Pat Vegas

Pat Vegas
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Bass guitar
Years active 1960s to present
Associated acts The Sharks, The Avantis, Pat & Lolly Vegas, Redbone

Pat Vegas is a musician of Native American and Mexican ancestry. He has played in numerous ensembles which include Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Avantis, Redbone.

Background

Pat Vegas was born in Fresno, California.[1] He was originally known as Pat Vasquez. Both Pat and his brother Candido "Lolly Vasquez played in local bands. They changed their name to Vasquez when they came to Los Angeles in 1963 to work as musicians.[2] Vegas started out as a member of the Shindig house band. Later he performed with his brother Lolly as The Vegas Brothers. After that they formed the group Redbone[3] which had the 1974 hit, "Come and Get Your Love".[4]

Career

In 1961, Pat had a single, "Wanna Be A Movie Star" bw "I've Traveled The Whole Wide World" released on the Lute label. The following year, "That Smile" bw "The Best Girl In The World" was released on the Unity label.[5]

Pat and Lolly led a band called The Avantis. The line-up included drummer Mike Kowalski and guitarist Danny Hamilton. They became a support act for the Beach Boys.[6][7] The Avantis worked closely with Judd Hamilton (Older brother of Dan Hamilton[8]) who was the arranger and co-composer on their records.[9][10] In 1963, they had a minor hit with "Wax 'Em Down".[11][12] The single was distributed in Canada by Sparton of Canada Ltd, it charted there. On October 12, 1963, Canada's C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY recorded the single's chart status as having moved up one notch from the previous position of 36 to 37, right behind "Fools Rush In" by Rick Nelson.[13][14]

In 1969, along with his brother Lolly, rhythm guitarist Tony Bellamy and drummer Pete DePoe he formed the band Reddbone which produced the hit songs, "Maggy", "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" and "Come And Get Your Love".[15]

Later years

Vegas was featured in the 2017 film Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, a documentary which explores the influence that Native Americans had on rock ’n’ roll.[16] In April 2018, CBC Music announced that Vegas as well as Ansley Simpson and Indian City were to perform at the CBC Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg in May.[17] Also, Vegas was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in Redbone which inspired many Native American artists to find success in mainstream genres.[18]

Solo discography

Singles

Title Label and cat Year Notes #
"I Wanna Be A Movie Star" / "I've Traveled The Whole Wide World" Lute L-6014 1961
"That Smile" / "The Best Girl In The World" Unity CP-2113 1962 [19]

References

  1. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet - Page 157 Redbone
  2. ↑ Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop, edited by Jeff Berglund, Jan Johnson, Kimberli Lee - Page 99 REDBONE
  3. ↑ Bobbie Gentry's Ode to Billie Joe, By Tara Murtha - Page 46
  4. ↑ Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era, By Bruce Pollock - Page 60 COME AND GET YOUR LOVE
  5. ↑ 45Cat - Pat Vegas - Discography
  6. ↑ 45Cat - The Avantis (Los Angeles) - Discography, sleeve back notes for Sundazed / Chancellor S 287
  7. ↑ Written in Music, 22 februari 2017 - Pat ‘Redbone’ Vegas heeft nog steeds een droom - Ans van Heck
  8. ↑ AllMusic - Dan Hamilton, Biography by Bruce Eder
  9. ↑ Walk-Don't Run - The Story of the Ventures, By Del Halterman - Page 102
  10. ↑ 45Cat - The Avantis (Los Angeles) - Discography
  11. ↑ Ask Mr Music - FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2003
  12. ↑ Walk-Don't Run - The Story of the Ventures, By Del Halterman - Page 102
  13. ↑ Cashbox, October 5, 1963 - Page 13 MR. DEALER-MR. ONE STOP MR RACK JOBBER look what ABC PARAMOUNT just cooked up !
  14. ↑ Vancouver Top 40 Radio - C-FUNTASTIC FIFTY, WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 1963
  15. ↑ Redbone's Official Website - Redbone Forever
  16. ↑ Slate, Aug 18, 2017 - MOVIES, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World - By Jack Hamilton
  17. ↑ CBC, Apr 24, 2018 - World-class artists round out performers for 2018 CBC Indigenous Music Awards
  18. ↑ ChrisD.ca, May 19, 2018 - Entertainment » Musicians Celebrated at Indigenous Music Awards
  19. ↑ 45Cat - Pat Vegas - Discography

Further reading

  • "Come And Get Your Love: A Celebratory Ode to Redbone (1939-Present)" by Pat “Redbone” Vegas, Rehbon Publishing, 2017, 280 pps.
  • "King Kong Pete: Redbone and Beyond" by Peter "Last Walking Bear" DePoe, King Kong Beat Publishing, 2017, 292 pps.
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