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Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 band
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
 active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the ....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 and are perhaps best known for their 1965 hit single
Hit single

A hit single is a Sound recording track or Single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official Record chart through repeated airplay and/or significant commercial sales....
 written
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 by Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
, the 12-bar blues "She's About a Mover" named the number one 'Texas' song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly is a monthly United States magazine published in Austin, Texas, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natural environment, industry, and education....
. With a Vox Continental
Vox Continental

The Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, reedy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring musicians....
 organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
 riff
RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic meta-format for storing data in tagged chunks.It was introduced in 1991 by Microsoft and International Business Machines, and was presented by Microsoft as the default format for Windows 3.1x multimedia files....
 provided by Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers

August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.In the early 1960s Meyers was, with Doug Sahm, a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet....
 and soulful
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 vocals
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 from lead singer
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
 and guitarist
Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres....
 Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
, the track features a Tex-Mex
Tejano music

Tejano music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Hispanic populations of Central and Southern Texas....
 sound.






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Encyclopedia


Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 band
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
 active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the ....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 and are perhaps best known for their 1965 hit single
Hit single

A hit single is a Sound recording track or Single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official Record chart through repeated airplay and/or significant commercial sales....
 written
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 by Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
, the 12-bar blues "She's About a Mover" named the number one 'Texas' song
Song

A song is a musical musical composition which contains vocal parts that are performed, 'sung,' and feature words , commonly accompanied by musical instruments ....
 by Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly

Texas Monthly is a monthly United States magazine published in Austin, Texas, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natural environment, industry, and education....
. With a Vox Continental
Vox Continental

The Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, reedy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring musicians....
 organ
Organ (music)

The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either Manual or Pedal clavier. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the European classical music....
 riff
RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic meta-format for storing data in tagged chunks.It was introduced in 1991 by Microsoft and International Business Machines, and was presented by Microsoft as the default format for Windows 3.1x multimedia files....
 provided by Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers

August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.In the early 1960s Meyers was, with Doug Sahm, a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet....
 and soulful
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 vocals
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 from lead singer
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
 and guitarist
Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres....
 Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
, the track features a Tex-Mex
Tejano music

Tejano music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Hispanic populations of Central and Southern Texas....
 sound. Other influences came in from blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
, jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, and contemporary rock.

In addition to "She's About a Mover," (1965) the band is known for its songs "Mendocino," (1968) "Can You Dig My Vibrations?" (1968) and "Dynamite Woman" (1969). "Mendocino" was released in December 1968, and reached #14 in the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
 by early 1969, spending 15 weeks in the chart
Record chart

Record chart are a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. It was more successful in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 selling over three million copies there.

Style

The Sir Douglas Quintet is considered a pioneering influence in the history of rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 for incorporating Tex-Mex and Cajun
Cajun

Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other ethnicities with whom the Acadians eventually intermarried on the semitropical frontier....
 styles into rock music
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
. However, early influences on the band's emerging Texas style were even broader than this, and included ethnic and pop music
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 from the 1950s and 1960s, such as doo-wop
Doo-wop

Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s the 1960s....
, electric blues
Electric blues

The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplifier of the guitar, the bass guitar , and/or the harmonica. Electric blues is performed in several regional subgenres, such as Chicago blues, Texas blues and Memphis blues....
, soul music
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
, and British Invasion
British Invasion

File:The Beatles in America.JPGThe British Invasion was the term applied by the news media?and subsequently by consumers?to the influx of rock and roll, beat music and pop music performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States, Canada and Australia....
. The Quintet brought the older styles into a contemporary context, for instance by adapting the doo-wop
Doo-wop

Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s the 1960s....
 feel, beat, and chord progressions. Perhaps even more off-beat for a late 1960s rock band than some inclusion of doo-wop type songs was that the band also played in styles like Western swing
Western swing

Western swing is a style of popular music that evolved in the 1920s in the American Southwest among the region's popular Western music string bands....
 and polka
Polka

The polka is a lively Central European dance and also a musical genre of dancing music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in the Czech lands and is still a common genre in Swedish, Lithuanian, Czech Republic, Poles, Germans, Hungarian, Austrians, Russian, Slovenian and Slovakian folk...
 (a Country & Western
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
 form and rhythmic style, from the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country

The Texas Hill Country is a region of Central Texas, United States, that features rolling, somewhat rugged, hills that consist primarily of limestone but includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite outcropping in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located some thirty miles northwest of Fredericksburg, Texas....
, rather than a straight European style). They approached these styles with an instrumental line-up that was typical of blues bands: one guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and drummer, and a member who could play either trumpet or saxophone.

