|
Redbone: Cajun Funk with a Touch of Latin Soul
by Mark Guerrero
Redbone was a funky band whose music was a mixture of r&b, Cajun, Latin, and tribal elements.
They were founded in the late 60s by brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas, born Pat and Lolly Vasquez.
Lolly is actually is the diminutive form of the nickname
for the name Eduardo, which is Lalo. The name Redbone came from a derogatory Indian slang term meaning half-breed.
However, they chose to bear the name with pride and a touch of humor.
Although the heritage of the band members was a mixture of Chicano and Native American, they emphasized the latter with their name and image.
They dressed in full Indian regalia; buckskins, moccasins, and headdress.
Redbone signed with Epic Records in 1970 and went on to have two top forty hits, the biggest being their million seller “Come and Get Your Love” in 1974.
They performed on the major television shows of the day and toured extensively in the United States and Europe.
Pat and Lolly Vasquez, Mexican-Americans who grew up in Fresno, California, started their professional music careers in the touring band of Jimmy Clanton.
Pat played bass and Lolly guitar. Clanton had scored hits with “Just a Dream” and “Venus In Blue Jeans.”
After leaving Jimmy Clanton in 1961, Pat and Lolly headed for Hollywood, where they secured the services of Bumps Blackwell as their manager.
Bumps was best known for his work with Sam Cooke and Little Richard on Specialty Records.
Due to the racial discrimination at the time in the clubs on the Sunset Strip, Blackwell convinced Pat and Lolly
to change their surname for easier access. The
name Vegas was chosen because they had an uncle with
that name and they enjoyed the reference to the gambling
town in Nevada. Over the next ten years, Pat and Lolly shared the clubs on the strip with such legendary bands as
The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, and The Byrds.
On one occasion they jammed all night with the Rolling Stones.
They also became in demand studio musicians and worked alongside Dr. John, Leon Russell, Glen Campbell, Johnny Rivers, and many others.
A major break came in 1964 when they became regulars on the hit ABC-TV series, “Shindig.” “Shindig” was the biggest pop music show of the era, which featured the major rock and pop artists of the U.S. and Britain.
In 1966, their first album, Pat and Lolly Vegas "At the
Haunted House" was released by Mercury Records (Mercury
SR-61059). They also got into the hot rod music
scene as part of the Deuce Coupes, who recorded an album
for Bob Keane's Del-Fi Records. As songwriters, Pat and Lolly
(with Jim Ford) wrote a hit for P.J. Proby called “Nicky Hoeky,” which led to other covers by artists such as Bobbie Gentry, Aretha Franklin, and
Tom Jones. (Tom Jones covered "The Witch
Queen of New Orleans," which earned him a gold
record in England.)
Although they may have been unaware of it, Pat & Lolly Vegas were an
inspiration and had a strong influence on East L.A. bands of the 1960s. According to the book “Land of a Thousand Dances” by Tom Waldman and David Reyes, during Pat and Lolly’s time playing on the Sunset Strip, many musicians from East L.A. came to check them out, including members of Thee Midniters, Cannibal & the Headhunters, and
The Premiers.
Andy Tesso of The Romancers, who happened to be Pat & Lolly’s cousin,
has told me he was heavily influenced by Lolly’s guitar style.
Andy, in turn, went on to influence many Eastside guitarists.
Another East L.A. band, Elijah, who were later influenced by Redbone, recorded one of Pat & Lolly’s songs called “Prehistoric Rhythm” on their 1972 United Artists album entitled “Elijah.”
In the late 60s, Pat and Lolly Vegas formed their own group called
The Crazy Cajun Cakewalk Band. Their original drummer was Ed Greene, who went on to become one of the top studio drummers in Hollywood.
When they added Tony Bellamy on guitar and Peter “Walking Bear” DePoe on drums, who was of Cheyenne Indian heritage, the four decided on the name Redbone.
Tony Bellamy, born Tony Avila, was a Mexican-American who had an uncle who was
Navajo.
Pat and Lolly claimed their Yaqui heritage. (The Yaqui Indians are from what is now Sonora, Mexico).
Their first single on Epic Records was “Maggie,” which became a regional hit in September of 1971.
Then came “The Witch Queen of New Orleans,” which reached number twenty one in the States and number two in England.
This success paved the way for their mega hit “Come and Get Your Love” in 1974.
“Come and Get Your Love” was a catchy pop song with a definite Latin groove.
