The Rebels (surf band)
The Rebels (also known as The Rockin' Rebels) were a band from Buffalo, New York, known for their instrumental "Wild Weekend". The original members were Jim and Mick Kipler, Tom Gorman and Paul Balon.
"Wild Weekend"
| "Wild Weekend" | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Rebels | |
| Released | 1961 |
| Writer(s) | Tom Shannon, Phil Todaro |
"Wild Weekend" was written by Tom Shannon and Phil Todaro and performed as a demo with vocals and music by the Russ Hallet trio. It was for Shannon's radio show, which needed a theme song for his weekend show at the time. The lyrics were: "Top tunes, news and weather, so glad we can get together . . . on the Tom Shannon show . . . KB radio . . . KB Radio". Now enter the Buffalo Rebels--or Rebels--who asked Shannon to play at a record hop and also asked if they could play his theme song. They did and Shannon and Todaro thought there was something to it. They moved the group to a recording studio in the same building where they had a production office. The record came out locally and was a hit, but since it wasn't on a major label, the song just stopped.
Two years later the track was re-issued on Swan Records (Swan 4125) and reached #8 on the national charts. To avoid confusion with Duane Eddy and his Rebels, the Rebels became the Rockin' Rebels. Swan pressings can be found with either name; the British Stateside pressings had "Rockin'". The band's 1963 LP uses the name "The Rockin' Rebels".
While the instrumental is the best-known version, the original lyrics were, as mentioned above, a promo for the Shannon radio show.
NRBQ version
In 1989, NRBQ recorded a cover version with Shannon-Todaro approved lyrics under the title "It's a Wild Weekend". It was released as the title track to the group's album Wild Weekend.
Sources
- Osborne Enterprises & Jellyroll Productions
- In the year 1958, several important instrumental acts arrived on the scene from Collectors Universe
- History, from colorradio
- Play the record at YouTube