In the mid 1960s, the band relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay Bays in Northern California....
 and absorbed features of the San Francisco Sound
San Francisco Sound

The San Francisco Sound refers to rock music performed live and recorded by San Francisco, California-based rock groups of the mid 1960s to early 1970s....
, including the loud and lush electric bass
Electric Bass

Electric bass can mean:* Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass.* Electric bass guitar....
 tone and freer percussion and guitar stylings. Band members also explored musical elements specific to modern jazz at that time. For studio
Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for Sound recording and reproduction. Ideally, the space is specially designed by an acoustics to achieve the desired acoustic properties ....
 recordings
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
, they sometimes added an extra session musician
Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders....
 or two, often to flesh out the brass dimension of a track's sound. Good examples of what they achieved when they absorbed the new jazz and psychedelic elements into their music can be found on the album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
, Sir Douglas Quintet + 2.

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
Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)

Jimmie Rodgers was a country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling. Among the first country music superstars and pioneers, Rodgers was also known as "The Singing Brakeman", "The Blue Yodeler", and "The Father of Country Music"....
' "In the Jailhouse Now
In the Jailhouse Now

In the Jailhouse Now is a song performed by many artists and which has at least three versions. Two different versions of the song were written by Jimmie Rodgers ....
" and Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas, Texas, USA, was an United States, Tejano, country music, and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados....
's "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

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

In 2005 they were among the new class of musicians chosen for the nominating ballot to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in the are...
.

Members

In addition to Sahm and Meyers, original Sir Douglas Quintet members included Jack Barber on bass, Frank Morin on saxophone, and Johnny Perez, Ernie Durawa and T.J. Ritterbach on drums. 1969 Harvey Kagan joined the Quintet on bass, forming their most familiar line up - Kagan, Morin, Perez, Sahm, and Meyers. Bassist Jim Stallings also contributed to several albums during this period of shifting personnel which included, among others, guitarist Tom Nay of Sarasota
Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County, Florida on the Southwest Florida coast of the state of Florida in the United States. Its current official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 (who played with the group for about a year), and John York, who later replaced Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman

Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds in 1965 with Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke .Along with frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, virtually defining the genre through his seminal work in The Byrds and The Flying Burrit...
 in The Byrds
The Byrds

The Byrds were an American Rock music band. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, The Byrds underwent several lineup changes, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group's disbandment in 1973....
. Sahm and Meyers were also members of the Texas Tornados in the early 1990s.

In 1972 the group split up when Sahm contracted to produce a solo
Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer. In practice this means a number of different things, depending on the type of music and the context....
 album. Meyers, Perez, Morin, and Stallings briefly regrouped as The Quintet, with 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.

Founder Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
 died of a heart attack in his sleep in a motel room in Taos, New Mexico on November 18, 1999, at the age of 58.

Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers

August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.In the early 1960s Meyers was, with Doug Sahm, a founding member of the Sir Douglas Quintet....
 continues to tour, and record on his own independent record labels, based out of Bulverde
Bulverde

Bulverde may refer to:*Intel XScale#PXA27x processing chips, code name Bulverde*Bulverde, Texas...
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
.

Selected discography


Albums

  • 1966 - The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet (Tribe) [not a compilation
    Compilation album

    A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, source or subject matter....
    , despite its title]
  • 1968 - Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues (Smash)
  • 1969 - Mendocino (Smash)
  • 1970 - 1+1+1=4 (Philips)
  • 1970 - Together After Five (Smash)
  • 1971 - The Return of Doug Saldaņa (Philips)
  • 1972 - Future Tense (as simply The Quintet)
  • 1973 - Rough Edges (Mercury)
  • 1977 - Live Love (Texas)
  • 1980 - Motive
  • 1983 - Border Wave (Chrysalis)
  • 1983 - Live Texas Tornado (Takoma)
  • 1983 - Midnight Sun
  • 1985 - Luv Ya' Europa
  • 1994 - Day Dreaming at Midnight (Elektra/Nonesuch)
  • 2006 - Live from Austin, Texas (New West)


Compilations

  • 1980 - The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet (Takoma)
  • 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 (PolyGram)
  • 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)


See also

  • Doug Sahm
    Doug Sahm

    Douglas Wayne Sahm , was a musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues, Rock and other genres....
  • Texas Tornados
    Texas Tornados

    Texas Tornados was a Tejano music band and its music was a fusion of Rock , Country and various Mexican styles. The initial combination of these musicians happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance....


External links