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the hollywood argyles

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Some references refer to The Hollywood Argyles as a One-Hit Wonder, which perhaps is understandable when you see that name beside just one hit single, Alley-Oop, in the summer of 1960 on Lute 5905 b/w Sho' Know A Lot About Love. And it was quite a hit, rising to # 1 Pop Hot 100 and # 3 R&B.

But when you dig deeper you find that there were, in fact, no "Hollywood Argyles" when the song was recorded. Indeed, it was Gary Paxton who had already charted three times as Flip of the duo Skip & Flip for the Brent label, but since this song, written by Country star Dallas Frazier based upon a popular comic strip character, was recorded in the studios of Richard Podolor's American Recording Company, produced by then roommate Kim Fowley, and would be pressed by Lute Records while he was under contract to Brent, he had to find a way to get around that technicality. As he himself explains it "seeing that the studio was on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. And Argyle Street, I decided on Hollywood Argyles."

But in reality, the rest of the musicians on the cut were either friends or studio musicians, including Frazier and percussionist Sandy Nelson, paid something like $25 each for the session. And according to Nelson, everyone was higher than a kite on cider as the record was made! To his utter amazement, it took off, at which point he had to quickly assemble a group for personal appearances as "The Hollywood Argyles" - seen on the above cover. Subsequent singles cut in 1960 for Lute by the group went nowhere (Gun Totin' Critter Called Jack/Bug Eyed Man (Lute 5908) and Hully Gully/So Fine (Lute 6002), nor did You've Been Torturing Me/The Grubble on his own label, Paxley 752 in 1961 billed as Gary Paxton And The Hollywood Argyles, a 1965 release, Long Hair Unsquare Dude Called Jack/Ole on Chattahoochie 691, and Alley-Oop `66/Do The Funk Foot on Kammy 105 in 1966.

Also, three further singles by Skip & Flip on Brent also failed to chart, but Paxton was hardly finished with hit singles. In 1962 he produced the # 1 hit Monster Mash for Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Cryptkickers, followed in 1965 with Sweet Pea, a # 8 for Tommy Roe, and in 1966 Along Comes Mary, which won him a Grammy nomination, and Cherish, both for The Association ( # 7 and # 1 respectively) and Hooray For Hazel, a # 6 for Tommy Roe The following year, with his new-found interest in The Bakersfield in the field of Country Music, he produced the # 37 Country Hangin' On for The Gosdin Brothers.

Many more accolades would come his way, including his entry in Gospel Music, but this compilation from Marginal Records (which is still available new through other sources and at a decent price) deals with his early days in 1960s R&R. Amazon may wish to re-stock as this historical release is well worth having for any serious oldies collector. The generous list of tracks are:
By The Hollywood Argyles: 1. Alley Oop; 2. Hully Gully; 3. Honky Tonk; 4. Yakety Yak; 5. Sho' Know A Lot About Love; 6. The Bug Eyed Man; 7. The Way I See It; 8. You're Runnin My Gladness; 9. So Fine; 10. You'll Always Be My Darling; 11. Gun Totin Critter Called Jack; 12. The Lost Ranger; 13. Every Time You Smile (by The Argyles); 14. Moon Beam (by The Argyles); 15. Long Hair Unsquare Dude Called Jack; 16. Find Another Way; 17. Bossy Nover
By Gary Paxton: 18. Two Hump Dual Bump Camel Named R E Lee; 19. Your Past Is Back Again; 20. Teen Angel; 21. Kansas City; 22. Stop Twistin' Baby; 23. Alley Oop Was a Two Dab Man; 24. Teen Age Crush; 25. Mother In Law; 26. It Had To Be You
By The Hollywood Argyles: 27. Do The Funk Foot; 28. Alley Oop 1966;
By Gary Paxton: 29. It's My Way Of Loving You; 30. Going Through the Motions; 31. It's So Funny I Could Cry; 32. We're Going Back Together.