APACHE
“Apache” is a much-recorded instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. The original version was by the British group the Shadows, recorded in June 1960 and released the next month. It topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks. In March 2005, Q magazine placed “Apache” at No. 96 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. (More from Wikipedia)
Like Cliff Richard, his backing band the Shadows has a fairly low profile in this country; but they have considerable renown in their own right as an instrumental rock band besides the recordings that they made with Cliff Richard. The Shadows were the first band to record the well-known “Apache” for instance. And this instrumental standard has had a major impact elsewhere as well; quoting from Wikipedia: “A 1973 version [of ‘Apache’] by the Incredible Bongo Band has been called ‘hip-hop’s national anthem’. Although this version was not a hit on release, the long percussion break in the middle has been sampled countless times on hip-hop, rap and dance tracks since the 1980’s.”
(November 2014)
