell’s “La La La La La” would later appear on
Sonny & Cher’s hit album “Sonny & Cher and Friends.”
Like the Premiers before them, they were taken into
Stereo Masters studio in Hollywood and cut a record for
one of Eddie Davis’ labels. In this case it was Rampart
Records, the same label on which Cannibal & the
Headhunters’ “Land of a Thousand Dances” was later
released. Incidentally, it was the Blendells who were to
back up the Headhunters on that hit record. The song “La
La La La La” was brought to the band by drummer Ronnie
Chipres. They were playing it at one of their gigs when
Eddie Davis heard it and urged them to record it. Sal
says it was recorded in one take. The record took off
and the band was now in demand beyond Southern
California. They performed on television shows such as
L.A.’s “Ninth Street West” and the nationally televised
“Hullabaloo.”
At this point, lead singer Sal Murillo’s mom entered
into a contract dispute with the record company, which
led Eddie Davis to ask Sal to leave the band.
Ironically, the lead singer never toured with the
Blendells, outside of the successful Phoenix concert.
Sal got another manager and went solo. He did shows for
DJ Kasey Kasem that included Johnny Rivers and the
Righteous Brothers on the bill. Meanwhile, the Blendells
went out on the road without a lead singer. Vocal duties
were shared by Mike, Tommy and Rudy, with Rudy singing
“La La La La La”. Their tours, whose main mode of
transportation was a rented U haul pulled by a car
carrying the band, included performances in California,
Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and the state
of Washington. They shared the stage with the Dave Clark
5, Roy Orbison, Dick Dale, the Ventures, Shirelles,
Drifters, Coasters and Chuck Berry.
My band at the time, Mark & the Escorts, played many
venues with the Blendells, including the Belair
Rollerdrome in Pico Rivera, the Montebello Ballroom and
the Shrine Auditorium. We shared the same
manager/producer team and I attended Garfield High
School with Rudy Valona and Tommy Esparza and knew them
well. The Blendells, who were in their late teens,
seemed very mature to my group, merely in our mid-teens.
We looked up to them and were influenced by their
playing style, which was purely East L.A. They were a
tight band with Rudy’s lead guitar on his twangy, funky
Fender Telecaster, Tommy’s chunka chunka rhythm guitar
on his Fender Duo Sonic, Don’s bluesy, screaming tenor
sax, Mike and Ronnie’s solid bass & drums, and Sal’s
smooth vocals. One time I substituted for Rudy with the
Blendells at a gig in Long Beach, CA. It was a
compliment that they called me for the gig, especially
being 15 years old, and I was thrilled to do it. I
remember very little about the show except playing lead
guitar on “La La La La La.”
The Blendells broke up much too soon.
They recorded
only two singles, “La La La La La,” backed with “Huggies
Bunnies” and “Dance with Me,” backed with “Get Your
Baby.” When “La La La La La “ took off, Eddie Davis made
a deal with Reprise Records to take over the record for
wider distribution. “Dance with me” was also released on
Reprise as a follow up single. Sal Murillo had left the
group before “Dance with Me” was recorded, so the lead
vocal on the record was done by Ralph Ventura, trumpet
player for the Romancers, another popular east side band
at the time. Interestingly enough, Billy Cardenas also
had the Premiers and Mark & the Escorts record “Get Your
Baby.” We also recorded a version of “Dance with Me”
at Billy’s request. During one of their tours, Rudy and
Tommy were let go after some inter-band member disputes
and were replaced by Bob Hernandez of the Romancers and
Johnny Diaz of the Rhythm Playboys. At times Andy Tesso,
also of the Romancers, sat in. Meanwhile, Rudy, Tommy
and Sal formed another group which was called the
Vaqueros, a name thought of by their manager to
emphasize the band’s Latino heritage. They recorded two
singles, “Vaquero Beat,” backed with “Oh So Tenderly”
and “Hey Girl,” backed with “Simple Minded Me.”
They
also appeared on “Hullabaloo” as well as some local L.A.
television shows. With the war in Viet Nam raging and
the draft in full swing, Rudy, Tommy, Ronnie, Mike and
Sal were drafted. Ronnie became a second lieutenant and
Sal served in Viet Nam with the special forces. Military
service effectively put an end to the Blendells.
However, in 1991 they reunited to perform at the Greek
Theater at the “K-EARTH LATINO ROCK & ROLL ALL STARS”
show, which included Little Willie G., Thee Midniters,
Cannibal (solo), , the Champs, ? & the Mysterians,
Little Ray, the Salas Brothers, Chris Montes, Sunny &
the Sunliners, Rosie & the Originals, Rene and Rene, and
the Chuck Crews Band. According to observers, the
Blendells sounded as good as ever. Recordings by the
Blendells are available on several compilation CDs,
including, “East Side Sound 1959-1968,” on Dionysus
Records, (P.O. Box 1975, Burbank, CA 91507) or www.dionysusrecords.com, and “East
Side Sound, Vol. 1&2,” (VSD-6017) and (VSD-6018) on Varese Sarabande
Records (11846 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 130, Studio City, CA,
91604) or www.varesesarabande.com.
Update
On December 26, 2003, Rudy Valona, former lead guitarist
of The Blendells passed away. I attended his
memorial service in East L.A., along with Eastside
musicians John and Lawrence Perez of The Premiers, Mike
Rincon (formerly of The Blendells), The Blendells'
former manager, Billy Cardenas, and many other
musicians, friends, and relatives. He was a friend
and will be missed.
This article is based on telephone interviews by Mark Guerrero
with three of the five original Blendells- Sal Murillo, Mike Rincon and
Rudy Valona in May of 2000.
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La
La La La La
The
Blendells 1964
Contact me at: info@markguerrero.net
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