The Chantays, sometimes billed as Chantay's, is an American

surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

band formed in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. They are known for their 1963 hit

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

Pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

". Their sound combines

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio work ...

s with surf guitar, creating a unique ghostly sound.

History

The Chantays were formed in 1961 by five high-school friends. Bob Spickard, Brian Carman (co-writers of "Pipeline"), Bob Welch, Warren Waters and Rob Marshall were all students at

Santa Ana High School Santa Ana High School is the oldest and largest high school in Orange County, California, United States. The school was established in 1889. Notable alumni * Daniel Antúnez, soccer player * Barry Asher, professional bowler * Tony Baxter form ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In December 1962, the group recorded and released "Pipeline", which peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1963. The track also peaked in the UK Singles Chart in 1963 at No. 16. The Chantays recorded their first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

in 1963, also titled ''Pipeline'', which included "Blunderbus" and "El Conquistador". Their follow-up album was ''Two Sides of the Chantays'' in 1964. The Chantays toured Japan and the United States, joining

the Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

on a few occasions, and they were the only rock and roll band to perform on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...

''. "Pipeline" (published as

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

in 1962 by Downey Music Publishing) has become one of several surf rock hits. The tune has since been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bruce & Terry, the Rip Chords, and ...

Welk Welk or WELK may also refer to: People * Ehm Welk (1884–1966), German writer * Lawrence Welk (1903–1992), American musician Other uses *Welk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village in Poland * WELK, a radio station in West Virginia, United States ...

(on the Dot album ''Scarlet O'Hara''),

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of t ...

(on the United Artists album ''Greasy Kid Stuff''),

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

Takeshi Terauchi , also known as Terry, was a Japanese instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically eve ...

& Blue Jeans,

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical uses of Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971. T ...

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows. Early life and career Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...

(with

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (April 26, 1938 – April 30, 2024) was an 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" guitar sound, including ...

Lively Ones The Lively Ones were an American surf music band from USA, active in Southern California in the 1960s. They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly co ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...

with the help of

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

(Grammy Nominated), by the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...

and

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

. "Pipeline" has been used in many

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

s and commercials, and appears on numerous

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s. The Chantays have been honored for their contributions to music. Highlights include being honored on April 12, 1996, by Hollywood's Rock Walk, that was founded to honor individuals and bands that have made lasting and important contributions to music. "Pipeline" is listed as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Along with

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer best known as one-half of the Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a n ...

of the Righteous Brothers and

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

, the Chantays were honored by the City of Santa Ana, California, and Santa Ana High School when they named a street after them, Chantays Way. ''OC Weekly'' magazine also named the Chantays as one of the Best Orange County Bands. The Chantays are still playing. Original members Bob Spickard and Bob Welch are joined by longtime members Ricky Lewis and Brian Nussle. More recent albums include ''The Next Set'' (live recording) and ''Waiting for the Tide''. Some of the tracks are the new songs "Crystal T" and "Killer Dana", along with remakes of "Pipeline", "El Conquistador" and "Blunderbus". Brian Carman died at his home in Santa Ana, California, from complications of

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

on March 1, 2015. He was 69. Another longtime member Gil Orr died on September 19, 2017. He was 79.

Members

*Bob Spickard — guitar: original member *Brian Carman (born Brian Craig Carman; August 10, 1945 – March 1, 2015) — guitar/vocals: original member *Bob Welch — drums: original member (not the Fleetwood Mac member). *Warren Waters — bass guitar: original member *Rob Marshall — piano: original member *Ricky Lewis — guitar: longtime member *Gil Orr (July 17, 1938 – September 19, 2017) — guitar/bass guitar: longtime member *Brian Nussle — bass: longtime member

Discography

Albums

* ''Pipeline'' (

Downey Downey may refer to: People *Downey (surname) *Robert Downey Jr. Places *Downey, California, US *Downey, Idaho, US *Downey, Iowa, US Businesses * W. & D. Downey, photographic studio * Downey Studios, created out of a former Boeing plant Schools ...

DLP-1002, 1963;

Dot A dot is usually a small, round spot. Dot, DoT or DOT may also refer to: Orthography * Full stop or "period", a sentence terminator * Dot (diacritic), a mark above or below a character (e.g. ȧ, ạ, İ, Ċ, ċ, etc.), usually to indicate sou ...

DLP-3516/DLP-25516) * ''Two Sides of the Chantays'' (Dot DLP-3771/DLP-25771, 1964) * ''Next Set''

ive Ive or IVE may refer to: Music * Ive (group), a South Korean girl group * I've Sound (aka "I've"), a Japanese musical group People * Ive (given name), a Croatian and Slovenian given name * Bert Ive (1875–1939), British-born Australian cinema ...

(Chantay Productions CPD-3164, 1994) * ''Waiting for the Tide'' (Vesper Alley/Roctopia VRA-80003, 1997) * ''A Dawning Sun'' (Sundazed Music, LP 5646, 2023)

Singles

Live TV performances

* "Pipeline" (Lawrence Welk Show, May 18, 1963) * "Runaway" (Lawrence Welk Show, May 18, 1963)

Awards

* Hollywood's Rockwalk, inducted April 12, 1996

References

External links

www.thechantays.com
nbsp;— The Chantays official site
OC Weekly Magazine

nbsp;— history and booking
Bob Spikard Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2016) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chantays, The American surf music groups American instrumental rock musical groups Rock music groups from California Dot Records artists Downey Records artists Musical groups from Orange County, California