Heroes in Business - Dave Burgess, First Grammy Winner for Tequila, Lifelong singer songwriter

Episode Date: June 20, 2023

Dave Burgess, First Grammy Winner for song Tequila, Lifelong singer songwriter, new single “Lady Guitar” is interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances entrepreneur community and host of the Heroes Show.  

welcome back to alliances heroes where heroes in business align to be part of our super community and find out more about alliances visit www.alliances.com oh am i excited i am so excited why am i so excited because now that you hear this song you know it's not you're gonna you can't forget it right and you remember it well why am i playing it oh i'm playing it because we have with us are you ready for this dave burgess the first first Grammy winner for the song, Tequila, lifelong singer, songwriter, and has a new single, Lady Guitar. You can reach him at Dave Burgess and thechamps.com. We'll have it on our site. So make sure that you go there, which is the alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. dot com dave i'm so excited i mean when i heard that you

were coming on i mean you know i almost started doing the dance so tell me about recording and releasing the song tequila well david is first of all it's really nice to be with you i appreciate you having me on your show uh tequila was a probably the first number one b-side ever there's been others now but at that time uh it was the first and uh i think it was the fastest climbing number one record in history at that time once again uh the beatles and the rolling stones and people like that and quicker record hits than we did with tequila. But going back to the beginning, tequila was a B-side. Actually, I'll tell you exactly how it came to be because there's been so many stories about it.

I had heard a record by a fellow by the name of Bill Justice. He had a record. It was number one, too. It was called Raunchy. I heard that and I thought to myself, that's the greatest thing I've ever heard. I'm going to write something like that. So I went home and I wrote a song called Train to Nowhere, played it for my producer. He said, that's great. He said, let's cut that. I said, but I don't have a band. He said, well, we'll put a band together. Because I was doing my vocals by myself, recording since I was 17. And anyway, he said, I heard a young fella that plays on the West Coast in California, plays in strip clubs and bars and stuff like that.

He's been doing it for years. He's a young Hispanic fellow. When I say young, he was 15 years older than me at that time. His name is Danny Flores. He says, but he plays the kind of sax you're talking about that you need on Train to Nowhere. So I said, well, can I hear him? He said, well, let's go out there to his club and let's hear him.

So I did, and i was blown away he played such great saxophone it sounded like it had cobwebs in it that's what i needed for training and over so during one of his breaks i asked him if he would like to uh play on my record he said yeah and i said well pay a scale we got to rehearse this song get it down right so when we go in the studio we won't have to do a bunch of takes on it he said that's fine so we met it actually was 1620 I think it was Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood it's been so many years ago it's hard to remember and we rehearsed Gene Autry owned the building and it was gene autry's record company challenge records so we got trained to know where worked out just the way we

wanted it was perfect all we had to do is get in the studio and put it down i called the producer and everybody at the label to come upstairs where we were rehearsing and hear it and when they heard it they said dave that's great that's going to be a smash but there's one problem we need a b-side and i said well yeah i said give us a few minutes we'll come up with something so they said okay so i started playing that rhythm riff on the rhythm guitar and uh the bass player came in the guitar player started playing his singing and danny played this melody and i thought oh my gosh that's great i wasn't expecting that then buddy bruce the guitar player says i have an idea for a bridge so he played it on the guitar

and i said that's great why don't we stop and let danny florida say tequila because he's always carrying a flask of tequila in his coat so he had this whiskey boy like he's a tequila and i said that's perfect so we went in the studio those days and i think probably still in a three hour recording session union session you're allowed to do four songs we spent two hours and 55 minutes on train to nowhere and they said that's great we've got it down perfect what about that b-side and i said give us a minute we'll cut it and do it we did one take so that's good enough one take one take and they put the record out of course tequila tequila was the b-side and train to know where it was the a-side and a disc jockey one of the top disc jockeys in the country country

