Sol Lake

[Dub Man]

8) As a composer, arranger, and songwriter, I've always been impressed with the quality of material the TJB worked with. I'm particularly facinated
with the "in-house" writers who consistently appeared on the TJB re-
leases like Mr. Alpert, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Wechter, et al. One writer, how-ever, continues to be a rather intriguing mystery to me: Sol Lake ("The
Lonely Bull", and many other titles). Anybody out there know any info on Mr. Lake, and whether or not he's still writing and/or involved with the
music industry?

 

[martin]

Unfortunately the composers that you mention, with the obvious exception of Herb Alpert, have all passed away. There is not much to be found about Sol Lake, but in the liner notes of the Classics vol.1 CD from 1986 Paul Grein writes:" ...Sol Lake, who when he met Herb, had a day job refinishing furmiture. With the earnings from his TJB hits, Lake now lives comfortably in Palm Springs."
A few years after this, however, Mr. Lake or Lacheff I believe his real name was, passed away.

- greetings from the north-

Martin

 

[Harry]

I think the correct spelling is "Lachoff".

Harry
...who'll be passing through Norway July 12th-15th, online...

 

[Rudy]

Yep..."Lachoff" is the only way you'll find his compositions in ASCAP's database.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Sol has been a topic for discussion here at the forum several times. The quickest and easiest way to find more about him is to click on "search" at the top of this page, and enter his name. I believe that there are about 60 references to Sol Lake here at the forum, and a couple of topics were devoted to him...there's even a quote...

Sol had 36 songs to his credit, and the TJB recorded all but 10 of them...he had a combo, and Dave Alpert was his drummer. Herb sat in with them on a few gigs, and first heard TWINKLE STAR, as an "ethereal piece" played on the upper register of the piano; a rather somber song...it became THE LONELY BULL, and Sol didn't recognize it when Herb played it over the telephone for him.

I believe that Sol Lake died in 1991, but I'm not sure of an exact date or cause of death. I have heard that he was a music teacher, and also that he restored furniture. Prior to TLB, his main claim to fame was the song ROLY POLY that Doris Day sang in PILLOW TALK.

It's really kind of sad that Sol Lake isn't as well-known as Julius Wechter, because his contribution to the Tijuana Brass sound is every bit as important


Dan

 

[Dub Man]

Thank you all for the most interesting information regarding Mr. Lake.
I appreciate the level of scholarly information I've received already,
and look forward to asking more questions of the TJB experts here on
this site! :^)v Thanks again...Dub Man

 

[Captaindave]

I always associated Sol Lake with writing songs that helped establish the TJB sound and style, especially in regard to the Mexican/Mariachi aspect, although there appears to be at least one, and sometimes more than one, Sol Lake song on every original TJB record up through at least WARM.

Some other songs that were never as well known commercially as the Lonely Bull, such as El Garbanzo, Bittersweet Samba, Green Peppers, Mexican Shuffle, El Presidente/Winds Of Barcelona, Adiós Mi Corazon, Salud Amor Y Dinero, Marching Through Madrid, Crea Mi Amor, Cowboys and Indians, More and More Amor, Mexican Road Race, Cantina Blue, Memories of Madrid, She Touched Me, A Beautiful Friend, Bo Bo, and Marjorine, were credited to Sol Lake.

Although these songs never had the mass popularity of songs like Taste of Honey, Tijuana Taxi, Zorba the Greek, or Spanish Flea, I count them among favorites and songs that established the originality and unique sound and style of the TJB.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

EL GARBANZO was used in a Sunoco commercial [People in the know, they're movin' with Sunoco...] in the mid '60's.


Dan

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I always associated Sol Lake with writing songs that helped establish the TJB sound and style, especially in regard to the Mexican/Mariachi aspect, although there appears to be at least one, and sometimes more than one, Sol Lake song on every original TJB record up through at least WARM.

The song streak went all the way through Summertime, but the revamped TJB didn't do any Lake tunes.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Numero Cinco]

Captaindave: I always associated Sol Lake with writing songs that helped establish the TJB sound and style, especially in regard to the Mexican/Mariachi aspect . . .

Just so. I rather think that Mr. Alpert, the arranger, was as responsible for that Mariachi aspect as the composer. A song like "A Beautiful Friend" needn't have been arranged in that style. After all, if Mr. Lake himself couldn't recognize his own "Twinkle Star" (admittedly, over the telephone), that says a lot about Mr. Alpert's special gift for distinctive arrangements.

