The Pets (1950s band)
The Pets were formed in 1958 in Los Angeles, California from a group of top session players – Plas Johnson (saxophone), Rene Hall (guitar), Richard Podolor (piano) and Earl Palmer (drums). They recorded their one and only hit "Cha Hua Hua" in 1958 for Arwin Records, owned by Marty Melcher, Doris Day's husband. "Cha Hua Hua" reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.[1]
Hugo & Luigi covered the song for Roulette Records in '58, however their more MOR version failed to chart. Subsequent releases by The Pets on Arwin went nowhere, however the individual members continued on as regular sessionmen, featuring on many classic recordings by a huge array of artists during the golden years of rock and roll.
Podolor eventually went on to work as an independent producer for a number of acts including Three Dog Night and Steppenwolf.