who was in cleveland ohio i think it was uh happened to listen to the b-side maybe it was an accident i don't know but he loved it and he called called a local band by the name of Eddie Platt. And they went in the studio and they recorded Tequila and put it out on ABC Paramount too. And all you heard for 24 hours in Ohio and Cleveland was Tequila. And the record took off. Amazing, amazing. So, I mean, and again, we have with us Dave Burgess, first Grammy winner, Tequila, lifelong singer, songwriter, his new single, Lady Guitar. He can be reached at DaveBurgessAndTheChamps.com. And

of course, we'll have it on our website. If you're listening, watching me, David Kogan, host of the Alliance's Hero Show. Let me ask you this, though. I mean, from that, this came, 1958 hit, and here we are so many years later, and there's been millions of other songs, but people recognize your song. I mean, what goes through your mind when you hear that? Because it's at parties, it's on the radio. Like, what's some of the things that go through your mind when you hear it? When I hear people recognizing Tequila,

or, you know, there's so many people that have asked me questions about it. For instance, how it was written why it was written who played on the record and all those things i just feel so blessed uh i'm way beyond the excitement that i thought felt when it first came out became number one uh today uh as i got as i've gotten older which which I definitely have done. I'm just so excited to be recording again. We called a group together called The Champs again, people that I've known for years.

And this is a very exciting thing to me, at my age especially. I just, as I said, I feel very blessed, David. How many songs have you written, David? Oh, well over a thousand. I've had almost 400 recordings that I know of. A song I wrote that the champs didn't have a big hit on too, not as big as Tequila, but too much tequila. There were almost 50 recordings of that song the last time I checked on it, but that's my most recorded song. Well, Dave, that's a thousand more than I've had. So where does it come from though? Like

at what point, I mean, do you see something, are you driving or all that, where suddenly it comes into your mind of the fact is, okay, yeah, this would make a song. And then putting the lyrics, like, how does that evolve within the brain? I have wondered that for many years. In 1957, I wrote my first hit and produced it. It was called I'm Available with Margie Rayburn. And I was driving down the Sunset Strip, Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. And there was a big signboard of it.

It said, This Space Available. And I said, Wow, that's a song. And I went home and wrote I'm Available, did a demo on it. And Margie Rayburn recorded it. And that was a hit, too, thankfully. Margie Rayburn recorded it, and that was a hit too, thankfully. Most of the time lately, for the last few years, I wake up at two o'clock in the morning, one o'clock in the morning, three o'clock. Any time of the night, it wakes me up. I couldn't sleep after I get these ideas,

and I have to go in and sit down and write. So the dogs and cats that I have at home, I have several of them gather around me and I, I think it's inspiration having them there. And my beautiful wife and I just celebrated our 64th wedding anniversary yesterday. And Dion is a big star on her own. She is, was a very successful dancer when we met. She did three movies with Elvis and Jeff Chandler, Kim Novak, a lot of things. And she, we're still together. Actually out of all of our friends, we're the only ones left.

I think we could do a whole other episode just on how that happened, because in today's world, that's a miracle. Well, we're blessed again, and we're just as much in love, maybe even more than we were when we first met. But it was definitely love at first sight. Now, you've also, too, you have also managed a number of artists. Tell us about some of the artists that you've managed. Well, in 1976, Hank Jr. and his then manager came to me

and asked me if I would run a publishing company for him. He didn't have a publishing company of his own at that time. And I said yes, and I started a company called Bosephus Music, which all of Hank's songs went into. That's, you know, well over 55 years ago. Lots of hits, number one after number one. That's one of the most talented men I ever worked with in my life. And he just sold the company this year. And I'll always be indebted to Hank for being so loyal. We did it all on Handshake. The other artists that I worked with, another extremely talented man, was Don McLean. I managed Don for seven years, produced six albums with him.

