The Best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection [Original recording remastered]

Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B00008J2KG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,558 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Yes, this Texas band did score their top hits with novelties, but they also could-and did!-rock. Includes Wooly Bully; Lil' Red Riding Hood; The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin; How Do You Catch a Girl; Ju Ju Hand , and Ring Dang Do plus Red Hot; Pharaoh A-Go-Go , and more!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A dozen tracks from the two-hit wonders, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, August 4, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Audio CD)

The thing about listening to the best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs is that you have done that by the time you get to the third track on this Millennium Collection done for the 20th Century Masters series. "Wooly Bully" made it to #2 on the Billboard singles chart in 1965 and the next year "Li'l Red Riding Hood" did the same. Although the group had another seven songs that made it to the charts (six of which are included in this twelve-track collection), none of them made it to the Top 20. "Ju Ju Hand" got to #26 and "Ring Dang Doo" to #33 in 1965, while in 1966 "Red Hot" came in at #82 and "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin" made it all the way to #22. In 1967, "Black Sheep" (the missing one) went to #68, "How Do You Catch a Girl" topped out at #27, and "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" went to #54. I am surprised that when you have such a limited number of songs that can be labeled hits that one would be missing, but there is no reason to believe it is any great loss. The only songs that reek of desperation is "Pharaoh A Go-Go," which is a blatant effort to sound as much like "Wooly Bully" as musically possible, the same way "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin" echoes "Li'l Red Riding Hood." Still, for a two-hit wonder, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs certainly stake out their territory and stick to it and if you remember that we are talking the mid-1960s and think of them more as competition for the likes of the Dave Clark Five and the Troggs instead of the Beatles and the Beach Boys you can have a better appreciation of their music.

Sam the Sham was really Domingo Samudio, who got the name because because of doubts about his abilities to be a lead singer in a rock group. Formed in Dallas, the Pharaohs consisted of Ray Stinnet on guitar, David Martin on bass, Butch Gibson playing saxophone, and Jerry Patterson on drums. In terms of music history the group has a small claim to fame in that "Wooly Bully," written about Samudio's cat, introduced Tex-Mex rhythms to popular rock 'n' roll. The problem was that their two big hits defined them as a novelty act (which was certainly reinforced by songs like "I Couldn't Spell !! *@!"), and despite the name that did not set well with Sam the Sham, who broke up the group in 1967 and tried unsuccessfully to find musical legitimacy on his own. In retrospect "Wooly Bully" is one of those rock classics where everything wrong comes out right, and if that is your musical legacy you are ahead of the game. The only concern here is whether you already have those first two tracks, because if you do that decreases the need for picking up this collection. But if you like the fun aspects of rock and roll that emerged in the American response to the British Invasion, not to mention music where the beat drives the songs, then Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs are a Sixties garage band worth listening to again.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More like Sam the Sham & the awsome, October 2, 2004

By 

John M. Henderson "John" (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Audio CD)

I was looking for a Sam the Sham and the Pharaos CD high and low about a year before this CD came out. I finally found one and listened to it all the time. There were about thirty songs and after a while I would just skip through the CD to the good ones. This 20th Century Masters CD has all the good songs without any of the songs that are just okay. Plus it's allot less money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs in their natural element--these guys made music FUN !!!, April 14, 2009

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection (Audio CD)

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs features some of the best work this group did when they recorded together, although the first two songs are probably the best on this CD. True to form, 20th Century Masters cranked out yet another budget CD with too few tracks on it and thus I am deducting a star to make this a four star review. However, the quality of the sound on this CD is quite good and the artwork is well done even if it is somewhat standard for this CD series.

The album starts off with the tune that was probably their biggest hit entitled "Wooly Bully." This tune, was is actually about Sam's cat; works well on a number of levels and it's still great for dancing even all these years later. The beat is quite catchy and memorable at once; and they never let go of a superfluous note. Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs do this one up right! "Lil' Red Riding Hood" has that 1960s rock and roll flavor to it that always makes me smile; "Lil' Red Riding Hood" has Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs in their natural element and that's more than quite all right by me!

"Ju Ju Hand" rocks well and these guys bat this tune straight out of the ballpark! "Ju Ju Hand" uses the drums very well and it all holds its own very well. The music is strong but it leaves the vocalists squarely front and center--I love it! "Red Hot" has a fast tempo that cranks up the electricity and this number is also quite strong even though it wasn't exactly their biggest hit. I really like "Red Hot;" and listen also for "Ring Dang Doo." "Ring Dang Doo" just plain sounds good and I could never tire of hearing these artists doing "Ring Dang Doo."

"Big Blue Diamonds" is another strong number that keeps the focus on Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs; the music is very pretty and this slow dancin' rock tune is just right for slow dancing all alone at night with your sweetheart in your living room. "Pharaoh A-Go-Go" has a great sound to it; and there's another gem in "(I'm In With) The Out Crowd." "(I'm in With) The Out Crowd" has Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs acing this practically effortlessly as if it were only breathing; but of course we know it really wasn't so easy. Their talents always carried them through.

"How Do You Catch A Girl" has a great rock flavor to it; and "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" ends this album strong. "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" has a great arrangement for the piano and this leaves you wanting more from this group!

Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs made music that was really a lot better than most people give them credit for making; but with CDs like this one maybe people will start to notice them at least in hindsight. Although this CD is just too brief, I recommend it for fans of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs; and it makes a great starter CD for people just discovering their talent, too.