The Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino

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Arguably the greatest and most influential Tex-Mex group ever, the Sir Douglas Quintet epitomized Texas' reputation as a fertile roots music melting pot and established the career of Tex-Mex cult legend Doug Sahm. The Quintet mixed country, blues, jazz, R&B, Mexican conjunto/norteño music, Cajun dances, British Invasion rock & roll, garage rock, and even psychedelia into a heady stew that could only have come from Texas. Although they went largely underappreciated during their existence (mostly in the '60s), their influence was far-reaching and continues to be felt in Texas (particularly the similarly eclectic Austin scene) and beyond; afterward, Sahm embarked on a frequently fascinating solo career and reunited with the Quintet or its individual members several times over the years.

According to legend, the Sir Douglas Quintet was the brainchild of Houston producer Huey P. Meaux, who at the height of the British Invasion took a stack of Beatles records into a hotel room and studied them while getting drunk on wine. He found that the beats often resembled those of Cajun dance songs and hit upon the idea of a group that could blend the two sounds well enough to fool Beatles fans into giving a local band a chance. Doug Sahm, meanwhile, had been something of a childhood prodigy as a country artist -- he turned down a spot on the Grand Ole Opry in order to finish junior high and performed on-stage with Hank Williams. Sahm had made Meaux's acquaintance while leading a series of bands around San Antonio in high school and wanted to work with him. Meaux told Sahm his idea and Sahm quickly formed a band featuring childhood friend Augie Meyers on organ, bassist Jack Barber, drummer Johnny Perez, and percussionist Leon Beatty (who didn't stick around for too long); saxophonist Frank Morin was added after a short time. Meaux gave them the deceptively British-sounding name the Sir Douglas Quintet and released their debut single, "Sugar Bee," on his Pacemaker label in 1964; it flopped. However, their next single, the British Invasion/garage-flavored "She's About a Mover" (on a different Meaux label, Tribe), became a classic of Tex-Mex rock and an international hit, climbing into the U.S. Top 20 in 1965. Later that year, "The Rains Came" hit the Top 40 and Meaux assembled an LP from their singles sessions with the misleading title The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet. The group toured the United States and Europe, but upon returning, they were arrested at the Corpus Christi airport for possessing a tiny amount of marijuana. Feeling targeted for his long hair and hippie image, Sahm decided to break up the band upon his release from jail, and moved to San Francisco in early 1966; Morin tagged along.

Once in San Francisco, Sahm formed a new version of the Sir Douglas Quintet featuring Morin, keyboardist Peter Ferst (who was quickly replaced by Wayne Talbert), bassist John York (later of the Byrds, soon replaced by Whitney Freeman), and drummer George Rains; most of them were Texas expatriates as well. The new Sir Douglas Quintet gigged regularly around the Bay Area and signed with the Mercury subsidiary Smash. Their first album, Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues, was recorded with several extra horn players as the Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 and released in 1968; however, it lacked Augie Meyers' signature organ sound. Rains and Talbert soon left to concentrate on other projects and Sahm convinced Meyers and Johnny Perez to move up from Texas; they brought Meyers' old bandmate Harvey Kagan with to be the bassist. With almost all of their original members, the Sir Douglas Quintet recorded one of their finest albums, 1969's Mendocino; the title track became a Top 40 hit and a Tex-Mex rock staple and the whole record fit in very well with the emerging country-rock hybrid. Moreover, it made the group extremely popular in Europe, where they would retain a fan base for many years to come. Together After Five followed in 1970, after which the group switched to a different Mercury affiliate, Philips. Also released in 1970, 1+1+1=4 featured members of both the Texas and California lineups of the Quintet, plus new bassist Jim Stallings. A homesick Sahm finally returned to Texas in 1971 and the Sir Douglas Quintet officially disbanded in late 1972, though some of its members would continue to work with Sahm frequently during his solo career.

~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Category:

Education

Tags:

• texmex
• rock

[sixtiesrockboy]

They chose Sir Douglas Quintet hoping to ride the British Invasion to success. I think they had enough on their own, but you use what you can! They had to eat, and so did their families!

[John1948ElevenB]

@sixtiesrockboy I'm sure it was a business decision but I'm not sure they were thinking "British."  At that time the entire USA was copying the British mod scene. It was becoming American.

[silverdollar3]

This morning I woke up with this song in my head ! , but could not find it listed as Teeny Bopper, luckily my girfriend found it, yes she was a teeny bopper herself back in those days ! This song is better than I remember, and I thought this was a UK band, so thank you for the memories !

[John1948ElevenB]

@silverdollar3 Thank God for girlfriends! Glad you're enjoying it.

[barrygioportmorien1]

A great tune.

[John1948ElevenB]

@barrygioportmorien1 Revolutionary!

[John1948ElevenB]

@felixbautista Thanks. It keeps me entertained and I love sharing the music that has and still does mean so much to me.

[felixbautista]

Truly great and enjoyable watching.. I do really appreciate your efforts in uploading and sharing.

[TonyB08]

Being a Canadian trucker, and well ya all know the California roads don't ya? So being as I am driving along of course I'm gonna make a wrong turn, hate it when that happens, you ever tried to turn a 53 foot trailer around?. Anyway I end up in (you guessed it) and anyway it reminds me of this tune, so thank you Sir Douglas...Peace to all...and I got the hammer down and I'm outta here.

[calivita77]

Great song. Back from another time.

[whiteman866]

it was called Sir Douglas because of the leader Doug Sahm a TEXAN. The sound is definite TexMex. I was stationed in the Aleiutans during the 60s and we had a couple Chicanos who played this stuff constantly. Grows on ya. I dont know Herr Holm. I dont doubt je was in the band but Doug Sahm is still around. He has played with Bob Dylan, Leon Russell all kinds of people.

[Berthagertrude]

@silverdollar3

They called themselves the Sir Douglas Quintet to sound British and cash in on the British Invasion.

[tanika159]

suuuuuuper

[HEARTHEANGELSVOICES]

NOTHING LIKE A GOOD OLD FASHION MEXICAN POLKA. YA MON!