When did you first hear OF "Mexican Drummer Man?"

[Harry]

I wonder how many long-time Herb Alpert fans knew of the single "Mexican Drummer Man," the odd Phil Spector wall-of-sound/girl group record that actually charted at #77 back in March of 1964, way back then.

I first learned of its existence by reading a discography printed in a Herb Alpert sheet music book, sometime I guess in 1967 or '68 or thereabouts. I could tell by the catalog number given in the book that it wasn't an LP, and just figured it was an odd b-side to some old 45.

It wasn't until the advent of the Internet, and finding Rudy's A&M Corner that my curiosity was once again raised enough for me to go out and search for the record. Once I found it, I was like a kid with a new toy, with a reaction not unlike hearing the new LOST TREASURES album.

So, I'm putting up a poll. When did you first learn of the existence of "Mexican Drummer Man?"

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I first heard of the single when I got my first "4-color catalog" that had been advertised on the back of some TJB albums, so I guess it was around '73 or '74 when I first heard of the song. I eventually bought it when the Forget-Me-Nots 45 series shortly afterwards.


Capt. Bacardi

 

[slick]

The first time I heard of it was when purchased the 4 track Ep titled The Mexican Drummer Man around 1965 when I was kid.
Festival A&M released it in Australia, it was never on an LP.
I have collected about 4 or 5 of the same EP'S since.

All the best, Slick

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I know it was in the 1990s, because I was still living in my old house (before getting married) when I heard it. I can still picture myself sitting in my old home office listening to it and not believing my ears...I thought I'd heard it all before!

I can't remember how it came about, but somebody posted the song on the net for a while, put a link out via the old A&M Corner forum, and then took it down a few days later.

 

[Dave]

Well, I put down that I first heard of it here, (back in the '90's) but I could probably look it up in my Selecciones song book and find it there... (Along with my recent discovery of the WORDS to "The Lonely Bull"!)

I would see the '45', every now and then, and now I seem to be curious enough about it that I should pick it up (on the stregnth of it being a "Wall-Of-Sound, Girl-Group" -type of song; least from hearing it here...) Or hope it shows up on the... Well, the reissue of Herb Alpert & TjB, Volume 2 then...


Dave

 

[Phil Fox]

I'm not sure whether I read about it at A&M Corner first or found it at a used record store.

Either way, it was when I came back to TJB collecting a few years ago.

I had never heard of it back when I was buying the original albums in the 60s.

Phil

 

[Mr Bill]

I found it as the b-side of one the Memories/Forget-Me-Not (8600 series) 45s in the 70s when I started getting into Herb & TJB. It was paired with "Mexican Shuffle."

Sorry, Harry, that wasn't one of your choices so I took a little license and added it as another choice.

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

No problem/ I should have remembered that it was easily found in the '70s - a fact that still surprises me.

Harry

 

[LPJim]

In the pre-internet dark ages I collected A&M 45s by scanning "Goldmine" and "Discoveries" magazines. Many of their sellers grouped their offerings by record label, which was fine by me.
Most of the time the minimum bid was $2/single, so I'd come up with what I'd be willing to spend and send my bid by postcard. Only winners got notified, so if I hadn't heard within a month the jig was up.
That's how I learned MDM existed and got my copy.
Later I found a copy of Darlene Love's autobiography "Don't Block the Blessings" in a freebie paperback bin.
It mentions her singing backup vocals on MDM with her group The Blossoms.
JB

 

[David Kirkpatrick]

I found the name in a catalogue at a record store circa '76. About the same time I learned of El Bimbo. At the time I assumed I'd be able to collect them on an album immediately following Coney Island. The first time I heard it was at A&M Corner about 7 years ago.

Funny, whenever I try to play it back in my imagination, it always morphs into the "Tijuana Brass" version of Maniac.

David

 

[TallPaulInKy]

The A&M Forget Me Nots is the first time I had heard it, but the actual record was owned by a radio station I was working at during that time. I just recently picked up the song by purchasing a European album.
It was a great sounding record but there are actually two others that sound very similiar. The Boots Randolph charted record, "Hey Mr Sax Man" and the Duane Eddy, Dance To The Guitar Man (or something like that) similiar arrangemenats and the Duane Eddy record also features Darlene Love and The Blossoms on background vocals if memory serves correctly.
I don't think it has been very available because it is the type of song Herb Alpert and the Brass would have trouble recreating on stage. So I guess he has kept it buried.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I was looking through a Billboard encyclopedia in a local bookstore in the late '60's when I first heard of the song. I thought that it was just a retitled version of MARCHING THROUGH MADRID, and gave it little thought until I discovered the Forum and found out that it was something else, indeed. I downloaded it courtesy of the kitty with the headphones in late 2000...it was VERY hard to find a file.


