Daniel Flores (July 11, 1929 – September 19, 2006), also known by his stage name Chuck Rio, was an American

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. He is best remembered for his self-penned song "

Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

", which he recorded with

The Champs The Champs are an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila (The Champs song), Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by recording s ...

, the band of which he was a member at the time, and which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Biography

Of Mexican heritage, Flores was born in

Santa Paula, California Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pa ...

, and grew up in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. He was interested in the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

from an early age, first performing at church and family gatherings. At 14, however, Flores switched to the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

, forming his first band, the 3-D Ranch Boys. Emulating the rasping sounds of tenor saxophonist

Vido Musso Vido William Musso (January 16, 1913 – January 9, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Musso is a fairly obscure figure in the history of jazz and big band music. He relocated with his family from Carini, Sicily to the U.S. in Ju ...

, Flores played a variety of music genres -

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

- to cater to his hard-going

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...

clientele. Much to Flores's amusement, he has remarked, during this early stage of his career, he was commonly called the "Mexican Hillbilly". In the early 1950s, Flores recorded

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

for small Pasadena-based

record labels "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

, before signing to

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

/ RPM Records, and releasing his earliest

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

material. In 1957, Flores met aspiring

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and guitarist Dave Burgess. After briefly performing as Danny and Dave, the duo recruited former members of Flores's group,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Gene Alden and guitarist Buddy Bruce, along with

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

Cliff Hills to form

the Champs The Champs are an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged 1958 instrumental single "Tequila (The Champs song), Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by recording s ...

. Huelyn Duvall contributed vocals to these tracks. On December 23, 1957, the group recorded three songs for Challenge Records, including Flores' instrumental ''

''. The song is highlighted by Flores's "dirty sax" arrangements and his interjecting "Tequila!" following the turnaround between variations of the saxophone melody. Because Flores' speaking the song's only word made him the song's primary vocalist for crediting and record-keeping purposes, he was credited under the name "Chuck Rio" to avoid conflicts with his other record label, where he was signed as a vocalist. "Tequila" was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to the Champs' debut single, but after listeners requested the song over its

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

"Train to Nowhere", "Tequila" propelled to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1958. Conflicts between Flores and Burgess over leadership and the band's musical direction led to Flores' departure. He signed his rights away to ''Tequila'' and ultimately did not receive any

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

from the tune despite its success. In the intervening years, he formed other groups called the Originals and the Persuaders, the latter recording for Saturn Records in 1963. Flores continued to perform across California for the rest of his life. It was not until the early 2000s that he finally received royalties — albeit only for sales in Europe — for ''Tequila''. Flores died on September 19, 2006, as a consequence of complications of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Danny 1929 births 2006 deaths Chicano rock musicians American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American musicians of Mexican descent American male saxophonists Deaths from pneumonia in California Hispanic and Latino American musicians Musicians from Greater Los Angeles People from Santa Paula, California Rock en español musicians RPM Records (United States) artists Kent Records artists Challenge Records artists Apex Records artists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American saxophonists Singer-songwriters from California 20th-century American male singers