- Incredible Bongo Band
The Incredible Bongo Band, also known as Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band, was a project started in 1972 by
Michael Viner , a record artist manager and executive atMGM Records . Viner was called on to supplement the soundtrack to the virtually anonymous B film "The Thing With Two Heads". The "band's" output consisted of upbeat, funky, sometimes cheesyinstrumental music. Many tracks were covers of popular songs of the day characterized by the prominence ofbongo drum s,conga drum s, rock drums andbrass .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 andPreston Epps 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 substatial hit in Canada.Michael Viner would make use ofMGM recording facilities in down-time, recruiting whichever studio musicians were on-hand. This apparently included many well-known blow-ins, all uncredited.Ringo Starr 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", an instrumental tune written by
Jerry Lordan and originally made popular in the UK byThe Shadows , and in North America byJørgen Ingmann . The group's version of "Apache" (produced byPerry 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 artists, including pioneeringDJ sKool Herc andGrandmaster Flash , for the uncommonly long percussion break 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 remains a staple of many producers indrum and bass . The song received popular attention again in 2001 when it was featured in an ad for anAcura SUV. Recently, music criticWill Hermes did an article on Apache and the Incredible Bongo Band for theNew York Times . cite news | first=Will | last=Hermes | coauthors= | title=All Rise for the National Anthem of Hip-Hop | date=2006-10-29 | publisher= | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/arts/music/29herm.html?_r=1&ex=1163739600&en=de184a3330f1af11&ei=5070&oref=slogin | work =The New York Times | pages = | accessdate = 2008-07-12 | language = ]As well, the band's cover of "Let There Be Drums," which was made famous by
Sandy Nelson and also performed byThe Ventures , was used as the theme song for the long running television show "Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling " during the 1980s.Discography
"Bongo Rock"
#"Dueling Bongos"
#"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
#"Raunchy '73"
#"Bongo Rock '73"
#"Let There Be Drums"
#"Apache"
#"Bongolia"
#"Last Bongo In Belgium""Return of the Incredible Bongo Band"
#"Kiburi"
#"When The Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You In The Spring"
#"Sing, Sing, Sing"
#"Pipeline"
#"Wipe Out" (Cover of The Surfari's 'Wipeout')
#"Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught In Your Zipper"
#"Topsey" (Parts 1-3)
#"Sharp Nine"
#"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
#"Got The Sun In The Morning And The Daughter At Night"
#"Ohkey Dokey""Bongo Rock" (2006 Compilation)
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"Bongo Rock. The Story of The Incredible Bongo Band (Strut label, UK) 2001 Compilation CD Release
#"Let There Be Drums"
#"Bongolia"
#"Kiburi"
#"Apache"
#"Sing, Sing, Sing"
#"Dueling Bongos"
#"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
#"Raunchy '73"
#"Bongo Rock '73"
#"Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught In Your Zipper"
#"Sharp Nine"
#"Okey Dokey"
#"Pipeline"
#"When The Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You In The Spring"
#"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
#"Wipe Out"
#"Last Bongo In Belgium"
#"Got The Sun In The Morning and The Daughter At Night"
#"Slightly Reminiscent Of Topsy"2006 CD Release
#"Apache"
#"Let There Be Drums"
#"Bongolia"
#"Last Bongo In Belgium"
#"Dueling Bongos"
#"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
#"Raunchy '73"
#"Bongo Rock '73"
#"Kiburi"
#"Sing, Sing, Sing"
#"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
#"Wipe Out"
#"When The Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You In The Spring"
#"Pipeline"
#"Ohkey Dokey"
#"Sharp Nine"
#"Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, Your Tie's Caught In Your Zipper"
#"Apache [Grand Master Flash Remix] "
#"Last Bongo In Belgium [Breakers Mix] "References
External links
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/arts/music/29herm.html?ex=1163739600&en=de184a3330f1af11&ei=5070 NY Times Article]
* [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/musicreviews/i/incredible_bongo_band.htm Review of "Bongo Rock"] from Filmore Mescalito Holmes
* [http://www.mrbongo.com/ Distributor for Incredible Bongo Band]
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bongo-Rock-Story-Incredible-Band/dp/B00005COZL]
* [http://www.discogs.com/release/232961]
*amg | id = 11:oae67ui0h0jf | label = Incredible Bongo Band
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.