Dan

 

[Rudy]

It was when I was on Compuserve that I first heard of it. I am thinking it was either Stefan D. or Steve Sidoruk who told us about it when we were discussing either the TJB or old A&M singles. Although I wasn't compelled to pick it up until a few years later, when I came across a couple of copies at a local used record shop.

 

[Rudy]

It was a great sounding record but there are actually two others that sound very similiar. The Boots Randolph charted record, "Hey Mr Sax Man" and the Duane Eddy, Dance To The Guitar Man (or something like that) similiar arrangemenats and the Duane Eddy record also features Darlene Love and The Blossoms on background vocals if memory serves correctly.

Correct! I have the Duane Eddy--those are The Blossoms backing him up on that record. Very similar, except that instead of trumpet, we get some "twang".

 

[Murray]

I read about it on this forum sometime last year. A few weeks ago, I was looking on the 1960's mp3 group on usenet. Someone was posting singles from 1964, and lo-and-behold, Mexican Drummer Man was there. I downloaded it, and couldn't believe what I was hearing - this sounded nothing like the other TJB songs that I have heard. I immediately thought of Phil Spector. Did he have anything to do with this recording? Who is credited as producer?

 

[Rudy]

I read about it on this forum sometime last year. A few weeks ago, I was looking on the 1960's mp3 group on usenet. Someone was posting singles from 1964, and lo-and-behold, Mexican Drummer Man was there. I downloaded it, and couldn't believe what I was hearing - this sounded nothing like the other TJB songs that I have heard. I immediately thought of Phil Spector. Did he have anything to do with this recording? Who is credited as producer?

Don't know about the production credit, but it was at about this time that Larry Levine (who recorded a lot of Spector's productions) joined up with Herb to work as his recording engineer. That "wall of sound" reverb is also courtesy of the same studio, Gold Star, where the TJB would record most of their albums in the 60s. (There's a lot of that reverb on "South Of The Border", the song and the album.)

http://www.goldstarrecordingstudios.com/

 

[Harry]

There are no production credits at all on the 45 that I have of "Mexican Drummer Man".

At the top is just the title and composer (Scott Turner).

At the right side is listed the Irving Music (BMI) publishing credit and the time of 2:13 and the matrix number of 1060, and a "Promotional" designation.

The bottom of the label just lists the artist as "HERB ALPERT'S TIJUANA BRASS" and the catalog number of 732.

Harry

 

[TonyCurrie]

My copy is a Columbia (as in EMI) French EP titles "Mexican Shuffle".

The song - frankly - sounds more like Duane Eddy than herb Alpert!!

 

[Jay Maynes/Juan Oskar]

I was about 15 years old and there was the old 45rpm juke box at La Perla Cafe. (Where I gig today) The owner had a big box of 45s that had not been in the juke box for years. Here is where I found the "Drummer Man" I still have the record some where. Later.........Jay

 

[Dave]

Really neat how Herb made a novelty-single, and this early in his career and the founding of A&M... Well, too bad he never really expanded on this trend, and made it only in the form of a 7-inch, on top o' that! Nice it made it to the early Forget-Me-Nots-series, though...


Dave

 

[TallPaulInKy]

I wonder why it wasn't called, "Mexican Trumpet Man" considering the artist? Mexican Drummer Man sounds like a Sandy Nelson song. You have to have some real memory to remember Sandy Nelson, I have three of his albums. He could beat up a storm!

 

[daveK]

I first heard of it when I was in high school around 1984 I was fooling around in the public library, doing a school report on rock music. I was going through old Billboards and made a copy of the Hot 100 chart where The Beatles occupied the entire top 5 and took it home for more extensive research (and to frame and hang on my wall). I saw MDM listed on the chart and was puzzled because I had all of the TJB albums and this song wasn't on any of them. I then decided that MDM must be an alternate title for "Marching Thru Madrid". A few years later, I bought Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles book and saw it listed in the discography. I knew then that it wasn't the same song as "Madrid" because they were both listed. What puzzled me most was that there was no "I" indicated next to the title, to show that it was an instrumental. I decided to search for the record and had no luck for years (this was before eBay, of course). Then one day in the mid-90s a friend gave me a stack of thrift store 45s for my birthday and it was in the stack. I was pretty excited. I've never really liked the song all that much, but it's an interesting curiosity. It was well after that when I learned that The Blossoms did the vocals.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Like Captain Bacardi, it came into my existence through one of the "4 Color Catalogs" -- one which belonged to my Father who had obtained a copy of the single.

Jon

 

[Rocketman]

First heard of it by reading the list of 45's on the forum. Discovered it was nearly impossible to find copies, but finally got one from a dealer in Australia on a Festival EP that includes 'The Great Manolete' with 'Mexican Drummer Man' on side A and 'Green Leaves of Summer' and 'More' on side B. Was rather surprised at how different it sounded when the record finally arrived-definitely an odd departure for the TJB! Interesting curiosity that I now really enjoy.