The Tokens are an American male doo-wop–style vocal group and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York. They are known best for their chart-topping 1961 single, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. (More from Wikipedia)
Decades later, these slapped-together recordings still have the ability to charm their listeners – or at least this listener. I have one of Kim Fowley’s collections of his early recordings entitled Under Ground Animal, filled with 15 great songs by virtually unknown bands plus one of his own excellent recordings, “Astrology”. Among these obscurities are “Teen Animal”, the second single by the Gamblers; Discogs notes that the “A” side of their first single, “Moon Dawg!” is sometimes regarded as the first surf music single (“LSD-25” was the flip). The two tracks by the Renegades (both instrumentals), “Charge” and “Geronimo”, which represent Fowley’s first credit as a record producer, are also here and date from 1959. The Hounds released two albums in 1967 and covered the classic “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, originally by the Tokens. The Rogues were a garage rock band that included Michael Lloyd and Shaun Harris that were later in the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
(January 2015/1)
* * *
