Post by Rob Durkee on Sept 13, 2012 13:59:25 GMT -5
By HECTOR SALDANA, mysanantonio.com.com
Johnny Perez, drummer on the Sir Douglas Quintet's biggest hits and an accomplished songwriter collaborating on hit songs with Joe “King” Carrasco, has died.
Perez was 69. He died Tuesday (9/11/12) at a Topanga, Calif., hospital from complication of cirrhosis of the liver.
His greatest claim to fame was his time in the 1960s with San Antonio's legendary Sir Douglas Quintet with Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Frank Morin and Jack Barber.
Perez also owned Topanga Skyline Studio, which opened in the early 1970s.
Before making the charts with “She's About a Mover,” “The Rains Came” and “Mendocino” and riding the wave of the British Invasion and the garage rock explosion, the young combo often played at the Blue Note, a beer joint at the corner of Hildebrand Avenue and Blanco Road.
In the early '60s, Perez was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. He was the Sir Douglas Quintet's wild child, too. Perez's friends knew him as “J.P.” since his days at Fox Tech High School.
“J.P. was the spirit of the band,” said Shawn Sahm, recounting stories his father told him. “He used to protect the guys from people that picked on them for having long hair. He was saving their (butts) all the time. I loved J.P. He was a big part of that whole Sir Douglas Quintet trip.”
Likewise, bassist Jack Barber recalled the early days on the road with Perez.
“He'd run around the room shadowboxing with himself,” Barber said. “We were always doing crazy (stuff), playing music.”
Texas Tornados drummer Ernie Durawa said he recommended Perez for the Quintet when he couldn't travel.
“I took him to the airport and put him on the plane. He went out to California and got famous with the Sir Douglas Quintet,” Durawa said. “He had a way of playing that fit” them.
Later, Perez moved to the West Coast along with Sahm and other members of the quintet after a drug bust in Corpus Christi in the mid-'60s.
Perez earned a reputation as a songwriter there.
“He always had a rhyme in his head and a song to pitch,” recalled Joe Nick Patoski, author of “Willie Nelson: An Epic Life.” “He was an L.A. mover and shaker.”
Songwriting partner Carrasco said he was devastated by news of Perez's death. The two first collaborated in 1977, coming up with Tex-Mex classics such as “Buena” and “Pachuco Hop.” And Carrasco said they were writing a new song, albeit a long-distance effort, called “Tamale Christmas.”
“He was just a volcano of rhymes. The biggest songs of my career are all done with Johnny,” Carrasco said of his friend, who was proud of his days in the Sir Douglas Quintet to the end.
“It's funny. He'd say, ‘I was the magic of that groove. ‘Mendocino,' that was me.' He's right. He had a special style,” Carrasco said. “It's still sinking in. Johnny never gave up looking for that magic.”
Johnny Perez, drummer on the Sir Douglas Quintet's biggest hits and an accomplished songwriter collaborating on hit songs with Joe “King” Carrasco, has died.
Perez was 69. He died Tuesday (9/11/12) at a Topanga, Calif., hospital from complication of cirrhosis of the liver.
His greatest claim to fame was his time in the 1960s with San Antonio's legendary Sir Douglas Quintet with Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Frank Morin and Jack Barber.
Perez also owned Topanga Skyline Studio, which opened in the early 1970s.
Before making the charts with “She's About a Mover,” “The Rains Came” and “Mendocino” and riding the wave of the British Invasion and the garage rock explosion, the young combo often played at the Blue Note, a beer joint at the corner of Hildebrand Avenue and Blanco Road.
In the early '60s, Perez was a Golden Gloves amateur boxer. He was the Sir Douglas Quintet's wild child, too. Perez's friends knew him as “J.P.” since his days at Fox Tech High School.
“J.P. was the spirit of the band,” said Shawn Sahm, recounting stories his father told him. “He used to protect the guys from people that picked on them for having long hair. He was saving their (butts) all the time. I loved J.P. He was a big part of that whole Sir Douglas Quintet trip.”
Likewise, bassist Jack Barber recalled the early days on the road with Perez.
“He'd run around the room shadowboxing with himself,” Barber said. “We were always doing crazy (stuff), playing music.”
Texas Tornados drummer Ernie Durawa said he recommended Perez for the Quintet when he couldn't travel.
“I took him to the airport and put him on the plane. He went out to California and got famous with the Sir Douglas Quintet,” Durawa said. “He had a way of playing that fit” them.
Later, Perez moved to the West Coast along with Sahm and other members of the quintet after a drug bust in Corpus Christi in the mid-'60s.
Perez earned a reputation as a songwriter there.
“He always had a rhyme in his head and a song to pitch,” recalled Joe Nick Patoski, author of “Willie Nelson: An Epic Life.” “He was an L.A. mover and shaker.”
Songwriting partner Carrasco said he was devastated by news of Perez's death. The two first collaborated in 1977, coming up with Tex-Mex classics such as “Buena” and “Pachuco Hop.” And Carrasco said they were writing a new song, albeit a long-distance effort, called “Tamale Christmas.”
“He was just a volcano of rhymes. The biggest songs of my career are all done with Johnny,” Carrasco said of his friend, who was proud of his days in the Sir Douglas Quintet to the end.
“It's funny. He'd say, ‘I was the magic of that groove. ‘Mendocino,' that was me.' He's right. He had a special style,” Carrasco said. “It's still sinking in. Johnny never gave up looking for that magic.”
