SAM THE SHAM AND THE PHARAOHS
Domingo “Sam” Samudio (born 6 March 1937, Dallas, Texas), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and roll singer. Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a 1952 Packard hearse with maroon velvet curtains. As the front man for the Pharaohs, he sang on several Top 40 hits in the mid-1960’s, notably “Wooly Bully” and “Li’l Red Riding Hood”. (More from Wikipedia)
According to Wikipedia, the Farfisa Organ first showed up in the music of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, who had a big hit in 1965 with “Wooly Bully”. The song is about lead singer Domingo Samudio’s cat; I was 14 when the song came out, and there was a rumor among the kids I hung out with that a “wooly bully” was a vagina. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs were one of the early “Tex-Mex” bands that brought Latin rhythms to rock and roll. I don’t remember where exactly (or why I still remember it so well after all this time, for that matter) – there really weren’t a lot of news outlets for rock news and trivia in the mid-1960’s – but I have never forgotten something that I read once about this band: “Sam the Sham has been changing Pharaohs [bandmembers] the way other people change their shirts”. They had one more big hit, a really clever novelty song called “Li’l Red Riding Hood”; I have been hearing that one on a TV commercial lately.
(December 2012)
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Near the end of 1958, the Big Bopper decided to film three of his hit songs at a local nightclub: “Chantilly Lace”, “Big Bopper’s Wedding” and “Little Red Riding Hood” (not the same song as the Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs hit, “Li’l Red Riding Hood”).
(June 2013/1)
