Artist:Billy Joe & the Checkmates
Song:Percolator (Twist)
Album:Teen Beat 5: Another 30 Great Rockin' Instrumentals
Coffee lovers are going to want to check out this classic 1962 top ten hit made by Los Angeles studio musicians. The guy behind this record was Dore Records owner Lew Bedell. He also founded Era Records with former Atlantic Records exec Herb Newman. Lew Bedell was born Lewis Joseph Bedinsky Mar. 21, 1919 in El Paso, TX. His father was from The Ukraine and his mother was born in New York City. After his parents divorced, his family moved to Los Angeles. They changed their surname to Bedell in 1941. After WWII, he formed a comedy team with Doug Mattson. They played clubs in Los Angeles and split up in 1953. Bedell continued to work clubs. He even had a short lived TV show in New York. He met Herb Newman in 1955 when Era Records was founded. Bedell was Era's comptroller. Era's big hit was the single The Wayward Wind by Gogi Grant. When she tried to leave Era for RCA, Era sued her for breach of contract. Bedell and Newman started Dore Records. They scored a hit with To Know Him Is to love Him by The Teddy Bears. Then Newman and Bedell split up and Bedell retained control of Dore. In 1961, Bedell suggested to studio pianist Ernie Freeman that they should record a version of the Maxwell House advertising jingle. The musicians were Freeman on piano, Rene Hall on guitar, Red Callender on bass, Julius Wechter on marimba and Earl Palmer on drums. These guys were all Los Angeles studio musicians and members of The Wrecking Crew. The record was called Percolator (Twist) by Billy Joe & the Checkmates. Freeman wrote the song and Bedell took a songwriting credit as Louis Bideau. He even used a college photo of himself and said it was a pic of the group leader Billy Joe Hunter. Of course the big surprise was when Percolator reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can get it on this Ace Records various artists comp. There were several Billy Joe & the Checkmates singles but Percolator turned out to be a one hit wonder. Bedell continued to run Dore Records. He had a thing for comedy and Hudson & Landry was his most successful act. Lou Bedell died on July 6, 2000 at age 81. Here's a video of Percolator (Twist) by Billy Joe & the Checkmates.
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