And he's still out there on the road doing his thing. American Pie, Vincent, all those great, great songs. Excellent. And again, I've got with us the one and only Dave Burgess, first Grammy winner, tequila, lifelong singer, new singles, lady guitar. I mean, it's just, it's an honor having you here. I got to ask you this, though, too. It's just, it's an honor having you here.

I got to ask you this though, too, is, so, you know, my son now has started, we're three weeks in, of guitar. He's got this passion. Really? We've talked about it in the past now to play the guitar. So what are kind of some secrets you could share with children that both want to get into music and also to playing an instrument, whether that be a guitar like you're an expert or anything else well first of all you have to realize and I told my son this play the guitar and you get the girls uh that works that way it just does uh you have to be dedicated dedicated I used to

get up and work at four o'clock in the morning when I was a teenager I used to get up and work at four o'clock in the morning when I was a teenager, trying to get my guitar experience and trying to get better and improve. I watched other guitar players every chance I got. Everybody helped me. I was only 15 years old at that time. But within six months, I pretty much mastered and I had my own radio program. At 17, senior in high school, I signed with Columbia Records and I was able to have recordings out and go on the road. And it was a fantastic experience for me, actually. 17 years old, I think I was the first artist that had ever, singer, songwriter, whatever I was at that time, I'm not sure what I was,

ever to come out of Lancaster in Palmdale, California. But that's where I grew up, in the desert out there, in the Mojave Desert. And I was just very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. And I signed with Gabey Lutz and Heller as managers. They had Liberace and Lawrence Welk and all those people. Why they wanted me, I'll never know.

But they did, and they got me on Columbia Records. And here we are working with Sony in Columbia again today. Amazing. Dave, I know you've done a ton of interviews and stuff throughout the many years that you've been involved in the industry. What's a question that you've not been asked? That's a good question. I don't know if I can answer that because, David, through the years that I have done a lot of interviews and probably this is the most important interview I've ever done because it's with you first of all and

secondly because of my age but I can't think of any anything I just am amazed at this time in my life at these new songwriters songwriters and singers that are coming up. Brilliant. And the music business has changed so much. There's so much synthesized music out there now without musicians. I have to tell you that I'm not quite used to that yet. I miss the musicians. that yet. I miss the musicians. I miss records that are recorded that, what does it matter if they speed up or slow down a little bit? That's dynamics. That's exciting. But with these click

tracks and everything that some of these people record with, I couldn't do it. Pardon me. I just don't have the talent to do that or the urge to do it. I work with musicians, and I don't want the world of music to be without musicians. I think they're very important. And these talented people, this is the way they make their living, and we should respect them and use them every chance we get. We've got time for one more question. So with that, do you think that it's easier or more difficult now to make music? Say that again.

For now, do you think it's easier or more difficult to make music and to make a hit? Well, I think it's probably a little more difficult today. I think it's probably a little more difficult today. It costs so much more than it used to. And marketing and promotion and distribution, things like that, those kind of things are just important as the music itself today. And I don't know if that's good or bad, but nevertheless, that's the way it is. And we have to bend with the times and the times don't know if that's good or bad, but nevertheless, that's the way it is.

And we have to bend with the times and the times don't bend with us. So we're trying to follow suit. And I hope everybody likes our new album and likes our new single. So thankful. And again, blessed to have this opportunity at this point in my life. Excellent. blessed to have this opportunity at this point in my life. Excellent. Well, Dave, you have been a successful singer and songwriter that has also had a hand in helping the careers and others. That's a hero. Dave Burgess, first Grammy winner, Tequila.

Listen to his new single, Lady Guitar, and you can reach out to him at Dave, D-A-V-E B-U-R-G-E-S-S and thechamps.com And of course, we'll have it on our website too. Make sure you go to alliances.com E-L-I-A-N-C-S.com This has been David Kogan with the

Alliance's Hero Show. Gotta dance with me too now, Dave. See this guitar? I'll dance with me too now, Dave. Do this guitar. I'll dance with you. I might pass out. I don't know.