The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles were an American musical ensemble, assembled for studio recordings by the producer and songwriter Kim Fowley and his friend and fellow musician Gary S. Paxton. They had a US number one hit record, "Alley Oop" (Lute Records 5905) in 1960.

According to Paxton – who, at the time, was half of Skip & Flip – "Alley Oop" was written by Dallas Frazier as a country tune:

"As for the name, Kim Fowley and I were living in a $15-a-week room in Hollywood.... Since I was still under contract (to Brent Records) as 'Flip,' I couldn't put my name on 'Alley Oop.' Seeing that the studio was on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. And Argyle Street, I decided on Hollywood Argyles... Richard Podolor's studio American Recording Company in the Hollywood Palladium building is where the song was recorded... Other than myself, there were no actual Hollywood Argyles. Everyone else on the track was either a friend or a studio musician who I paid $25 apiece for the session. When 'Alley Oop' suddenly took off and people wanted to book us for concerts, there was no such group."

The "Alley Oop" session was produced by Kim Fowley; Sandy Nelson was the percussionist. He recalled that "all the participants were hopelessly drunk on cider by the time they recorded the song...." According to some reports, the lead vocalist on the track "Alley Oop" is Norm Davis, although the voice on the record has been identified as a match with other recordings sung by Paxton from the same era, such as "Spookie Movies." "Alley Oop" was the first song played on WLS-AM Radio in Chicago on May 2, 1960, when it changed format from farm programming to rock and roll.

The song sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

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