The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band formed in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their home state. When their career was established (subsequent to working with Texas record producer Huey Meaux), the band relocated to the West Coast. Their move coincided with the burgeoning San Francisco psychedelic rock scene of the mid 1960s to early 1970s. Overall, the quintet were exponents of good-times music with strong roots in blues and Texas-regional traditions. The band's songs were most noted for the instantly distinguishable organ sound of Augie Meyers'

Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supp ...

Group's origins

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. He is regarded as a key Tejano music, Tex-Mex music and Music of Texas, Texan Music pe ...

, a veteran of the professional music scene who first sang on radio at the age of five, formed the Quintet (first called simply "Sir Douglas") in 1964 with longtime friend Augie Meyers and the other original members, Jack Barber, Frank Morin, and Johnny Perez. Sahm had started in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

and had played (at age eleven) on-stage with Hank Williams, Sr. during the latter's final performance. Sahm went on to play in blues clubs in his teenage years and had gained experience as a band leader. The initial success of the new group, the Quintet, on the airwaves and sales charts was achieved when they made records in conjunction with Houston music producer Huey P. Meaux. Houston's recording industry had become the center of Texas R&B music. The Quintet was born in a cross-cultural south Texas musical melting pot that included the sounds and traditions of Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia, Bohemia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, and African-America. Aware of major trends, producer Huey Meaux advised connecting the new group with the English pop-music trend. As a consequence, the Texas-local R&B,

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...

, and other veins the musicians were familiar with initially went through a period of influence by the British pop bands of the early and mid 1960s. For a short while, the youthful members of the group emulated

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

-like "mop-top" demeanor and antics on stage. However, they soon outgrew these trappings.

Best known tracks

The Quintet is perhaps best known for the 1965

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

" She's About a Mover"

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

by Doug Sahm. The song, which has a

12-bar blues The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly base ...

structure, was once named the number one 'Texas'

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

by ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

''. With an infectious

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

provided by Augie Meyers and soulful vocals from Sahm, the track has a

sound. The regional smash became a breakaway hit, and the recording was used in the soundtracks of the films ''Echo Park'' (1986), ''American Boyfriends'' (1989), ''The Doors'' (1991), ''Riding in Cars with Boys'' (2001), ''Sorority Boys'' (2002), and ''Beautiful Darling'' (2010). The Quintet's recordings were used as well in the soundtracks of other films, such as ''Cisco Pike'' and ''An Officer and a Gentleman''. In addition to "She's About a Mover," the band is known for its songs "The Rains Came" (1966), "Mendocino" (1968), "It Didn't Even Bring Me Down" (1969), and "Dynamite Woman" (1969). "Mendocino" was released in December 1968 and reached No. 27 in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

''Billboard'' Hot 100 by early 1969, spending 15 weeks in the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

. It was more successful in

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, selling over three million copies there. The track was featured in the generally highly regarded film ''

High Fidelity High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

'', starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

and

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

. Having made considerable musical impact, the Quintet at one point went on to share the same European bill as

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

.In 1983, Sahm and Augie Meyers signed with the Swedish Sonet label, and made several extensive European tours that revitalized their careers. The single "Meet Me In Stockholm" from their Midnight Sun LP went platinum and was one of the biggest selling records ever in Scandinavia. "We were having riots on stage," said Doug. "Swedish chicks (were) running up on stage, knocking me over, ripping my clothes."

Style

The Quintet played varied styles with an instrumental lineup that was typical of blues bands: one guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and drummer, and a member who could play either trumpet or saxophone. Despite the blues band lineup and a musical influence from the blues, the Quintet's live sets did not overemphasize misery or tension in the lyrical content or musical feeling of the songs. In their sets and on record, the Quintet included such blues classics as "I Don't Believe" (originally by Bobby Blue Bland) along with the upbeat "Hey Little Girl" (originally by

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...

man Frankie Lee Sims) and "T-Bone Shuffle" (originally by blues giant

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

). The Sir Douglas Quintet is considered a pioneering influence in the history of rock and roll for incorporating Tex-Mex and

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

styles into rock music. However, early influences on the band's emerging Texas style were of course broader than this, and included ethnic and pop music from the 1950s and 1960s, such as

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, and

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

. In the mid-1960s, the band relocated to the

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and absorbed features of the nascent San Francisco Sound, including the loud and lush

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

tone and freer percussion and guitar stylings. Band members also explored musical elements specific to modern jazz. For

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, they sometimes added an extra

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

or two, often to flesh out the brass dimension of a track's sound. Good examples of what they produced by absorbing the new jazz and psychedelic elements into their music can be found on the

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 ...

