The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by Michael Viner

Michael Viner

Michael Viner was an American film producer and record producer, who later shifted into book publishing and became an innovator in the audiobook field...

, a record artist manager and executive at MGM Records

MGM Records

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

. Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the virtually anonymous B film The Thing With Two Heads

The Thing with Two Heads

The Thing with Two Heads is a 1972 film, starring Rosey Grier, Ray Milland and Don Marshall directed by Lee Frost, and written by Wes Bishop. Frost and Bishop also had parts in the movie....

. The "band's" output consisted of upbeat, funky, instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 music. Many tracks were covers of popular songs of the day characterized by the prominence of bongo drum

Bongo drum

Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...

s, conga drums, rock drums and brass

Brass instrument

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...

.

History

The band released two albums, 1973's Bongo Rock and 1974's Return of the Incredible Bongo Band. The song "Bongo Rock", co-written by Art Laboe

Art Laboe

Art Laboe is an American pioneering disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner who is generally credited with coining the term "Oldies But Goodies."....

 and Preston Epps

Preston Epps

Preston Epps is an American percussionist.Epps learned to play percussion instruments, including the bongos, while he was stationed in Okinawa during the Korean War. After his tour of duty he settled in Southern California, playing in coffee shops and working odd jobs...

 and released by Epps as a Top 40 hit in 1959, was covered by the Incredible Bongo Band as "Bongo Rock '73", and became a minor US hit for them in 1973, and a substantial hit in Canada.

Michael Viner

Michael Viner

Michael Viner was an American film producer and record producer, who later shifted into book publishing and became an innovator in the audiobook field...

 would make use of MGM recording facilities in down-time, recruiting whichever studio musicians were on-hand. This apparently included many well-known blow-ins, all uncredited. Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...

 is rumoured to have played on some tracks. The "down-time" sessions carried on for some time, until words from upper management finally quelled the vanity project.

This was never an actual band. When product was finally released, a fake band was assembled and photographed. Those photos were seen on some album artwork, and in publicity.

However, the band is best known these days for its often-sampled cover of "Apache

Apache (instrumental)

"Apache" is an instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. It has been recorded by many people, but the first released version was recorded by British group The Shadows in June 1960 and released the following month. The song topped the UK singles chart for five weeks...

", an instrumental tune written by Jerry Lordan

Jerry Lordan

Jerry Lordan , born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan in Paddington, west London, was an English songwriter, composer and singer.-Career:...

 and originally made popular in the UK by The Shadows

The Shadows

The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...

, and in North America by Jørgen Ingmann

Jørgen Ingmann

Jørgen Ingmann is a musician from Copenhagen, Denmark.He worked with Svend Asmussen, the jazz violinist, during the 1940s and part of the 1950s....

. The group's version of "Apache" (produced by Perry Botkin Jr.) was not a hit upon release, and languished in relative obscurity until the late 1970s, when it was adopted by early hip-hop

Hip hop music

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artists, including pioneering DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash

Grandmaster Flash

Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....

, for the uncommonly long percussion break

Break (music)

In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....

 in the middle of the song. Subsequently, many of the Incredible Bongo Band's other releases were sampled by hip-hop producers, and the "Apache" break also remains a staple of many producers in drum and bass

Drum and bass

Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...

. The song received popular attention again in 2001 when it was featured in an ad for an Acura

Acura

Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...

 SUV. Recently, music critic Will Hermes did an article on "Apache" and the Incredible Bongo Band for the New York Times.

As well, the band's cover of "Let There Be Drums," which was made famous by Sandy Nelson

Sandy Nelson

Sandy Nelson is an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock drummers of the early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and was a session drummer on many other well-known hits, and released over 30 albums.-Career:His first recording, with a band called The Renegades Sandy...

 and also performed by The Ventures

The Ventures

The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...

, was used as the theme song for the long running television show "Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling" during the 1980s.

Last Bongo in Belgium was sampled in the song "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

"Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" is the 10th track on the album Paul's Boutique by American hip hop group the Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989.* Produced & written by the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers....

" performed by the Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

.

"Let There Be Drums" was used in Ken Burns' "Baseball: The 10th Inning", the follow-up to Burns' '94 PBS documentary.

Bongo Rock

Released 1973.

1. "Let There Be Drums"
2. "Apache
   Apache (instrumental)
   "Apache" is an instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. It has been recorded by many people, but the first released version was recorded by British group The Shadows in June 1960 and released the following month. The song topped the UK singles chart for five weeks...
   
   "
3. "Bongolia"
4. "Last Bongo in Belgium"
5. "Dueling Bongos"
6. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
7. "Raunchy '73"
8. "Bongo Rock '73"

Bongo Rock was also featured in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd...

.

Return of the Incredible Bongo Band

Released 1974.

1. "Kiburi"
2. "When the Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You in the Spring"
3. "Sing, Sing, Sing"
4. "Pipeline"
5. "Wipe Out"
6. "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught In Your Zipper"
7. "Topsey" (Parts 1-3)
8. "Sharp Nine"
9. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
   (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
   " Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. Richards's throwaway three-note guitar riff — intended to be replaced by horns — opens and drives the song...
   
   "
10. "Got The Sun In The Morning And The Daughter At Night"
11. "Ohkey Dokey"

LP Release

A1. "Apache"

A2. "Let There Be Drums"

A3. "Bongolia"

A4. "Wipe Out"

B1. "Dueling Bongos"

B2. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

B3. "Raunchy '73"

C1. "Last Bongo in Belgium"

C2. "Bongo Rock '73"

C3. "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught in Your Zipper"

C4. "Sharp Nine"

D1. "Kiburi"

D2. "Sing, Sing, Sing"

D3. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

D4. "Ohkey Dokey"

D5. "When the Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You in the Spring"

2001 Compilation CD Release

1. "Let There Be Drums"
2. "Bongolia"
3. "Kiburi"
4. "Apache"
5. "Sing, Sing, Sing"
6. "Dueling Bongos"
7. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
8. "Raunchy '73"
9. "Bongo Rock '73"
10. "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught in Your Zipper"
11. "Sharp Nine"
12. "Okey Dokey"
13. "Pipeline"
14. "When the Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You in the Spring"
15. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
16. "Wipe Out"
17. "Last Bongo in Belgium"
18. "Got the Sun in the Morning and the Daughter at Night"
19. "Slightly Reminiscent of Topsy"

2006 CD Release

1. "Apache"
2. "Let There Be Drums"
3. "Bongolia"
4. "Last Bongo in Belgium"
5. "Dueling Bongos"
6. "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
7. "Raunchy '73"
8. "Bongo Rock '73"
9. "Kiburi"
10. "Sing, Sing, Sing"
11. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
12. "Wipe Out"
13. "When the Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You in the Spring"
14. "Pipeline"
15. "Ohkey Dokey"
16. "Sharp Nine"
17. "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught in Your Zipper"
18. "Apache (Grandmaster Flash
    Grandmaster Flash
    Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
    
     Remix)"
19. "Last Bongo in Belgium (Breakers Mix)"

External links

• NY Times Article
• Review of Bongo Rock from Alan Ranta
• Distributor for Incredible Bongo Band
• Discogs entry