Thee Midniters: The Beatles

The Midniters were considered Latinos equivalent of The Beatles. Thee Midniters were a crossover group persuaded by the British Invasion. Thee Midniters received its name by Eddie Torres who became their manager after hearing the band at St Alphonsos Catholic Church. Eddie was a diligent promoter who worked day and night to promote the band across the west coast. The band was actually molded into the talented young entertainers we know today by Bill Taggart who at the time was band director at Salesian High school. Taggart was also was a leading figure in the development of many other E.L.A. artists. They had the sound, appearance, showmanship, and charm to keep their audience excited throughout the show. Their musical flair was a combination …show more content…
They were extremely admired in East Los Angeles, the group, was a garage band that featured both guitars and brass, that had a national hit with their storming rendition of "Land of a Thousand Dances" which was a cover hit and originally recorded by Cannibal and the Headhunters in 1965. Thee Midniters were one of the first bands to proudly proclaim their roots in East L.A. This was the epoch of “brass section bands” such as Ohio Players, Chicago, Thee Midniters, Tower of Power, James Brown. Thee Midniters were instrumental in creating the Eastside sound, before that the latino community primarily listened to race music. Thee Midniters members were: Willie Garcia; Lead Vocal, Greg Esparza: Vocals, Jimmy Espinoza: Bass, Larry Rendon; Saxophone, Romeo Prado; Trombone, Bobby Loya; Trumphet, George Dominguez; Lead Guitar, Roy Marques: Rhythm Guitar. The music of Thee Midniters uses the arrangement that is familiar to popular music: intro, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, pre-chorus, and a hook. The amount of similarity in the Midniters music is remarkable. However, there songs often start off with an intro-verse-verse-bridge-verse or an intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge; they then endure in many distinctive ways. A common theme of Thee Midniters seems to repeat something twice: verse-verse or verse-chorus-verse-chorus, and then follow this by a gap, either …show more content…
Thee Midniters had a remarkable balance of R&B and British rock on stage and in their music. After all, they have toured with such groups as Sonny and Cher, Herman and the Hermits, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Righteous Brothers, James Brown, The Temptations, and Santana. Many of their records have been reproduced illegally to this day which is proof of the reputation of the band. They remained in East L.A. because at the time East L.A. was considered Liverpool’s sister city and so it was a nascent scene. According to my music industry sources they confirmed that it was pretty much like Carnaby Street in London. From my point of view they were the best because they were an American rock ‘n’ roll band. I think it’s a shame that they are not in the Rock ‘n’ Roll hall of fame. In any event, bass guitarist Jimmy Espinosa lost his eyesight and he continues to this day to perform with Thee Midniters in the exact same manner he became famous for. Thee Midniters were icons and were responsible for the car club culture. Although they were a one hit wonder band I will continue to enjoy their music. For me, there one hit has endured for over forty