It also had a string section and a strong lead vocal by Lolly Vegas, who also wrote the song.
To this day “Come and Get Your Love” can pack a dance floor with many doing the cha cha cha.
The song remains particularly popular with Mexican-American baby boomers.
During the recording of “Come and Get Your Love,” Peter DePoe and the other three had a parting of the ways.
His replacement on drums was Butch Rillera, who was my main source of information for this article.
Butch, a cousin of Tony Bellamy, is Mexican-American on his mother’s side and of
Philippino descent on his father’s.
He also has a great grandmother who, according to his research, was a Seneca Indian
princess. The Senecas are part of the Iroquois Nation.
Butch joined Redbone in 1973 and played on the “Wovoka”
album, which was built around "Come and Get Your
Love."
The basic tracks had already been recorded for “Come and Get Your
Love,” but Butch added cowbell and sang background on the classic recording. Rillera toured the United States and Europe with Redbone and stayed with the band through 1975.
He also played on their “Beaded Dreams Through
Turquoise Eyes” album, as well as
a European release, which was recorded live in the
studio. He also appeared with them on the network television shows “In Concert” and “The Midnight Special,” which were the major rock & roll shows of the day.
(For the record, according to Butch, Redbone had another drummer named Artie Perez, who had replaced Pete DePoe for one album and tour before Butch joined the band.)
Butch Rillera’s musical background is a story in itself.
His older brothers, Barry and Rick, had a band in Orange County, California in the 50s called
The Rhythm Rockers.
One of their lead singers was Richard Berry, who wrote the enduring classic party song “Louie Louie.”
Berry, who was African- American, got his inspiration for the song from a song
The Rhythm Rockers used to play called “El Loco Cha Cha Cha by Rene Touzet.
Barry Rillera worked as a furniture mover with a guy named Bill Medley, who eventually started singing with
The Rhythm Rockers.
Bobby Hatfield, who was attending Long Beach State with Barry, invited Barry to play at a fraternity party at the school.
Barry brought Bill Medley to sing and Butch played drums.
That was the night Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, later to be known as the Righteous Brothers, first sang together.
Butch and his brothers played on the Righteous Brothers first album called “Right Now” on the Moonglow Record label.
The Rillera Brothers played and recorded with the Righteous Brothers
throughout the 60s.
However, they didn’t play on the Phil Spector singles such as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” where Phil used his “wall of sound” studio players.
Butch also played with Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield individually, after
the two broke up and went on to solo careers,
and then again after they reunited with their hit “Rock and Roll Heaven.”
Before joining Redbone, Butch had a band called Fatback and
later played about a year with White Trash with Jerry LaCroix, after Edgar Winter left.
Butch Rillera first met Pat and Lolly in the early 60s when he played a surf concert in Fresno, California with a band called the Lively Ones.
Pat and Lolly’s Crazy Cajun Cakewalk band were also on the bill, with
The Beach Boys
headlining.
Butch did a lot of touring with Redbone between 1973 and ‘75.
In Europe, they performed in Holland, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Spain.
They shared the stage at various times with Dr. Hook, Albert Hammond, and
others. Highlights on U.S. tours include playing at Carnegie Hall in New York with Argent and Kiss, opening for Marvin Gaye at the Forum in Inglewood, California, sharing the bill with
Parliament Funkadelic in Philadelphia, and playing with Steely Dan at the Convention Center in Las Vegas.
They also played with Graham Central Station at Howard University and the J. Geils Band and Tower of Power at other venues.
Butch left Redbone in 1975 because he was unhappy with the business arrangement.
In 1995, Lolly left the band due to a stroke and Pat and Tony continued.
Eventually they broke up and Pat later reformed Redbone and is keeping the flame alive to this day.
There are four Redbone CDs currently available. One
is a greatest hits collection called “Redbone, Greatest Songs” on Curb Records, released in 1995 (Curb Records
D2-77746). Aside from the hits, the CD features the self-explanatory “We Were All Wounded At Wounded Knee,” a good pop song with a great lyric called “Suzi Girl,” and covers of Leiber and Stoller’s “Poison Ivy” and J.J. Jackson’s “It’s All Right.”
There’s also a song called “One More Time,” which has a similar groove, structure and instrumentation as “Come and Get Your Love.”
It was apparently intended to be the follow up to their mega hit.
