Danny Flores born 11 July 1929

Danny Flores (born Daniel Flores; July 11, 1929 – September 19, 2006), also known by his stage name Chuck Rio, was an American rock and roll saxophonist. He is best remembered for his self-penned song "Tequila", which he recorded with The Champs, and which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Flores was born in Santa Paula, California and grew up in Long Beach. He was interested in the guitar from an early age, first performing at church and family gatherings. At 14, however, Flores switched to the saxophone, forming his first band, the 3-D Ranch Boys. Emulating the rasping sounds of tenor saxophonist Vido Musso, Flores played a variety of music genres -- jazz, country, pop, and blues—to cater to his hard-going blue-collar clientele. Much to Flores's amusement, he has remarked, during this early stage of his career, he was commonly called the "Mexican Hillbilly". In the early 1950s, Flores recorded vocals for small Pasadena-based record labels, before signing to Modern Records/RPM Records, and releasing his earliest rock and roll material.

 (l - r) Joe Burnas, Dave Burgess, Gene Alden, 

Dale Norris.and Chuck Rio/Daniel Flores 

In 1957, Flores met aspiring songwriter and guitarist Dave Burgess. After briefly performing as Danny and Dave, the duo recruited former members of Flores's group, drummer Gene Alden and guitarist Buddy Bruce, along with bassist Cliff Hills and Vocalist Huelyn Duvall, who were session musicians, to form the Champs. On December 23, 1957, the group recorded three songs for Challenge Records, including Flores's instrumental Tequila.

                             

The song is highlighted by Flores's "dirty sax" arrangements and hollering of "Tequila". However, because of this one spoken phrase by Flores, he was credited as Chuck Rio to avoid conflicts with his other record label, where he was signed as a vocalist. "Tequila" was released as the B-side to the Champs' debut single, but after

listeners requested the song over its A-side "Train to Nowhere", "Tequila" propelled to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1958.

Conflicts between Flores and Burgess over leadership and the band's musical direction led to Flores's departure in June, 1958. A heavy drinker in those days, he signed away his royalty rights in the United States for a pittance – though he always maintained that he had done so unwittingly, he told the Register in 2000. Ultimately did not receive any royalties from the tune, despite its success.

In the Fifties, he also recorded vocal sides for Modern under his real name, Danny Flores, while, in the early Sixties, he cut surf instrumentals for Saturn with the Creshendoes (who were sometimes billed as the Persuaders behind their leader Chuck "Tequila" Rio).

The saxophonist formed the Original Champs, who soon became known as the Originals, but never came close to creating another  "Tequila". By 1963, Rio had moved to the Saturn label, where he cut a series of raucous instrumentals later gathered on the Surfer's Nightmare album.

In 1970 a blood disorder directly linked to his abuse of alcohol landed Flores in hospital. With the support of his new wife Sharee (22 years his junior) he overcame his addiction. In the mid-1970s Danny and Sharee began performing as a duo ; they have appeared in Las Vegas and in prominent clubs all over the country. They and two other musicians also performed as Chuck Rio and the Champs in the 1980s and 1990s.

Although the couple moved to Westminster, they still performed in and around Long Beach, and always played "Tequila," usually several times a night until 2001, when his Parkinson’s disease worsened.  It was not until the early 2000s that he finally received royalties — albeit only for sales in Europe — for Tequila.

Flores died at the age of 77 on September 19, 2006 at Huntington Beach Hospital as a consequence of complications of pneumonia.  (Edited from Wikipedia, Spectropop & The Independent)