Wednesday, November 1, 2023

The Tempos (LaSalle County)

The Tempos from the Streator-Ottawa area in LaSalle County, Illinois.  The group recorded their first single in 1962 at the Fredlo Recording Studios in Davenport, IA.   

The A-side, “Twistin’ The Blues,” was a cover of Carl Perkins' 1956 song "Boppin' The Blues."  The Tempos however changed some of the lyrics to include a reference to Chubby Checker and the dance craze he helped popularize.


The B-side, "Only One," was written by the group's leader, Ed Bundy.  Other members of the group in 1961 included Rudy Alvarado, Fred Cisneros, Gus Anderson, Bob Norris.



THE TEMPOS - TWISTIN' THE BLUES / ONLY ONE (Fredlo # 6202)

By 1964, the Tempos consisted of Ed Bundy (guitar), Dick Ister (guitar), Frankie Little (sax) and Dave Dettore (drums).  

Frankie Little (Raging Storms) would later join the Castaways, who were also from the area.  Original member Bob Norris would join Angelo's Angels and was in several other area bands in the years that followed, including Chicago Sweeps, Kronic Flux and Freedom.

In 1968, the Tempos released another single.  This time on the Bam label out of Chicago.  One side featured Ed Bundy on vocals while the other featured Jack Moberg.  According to the label, the record was presented by original band member Rudy Alvarado.

 

Ed Bundy later joined the Castaways and played on their 1971 single released on the Bonny label.

1 comment:

  1. “Twistin’ the Blues” would end up on the French various artist compilation Rock It, Vol. 3 (Lenox LP 100) in 1995 and the Swedish various artist compilation Rock It, Vol. 2 (Enviken ENREC-102 credited as Ed Bundy.

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