The second is another compilation, released in 1996,
called "Redbone, Golden Classics" on the
Collectibles label. The third is "Redbone Live" on Rhino
Records, which was recorded live in Corpus Christie,
Texas and Los Angeles, California in 1977. Additionally, some of their
vinyl albums can be found on amazon.com and other internet sites.
When you get to the bottom of my "Update"
section of this page, about Pete DePoe, you'll find a
link to Redbone's latest compilation (2003) on Sony's
Legacy label called "The Essential
Redbone."
Redbone was an excellent band with solid musicians, two strong lead vocalists in Pat and Lolly, and a distinctive style.
They were swampy, bluesy, and combined the Latin and Native American elements of their heritage in a way that was hip, but at the same time pop and commercial.
Their albums include, "Redbone" (1970),
"Potlatch" (1970), "Message from a Drum" (1971),
"Already Here" (1972), "Wovoka"
(1973), "Beaded Dreams Through Turquoise Eyes"
(1974), and "Cycles" (1977). Hopefully, their original albums will be reissued, or
perhaps a comprehensive box set released so their musical legacy will be readily available.
This article is based on an audio taped telephone interview by Mark Guerrero with Butch Rillera on November 30, 2002.
In May of 2003, I got an e mail from Peter “Last Walking Bear” DePoe, who had read my article on Redbone.
This resulted in some back and forth correspondence which led to a telephone conversation and eventually a phone interview.
It was interesting to see how his story dovetailed perfectly with Butch Rillera’s, who was his successor on drums with Redbone. Butch’s story with Redbone starts with the completion of the “Come and Get Your Love” track and the “Wovoka” album.
Pete’s ends at that very point, but starts at the very beginning of the band.
Peter “Last Walking Bear” DePoe, a Native American from the Neah Bay Reservation near Seattle, Washington, went to Los Angeles the first time in the mid-sixties to visit his girlfriend, who had recently moved to Hollywood. While there, he happened to walk into a nightclub called the “Haunted House.”
As fate would have it, on stage were Pat and Lolly Vegas.
Pete loved what he heard and mystically somehow felt he would someday play in a band with them.
Without meeting the Vegas brothers, he went on his way. He returned to Washington and didn’t get back to L.A. until several years later to play with a singer by the name of Dave Holden, whom he had known in Seattle.
Pete credits Holden with teaching him about playing time
on the drums. He emphasized the importance of time
and directed Pete to play simply and in the groove with
feeling. This laid the groundwork for his future
success. He eventually joined Bobby Womack’s band and was playing around town, mainly in the South Central part of the city.
Meanwhile, Pat and Lolly Vegas were forming a new band.
Their drummer, Wayne Bibbs, didn’t feel his style of playing was right for the band.
Wayne suggested that Pete go audition for them. DePoe didn’t know until he got to the house in the Hollywood Hills, where Lolly and Tony Bellamy were living, that it was the Vegas brothers for whom he was auditioning.
Pete set up and began to play with Lolly and Tony, Pat hadn’t shown up yet.
Unbeknownst to Pete, Pat arrived and stayed outside listening for a half an hour.
When Pat came in, he announced “he’s the one.” With that Pete became a member of the band that would become Redbone.
They began to rehearse for about a year at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills owned by a man who was an investor in the band.
The house was next door to the home of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, where they would sometimes hang out or swim in his indoor/outdoor pool.
Paul Lagos, who was drumming for the band Kaleidoscope, knew the West Coast President of Epic Records, Larry Cohen.
One day Paul brought Larry Cohen to hear the Vegas brother’s band, who in the meantime had become Redbone.
The next day, they were signing contracts with Epic Records.
They got an advance, recorded their first album, “Redbone,” and went on a promotional tour.
Pete went on to play on the next four albums, “Potlatch,”
“Message from a Drum,” “Already Here,” and “Wovoka.”
Pete toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe with Redbone and remembers being on the bill with artists such as Joe Cocker with Mad Dogs and Englishman, Ike and Tina Turner, Small Faces
(featuring Rod Stewart), Miles Davis, Alvin Lee, Edgar and Johnny Winter, Mountain, and Black Sabbath.
A highlight for Pete was selling out the 19,000 seat Spectrum in Philadelphia when Redbone headlined a show that also featured War and
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Pete recalls that Redbone was never intimidated by any artists they shared the bill with because they were a tight, powerful, and confident band.
