Pat Vegas

Patrick "Pat" Vasquez-Vegas (born March 17, 1941) is a Native American-Mexican musician, vocalist, writer, and producer of Redbone, known for their hit singles "Come and Get Your Love", "Witch Queen of New Orleans", "Maggie", and "We were all wounded at Wounded knee". He has played in numerous ensembles which include Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Avantis, and Redbone. He was featured in the NY Smithsonian along with his brother Lolly and bandmates for being the first Native American rock group to have a No. 1 single.

Pat Vegas
Birth namePatrick Vasquez-Vegas
Born (1941-03-17) March 17, 1941
Coalinga, California
OriginFresno, California
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsBass guitar
Years active1961–present
Associated actsThe Sharks, The Avantis, Pat & Lolly Vegas, Redbone

Background

Pat Vegas was born in Coalinga, California.[1] He was originally known as Patrick Vasquez-Vegas. Both Pat and his brother Candido "Lolly" Vasquez-Vegas played in local bands. They changed their name to Vegas 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, Vegas released a single, "I Wanna Be A Movie Star". The following year, "That Smile" b/w "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] On 12 October 1963 the record reached 36 in the Canadian charts.[13][14]

In 1969, along with his brother Lolly, rhythm guitarist Tony Bellamy and drummer Pete DePoe, he formed the band Redbone which produced the hit songs, "Maggie", "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

Albums
  • Speed of Sound (2013)
       (as "Ambergris")

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 [5]
"The Giggler" // "Green Tomatoes" (Pat & The Wildcats) Crusader C-100 1964

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 February 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 Archived May 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  16. Slate, August 18, 2017 – MOVIES, Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World – By Jack Hamilton
  17. CBC, April 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

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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