''Sir Douglas Quintet + 2''. The lyrics in a Quintet song such as "The Song of Everything" are plainly in the realm of the mystical, whimsical lyrics regarded as one of the characteristics of psychedelic music. In live performances, blues, often with swing or shuffle beats, was usually a substantial component of the set. Besides doing their own original material, the Quintet revived several classics such as

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

' " In the Jailhouse Now" and

Freddy Fender Freddy Fender (born Baldemar Garza Huerta; June 4, 1937 – October 14, 2006) was an American Country and Tejano singer, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados. His signature sound fused cou ...

's "

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" is an American country and pop song recorded by Freddy Fender. It is considered by many to belong to the swamp pop idiom of south Louisiana and southeast Texas that had such a major musical impact on Fender. Son ...

" to be found on the albums ''Son of San Antonio'' (originally on ''The Best of The Sir Douglas Quintet'', 1966) and ''Texas Fever'' (originally on ''The Return of Doug Saldana'', 1971), respectively. In 2005, they were among the new class of musicians nominated for induction into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

for the 2006 induction ceremony.

Members

In addition to Sahm and Meyers, original Sir Douglas Quintet members included Jack Barber on bass; Frank Morin on saxophone, trumpet, and keyboards; and Johnny Perez, Ernie Durawa, or T.J. Ritterbach on drums.

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joined the band on tenor sax in 1968. In 1969 Harvey Kagan joined the Quintet on bass, forming their most familiar line up – Kagan, Morin, Perez, Sahm, and Meyers. Bassist

Jim Stallings Jim Stallings is an American musician who played as a bassist with the Sir Douglas Quintet The Sir Douglas Quintet was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas in 1964. With their first hits, they were acclaimed in their ...

also contributed to several albums during this period of shifting personnel which included, among others, guitarist Tom Nay of

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(who played with the group for about a year) and John York, who later replaced

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, and contributions from San Antonio crooner/saxophonist Danny Segovia. Sahm and Meyers were later also members of the Texas Tornados (with

and

Flaco Jiménez Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez (born March 11, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. He is known for playing Norteño, Tex Mex and Tejano music. Jiménez has been a solo performer and session musician, as ...

) in the early 1990s. Frank Morin and Martin Fierro both appeared on the first Mother Earth album "Living With the Animals" (1968). In 1972, the group split up when Sahm contracted to produce a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

album. Meyers, Perez, Morin, and Stallings briefly regrouped as The Quintet, with Sonny Farlow taking Sahm's place. In 1973, several Sir Douglas Quintet outtakes were released in their final album from the group's classic era, ''Rough Edges.'' Sahm and Meyers continued to work together throughout the late 1970s, and rejoined with Perez in 1980 for a reunion tour and album. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the band was joined by Louie Ortega, formerly of the 1960s band Louie & the Lovers and currently of the Texas Tornados. Founder Doug Sahm died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in his sleep in a motel room in

Taos, New Mexico Taos () is a town in Taos County, New Mexico, Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Santa Fe ...

, on November 18, 1999, at the age of 58. Johnny Perez owned Topanga Skyline Studios, with "the Vibe and the Magic of the '70's." Skyline's grand woodwork, welcoming business culture, and "western fort" dirt courtyard set the stage for drummer Perez to mentor and inspire generations of young artists – until his death on September 11, 2012, at the age of 69, in a California hospital, from complications of cirrhosis of the liver. Harvey Kagan performed with a San Antonio area wedding/event band, The Oh So Good! Band, best known for discovering American Idol contestant

Haley Scarnato Haley Suzanne Scarnato (born June 15, 1982) is an American singer who was the 8th-place finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol (season 6), American Idol''. Early years Scarnato was born in San Antonio, Texas to Rose and Anthony Scarnato. ...

. Kagan died on July 5, 2019, aged 73. Augie Meyers continues to tour, and record on his own independent record labels, based in

Bulverde, Texas The City of Bulverde ( ) is located in Comal County in the State of Texas. Bulverde is known for its small-town, slow pace of life, coupled with the German emigrant history of the town's founders. Bulverde was originally named Piepers Settlement ...

. Frank Morin remains active in music, with teaching, production, and film soundtracks work. Jim Stallings lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he plays bass, guitar, and keyboards at local Pro-Jam sessions. He is also in the process of writing his autobiography with heavy emphasis on his time with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the effect that experience had on his life.

