Back in the Pre-Beatle age, Northwest bands like The Wailers (I'm talkin' the real Wailers here, not the great Jamaican copycats) and the Ventures fused elements of jazz and R&B to create a new brand of instrumental rock. The Wailers evolved into a bitchin' garage band in the 60s, and the Ventures evolved into, well . . . the Ventures.
But there were other fine groups playing the field, and one of the best was The Viceroys (and yeah, I'm talkin' the real Viceroys, not those other Jamaican copycats).
At the time, and for many years after, the area's top dj was Pat O'Day of KJR in Seattle. O'Day had a crotchety character on his show called Granny Peters, so when the Viceroys released their first single, they were inspired to name it after Granny. If this was a ploy to get more air time, it worked, and "Granny's Pad" became a huge Northwest hit.
Far as I know, The Viceroys at Granny's Pad was the group's only LP. They continued releasing singles for several years, and the whole shebang is now available on the CD shown at right. Viceroys guitar player and sometime singer Jim Valley (front and center, above) later joined Portland band Don and the Goodtimes, and later still was drafted into the big leagues by ex-Portland band Paul Revere and the Raiders, who had become TV stars on Where the Action Is. Saxophone player Kerry Eggers joined The Wailers when they reformed in the 90s as The Fabulous Wailers.
But you don't need to know all that. All you need to know is that these were some very hep cats. Fire up the tunes below and see for yourself.
GRANNY'S PAD
GET SET
SACK O' WOE
Forgotten Music is a monthly groovefest hosted by Mr. Scott Parker. See more of this month's entries HERE.
