East L.A. Rocks!
Photos from the Eddie Davis West Coast Eastside Sound Archives (CEMA 117)
These photos are part of the Eddie Davis West Coast Eastside Sound Archives (CEMA 117), Special Collections, UCSB Library. This collection was donated by Hector Gonzalez. He is a record producer, musician, award winning sound engineer and current owner of Rampart Records. Gonzalez has a first hand view of the vibrant music scene in East Los Angeles where multicultural bands contributed to the development of rock and roll. His archives help to document the development of the “West Coast East Side Sound.” Hector Gonzalez says, "This is an important part of early American rock and roll.”
Warner Bros. Records publicity still of the Premiers in 1965. Billy "Flash" Watson replaced Frank Zuniga on bass guitar after Frank was drafted to Vietnam. Eddie Davis released the group to Warner Bros. Records in 1965 in hopes that they would reach a bigger audience and better record distribution with the resources of a major label. Top Row, Left to Right: George Delgado and John Perez. Bottom Row Left to Right: Billy "Flash" Watson and Lawrence "Boy" Perez. Incidentally, Billy Watson is one of the bass players who recorded on, "Land of 1000 Dances" by Cannibal and the Headhunters in 1964. At that recording session, Eddie Davis and recording engineer, Bruce Morgan actually used two bass players. The other bass player was Mike
Rincon from the Blendells.