 | the a-side is an extremely rare cover of Ritchie Valens' romantic hit, while the b-side is cool rock instrumental. These guys rocked! They had a giant sound, a ton of energy, cool outfits based on a dandified gaucho look blended with British invasion, and they ruled the Central Valley for many years. Jim Doval and the Gauchos were a Fresno band of major importance. Formed in 1962 by Jim Doval (Sandoval) (rhythm guitar, organ, flugelhorn), Steve Quesada (lead), Jose Silva (bass), Al Lopez (saxaphone, flute), Kelly Smith (drums, vibraphones), and Marty Murillo (drums), replaced by Eddie Gonzales (drums, organ, vibraphone, trumpet). Often thought of as a top forty cover band, and they did a lot of that for sure, they also wrote and recorded original material. Jim Doval and the Gauchos were one of the first rock bands to have two drummers. They appeared a reported seven times on ABC's Shindig. They released singles on Diplomacy, and their sought after album on ABC Paramount. It was recorded live at The Party, a Fresno night spot. They got significant airplay on Fresno's KYNO. They were a band to reckon with. Jim Doval is still very active, releasing two albums of new material recently, as well as a compilation of some of the vintage material. |