That great confidence was temporarily shaken at another
memorable concert which took place at Holmesburg Prison,
also in Philadelphia. The event was broadcast
"live" on public television all over the east
coast from the old prison built in the style of the
prisons in old England. As one would expect, the
inmates were a tough audience to win over. The
concert started off with the inmates not responding at
all. Pete admits that the band was very nervous
about the situation in which they found
themselves. Finally Tony Bellamy decided to
aggressively and enthusiastically perform in front of
the obvious leaders in the crowd. Once the leaders
started to enjoy themselves, the rest followed.
Redbone had won over the toughest audience imaginable.
Pete DePoe, who’s considered by many to be one of the world’s funkiest drummers, has an offer to play drums for an all star band that plans to record a new CD at the end of the year (2003).
It's called the Alumni. It's a musical project
comprised of individuals with commonality, namely the
San Francisco Bay Area. The bay area has
influences which cover a wide variety of musical
styles: jazz, blues, funk, as well as Asian and
Latino music. The band will be made up of
musicians who have played with well known groups and
artists. Their target is the adult contemporary
market. This means the music will have a jazz
flavor without being elitist. The influences they
will tap into include the Crusaders, Horace Silver, Tito
Puente, James Brown, The Meters, Sly Stone, Santana,
Hiroshima, Art Blakey, AWB, and Tower of Power.
They will also employ a Native
American rhythm with a King Kong beat, which Pete DePoe
has been credited with creating. The band will be
flexible allowing for subs and outside projects
will be encouraged. The Alumni's goal: To
have a uniquely recognizable and distinct musical style
that is musically rewarding.
The Update is based on an audio taped telephone
interview by Mark Guerrero with Peter "Last Walking
Bear" DePoe on June 6 and 7, 2003.
Update
Good news for Redbone fans! On June 10, 2003, Sony
released a brand new Redbone compilation CD called
"The Essential Redbone" on their Legacy
label. Its got 14 tracks including "Come and
Get Your Love," "The Witch Queen of New
Orleans," "Maggie," and "Niki
Hokey." The cover features a photo of Redbone
from their first album. You can buy it at your
local music store or order it on line at www.towerrecords.com,
www.amazon.com, www.sonymusic.store.com.
When you get to the Sony website, type the name Redbone
into the first search box you see.
In July of 2003, I joined Redbone as a member, along
with founding member Pat Vegas, Raven Hernandez, Steve
Roybal, and George Ochoa. I hadn't played with
George Ochoa since we were teenagers in the 60s in my
band The Men From S.O.U.N.D. However, our vocal
harmonies were still intact. We rehearsed 6 or 7
times over about a six week period and in early
September played a gig at The Palace Indian Gaming
Center in Lemoore, CA on the bill with
Rose Royce. We played a set that included Redbone
classics "Witch Queen of New Orleans," "Wovoka,"
and "Come and Get Your Love." I sang
lead on Redbone's cover of the r&b classic "But
It's Alright." The highlight of the
experience was meeting Lolly Vegas, who was along for
the trip. I hung out in Lolly's room after the gig
and we spoke for 2 or 3 hours. I found Lolly to be
a highly intelligent and interesting man, with enormous
musical knowledge and talent. For personal reasons
I left the band, but continue to be an ally of the band
and in touch with Pat and Lolly Vegas.
In 2006,
Redbone was revamped with new members joining up with Pat Vegas. Two of
the new members have played in my band Mark Guerrero & Radio Aztlán, Karl
Carrasco on keyboard and my old friend Ron Reyes on lead guitar. Also
added to the lineup is another old friend Art Sanchez on bass. Art and Ron
were both fellow Eastside Sound musicians from East Los Angeles in the 60s.
Another East L.A. musician Robert Zapata is on drums. They also have a
second keyboard player whose name I don't know. I understand the band is
sounding great and doing concerts around the country, primarily at Indian
Casinos.
The Update is based on an audio taped telephone
interview by Mark Guerrero with Peter "Last Walking
Bear" DePoe on June 6 and 7, 2003.
Click
here for Redbone's My Space site
Below are two good Redbone fan
sites:
Click
here
for Wouter Pol's site from Holland
Click here for Christian
Staebler's site from France
Real
Audio Sound Byte
Real
Player Required- Download it here,
if needed
Come
and Get Your Love
Redbone
1974
Contact me at: info@markguerrero.net
Previous page ||
Go
to next article
Return to articles index page
|
