Dave Burgess (born December 13, 1934, Beverly Hills, California, United States) is an American guitar player, singer, songwriter, and band leader of The Champs.[1][2]
Biography
Singing career
In 1953, he recorded for Okeh, as a singer and made his first records with no success. His first release was "Judalina" b/w "Don't Put A Dent In My Heart" (Okeh 4-7002). A second release was "Gratefully Yours" b/w "Too Late For Tears" (Okeh 4-7044). He subsequently recorded for different record labels, with many of his vocals appearing on the budget TOPS label. In 1957, he recorded for Challenge as Dave Duprè. He finally found initial success as a songwriter with many songs including the 1957 hit I'm Available for Margie Rayburn. Dave also recorded his own version of "I'm Available" for Challenge (Challenge 1008). [3]
The Champs
On December 23, 1957, while working with other session musicians, they started a jam session which resulted in the composition of "Tequila". This was when the band officially formed, with Burgess on rhythm guitar.
Full-time manager
In late 1960, since Glen Campbell came in as the new rhythm guitarist for the band, Burgess left, but was still the band's manager. In 1965, the Champs disbanded. He composed many of their songs, while he was still manager.
References
- ↑ "The Champs". history-of-rock.com. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ↑ O'Keeffe, Michael (April 16, 2015). "Guitarist on 1958 classic Tequila, song featured in Pee Wee's Big Adventure, puts Grammy up for auction". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ↑ Global Dog OKeh & Challenge discographies
External links
- Dave Burgess discography at Discogs