Dave Burgess, guitarist of The Champs, has died aged 90.
The news was confirmed through an obituary on the website for the Anglin Funeral Home in Dover, Tennessee, which reports that Burgess died on October 19.
Burgess was best known for The Champs’ 1958 instrumental, Latin-inspired hit single ‘Tequila’, which went to Number One on the Billboard charts just three weeks after its release, famously knocking Elvis Presley‘s ‘Don’t’ from the top spot.
The Champs were named after musician and Challenge Records’ label owner Gene Autry’s horse, Champion, and were initially formed by studio execs to record a B-side for Burgess’ single ‘Train to Nowhere’.
The B-side became ‘Tequila’ and ended up being more famous than its A-side, making the group the first to reach Number One with an instrumental, which was also their first release.
‘Tequila’ won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance in 1959, and it went on to sell over one million copies, being awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Following ‘Tequila’, the band released hits like ‘El Rancho Rock’, ‘Midnighter’, ‘Chariot Rock’, ‘Too Much Tequila’, ‘Limbo Rock’, and ‘Tequila Twist’, before eventually calling it quits in 1965.
‘Tequila’ got a second life in 1987, when Pee-wee Herman danced to it in Pee-wee’s Big Adventure in a scene where the character attempts to entertain a crowd of frightening bikers.
In 2020, Burgess reformed The Champs for a new album, ‘Tequila Party’, which included a new “party” version of their hit.
Burgess was born in Los Angeles on December 3 1934. Before forming The Champs, he had released a handful of singles, including ‘Don’t Put a Dent in My Heart’ and ‘Don’t Turn Your Back on Love’.
The obituary reports that Burgess and his wife Deon Adair Raab of over 65 years had a son, David, and daughter, Charmaine, and that they ran a Montana art gallery in between Burgess’ stints in the music industry.
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