Selected discography

Albums

* 1966 – ''The Best of Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Tribe) (not a

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, despite its title) * 1968 – ''Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues'' (Smash) * 1969 – '' Mendocino'' (Smash) * 1970 – ''Together After Five'' (Smash) * 1970 – ''1+1+1=4'' (Philips) * 1971 – ''The Return of Doug Saldaña'' (Philips) * 1972 – ''Future Tense'' (as simply The Quintet) without Doug Sahm * 1973 – ''Rough Edges'' (Mercury) * 1975 – ''Reunion of The Cosmic Brothers'' (Crazy Cajun) LIVE SDQ with Freddy Fender, Roky Erickson at Armadillo World HQ * 1977 – ''Live Love'' (Texas Re-Cord Co.) recorded at Armadillo World HQ, Austin, Texas in 1977 * 1978 – ''The Tracker'' (Crazy Cajun) * 1978 – ''Don Goldie & The Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Crazy Cajun) * 1979 – ''Wanted: Very Much Alive'' (Sonet, UK) same 1977 LIVE material as "Live Love" * 1980 – ''Motive'' (Mercury, W. Germany) "Sir Douglas Quintett" spelled with a double "t" at the end(?) on cover and labels * 1981 – '' Border Wave'' (Takoma) * 1981 – ''The Tracker'' (UDL 2343) white cover unauthorized LP release * 1981 – ''Quintessence'' (Varrick) * 1982 – ''Still Growing'' (Sonet, Sweden) Augie Meyers with Doug Sahm * 1983 – ''Live Texas Tornado'' (Takoma) * 1983 – ''Midnight Sun'' (Sonet) * 1984 – ''Rio Medina'' (Sonet) * 1985 – ''Luv Ya' Europa'' (Sonet) * 1994 – '' Day Dreaming at Midnight'' (Elektra / Nonesuch) * 1998 – ''S. D. Q. '98'' (Watermelon) with The Gourds * 2006 – ''Live from Austin, Texas'' (New West) 1981 LIVE recordings from Austin City Limits TV show * 2007 – ''Live from Austin, Texas'' (New West) 1975 LIVE recordings from Austin City Limits TV show * 2013 – ''Nuevo Wave Live'' (Fuel Records) Re-release of "Live Texas Tornado" * 2018 – ''Live From Austin, TX'' (180 g Limited Edition New West Records 2LP) Recorded Live January 21, 1981, at Austin City Limits

Compilation albums

* 1969 – ''The Best of The Sir Douglas Quintet'' (DBI) * 1970 – ''What About Tomorrow?'' (Mercury, Switzerland) * 1975 – ''Pop Gold'' (Oval, W. Germany) * 1980 – ''The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Takoma) * 1986 – ''The Collection'' (Castle Communication, UK) reissue of 2 Takoma LP releases * 1988 – ''Sir Doug's Recording Trip: The Mercury Years'' (Edsel) * 1988 – ''Spotlight'' (Sonet) * 1990 – ''The Best of Doug Sahm & the Sir Douglas Quintet 1968–1975'' (Mercury) * 1994 – ''Collection'' (San Juan Music Group) 22 LIVE tracks from all eras of Doug Sahm performances * 1994 – ''KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 2'' (KGSR) 1 live track by the SDQ + other artists * 2000 – ''The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet'' (Sundazed / Beat Rocket) * 2004 – ''Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet: The Best of the Tribe Recordings'' (Westside) * 2005 – ''The Complete Mercury Masters'' (Hip-O Select) * 2008 – ''Scandinavian Years'' (Universal Music, Norway) * 2011 – ''The Mono Singles '68-'72'' (Sundazed)

Singles

Awards and legacy

* February 1965 – “ She’s About a Mover” was recorded at Houston’s Gold Star Studios and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 (June 5 1965) and No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. * 1983 – Ringo Starr covered “ She's About a Mover” on his album ''Old Wave''. * 2015 – A feature-length documentary, ''Sir Doug & The Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove'', premiered, chronicling Doug Sahm’s life and music. * 2016 – Their 1965 single “ She's About a Mover” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame * October 18 2024 – “Concert Club: A Tribute to Doug Sahm,” featuring his son Shawn Sahm, was held at Austin’s Rollins Studio Theatre.

References

External links

*
The Doug Sahm Pages – Biography & discography
''The Vinyl Tourist'' (Joseph Levy)

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* {{Doug Sahm Musical groups from San Antonio Garage rock groups from Texas Chicano rock groups Progressive country musicians Gold Star Records artists American musicians of Mexican descent Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 1964 establishments in Texas Takoma Records artists