I associate many of Mr. Lake's tunes with a minor-key wistfulness: not only "The Lonely Bull," but "El Lobo," "More and More Amor" (more tonic, but surely sweet), "Cantina Blue," "She Touched Me." All these are lovely ballads. Even his up-tempo compositions, like "Bitterwsweet Samba" and "Memories of Madrid," have a minor edge to them. Though there are exceptions, notably "Shades of Blue," Julius Wechter's tunes seem to me jauntier, more happily resolved: "Brasilia," "Panama," "Bean Bag," and—preeminently—"Spanish Flea."

Dan Bolton: EL GARBANZO was used in a Sunoco commercial.

Can you confirm that? I recall the Sunoco theme from the 60s that I think you are referring to, and even then thought its rhythm duplicated "El Garbanzo," but I don't believe that it was a direct copy. Nor do I recall that the TJB version was borrowed for the audio track as "Mexican Shuffle" was for Teaberry gum.

I have two other Lake-related questions:

Does anyone know anything about Elsa Doran, co-credited for "Crawfish"? Years ago, I recall seeing both their names listed in the credits for music and lyrics of some obscure song for a late-fifties comedy. Makes me wonder if "Crawfish" ever had lyrics, which she supplied.

How would our resident Latin musicologists identify "Green Peppers"? As a cha-cha? A samba? Something else?

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I'd classify GREEN PEPPERS as a samba, or almost a bossa nova. The Sunoco theme was almost a carbon-copy of EL GARBANZO, just as THE MEXICAN SHUFFLE was used for THE TEABURY SHUFFLE...the arrangement ewas a little different, and there were vocals, but the melody was the same. I don't know if the TJB was involved in recording either commercial soundtrack, though.

It's interesting that the TJB DID record the UNOCAL theme...maybe that kept them from doing anything for Sunoco...and I wonder who might have written the UNOCAL theme. I always thought it was Ervan Coleman, but it might have been Sol Lake...anybody know?


Dan

 

[Captaindave]

I remember that old Sunoco gas commercial...it used to be on TV back in the sixties.

I don't know, but it sure did sound just like EL Garbanzo...with some Sunoco lyrics...

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I'm a little confused now on this whole gasoline thing. Was it Unocal or Sunoco? I have a Union Oil commercial with the TJB performing and it's a completely new song. I'm wondering if these other commercials were just local?


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captaindave]

What I'm thinking about predates the Unocal commercials, I think. I think my memory places this back further in the sixties.

I seem to remember singers singing to the tune of El Garbanzo..."They're movin', they're movin', they're movin', they're movin'....peeeeeople on the gooooo....can't remember anymore words - maybe there weren't any more words

I'm here in Northeast Ohio, so maybe it was a regional thing for that company...dunno.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I'm in central Indiana, and I remember the same commercial. It could have been regional, but probably national...it would have cost quite a bit for just regional exposure. I think it was 1966 or so when the commercial aired, because I heard the commercial before I heard the song on the album...and I first heard the album in the summer of '66 .


Dan

 

[Mr Bill]

I'd say it had to be Sunoco because Unocal was called Union 76 in the 60s. And for that reason I'd say "regional" as Sunoco is (was) a midwest regional chain. And since anybody can perform a song as long as they pay ASCAP/BMI to do so it was probably a TJB knock off group hired by the advertising agency to "sound like" TJB which was quite a popular sound at that time...

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

Sunoco was/is based around the Philly area, so I have some vague memories of the commercial in question here. Either the song was a rip-off of the "El Garbanzo" song, or it was just plain "used" in the commercial. My memories also recall the lyrics, "We're movin, we're movin', we're movin' to Sunoco..." though I can't recall it sounding at all like the TjB. Obviously the vocals made it different.

My other memory fragment of this is that I may have heard the commercial version first, and then when hearing "El Garbanzo" on WHIPPED CREAM, thought that it sounded something like the Sunoco commercial.

Harry
...with fuzzy memories of this, online...

 

[Captaindave]

The music used in the commercial didn't sound like the TJB - it was just the basic tune of El Garbanzo and some bouncy, catchy vocals that I remember.

I'm sure there was some kind of advertisement playing over top of the music once the commercial got started.

It's been a long time ago - my memory is vague on it. I just remember that there was some kind of TV commercial back then that used the basic tune of the song and some kind of singing which advertised using that kind of gasoline.

TV commercials were sure different then as compared to today, both in style and content...