Produced by my uncle: Stanley Augustus Kesler (August 11, 1928 - October 26, 2020) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter, whose career began at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He co-wrote several of Elvis Presley's early recordings including "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", and played guitar and bass on hit records by Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a producer, his successful records included "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
This is one of those songs that it has actually stood the test of time and no one has a clue why. We all know it's just a fun song. Art is an incredible intangible.
When I was a kid, my family went to a tiny, ultra conservative backwoods Baptist church. So conservative that the women sat on one side of the church and the men on the other side. One night during church, the preacher's oldest daughter sang a solo hymn and when she finished, the younger daughter (about 7 or 8 years old) stood up and loudly requested: "now sing Woolly Bully". Other than the audible gasps, you could have heard a pin drop, lol.
You mean "Shout, Pts.1&2" by The Isley Brothers? I love that song! I wonder if Jordan and Amber already know that song. They haven't reacted to that one yet!
Sounds like an American Bison to me. Always did, and I did dance to it when it was brand new. Funny thing, I worked with a woman whose mother was a twin. The twins were named Mattie and Hattie. I don't know where they grew up, but we were in Atlanta, GA at the time.
This is the opening song in the Tom Hanks, John Candy movie “Splash!” which is a perfect Rob Squad Movie Reaction suggestion. We fans of yours LOVE “Splash!”
Without actually hitting #1 in the Hot 100. The other Billboard songs of the year that didn't hit #1 were Breathe (2000), Hanging By A Moment (2001) and Levitating (2021).
The Wooly Bully is actually a Buffalo (American Bison). The line "Let's not be L7" means "Don't be a Square" (form an L with thumb and forefinger and on the other hand form a 7 - put them together = A Square)
Something I found online re Wooly Bully, “Domingo Samudio wrote the song “Wooly Bully” after being inspired by a dance move that he witnessed while hanging out with some dancers in Texas, where he grew up. He described the dance as “doing a little thing called the Hully Gully.” The dance was characterized by dancers jumping around while shouting and getting loose”. “When Samudio returned to his hotel room, he wrote down some lyrics that he felt would make a great chorus. Over time, Samudio added more verses to the song as he saw the reaction of the dancers to the catchy tune.”
From summer 1965. There was a time and may still be that this song would get everyone out of their seats dancing. We couldn't really understand what he was singing the 2nd verse. Sam had probably on of the greatest rock and roll screams on this record. Notice the sax solo plays a high blooper note toward the end of the solo. Hit hit a major 7th instead of the intended minor 7th. But it makes your ears prick up like "what was that note?"
“Wooly Bully” started as a dance song about the Hully Gully, but Pen Records lawyers advised Samudio to change the lyrics. Samudio replaced the title with his cat’s name, Wooly Bully.
Some songs require their own dance and this is one of those. It consists of two jump steps to the left, two kicks with the right leg,two jump steps to the right, two kicks with the left leg. Try it….it’s fun when you are all in a line.
A thumb's up worthy reaction. This was a BIG -TIME party tune on college campuses. It sounds different when you are falling down drunk, spilling beer down the front of your shirt.
I remember when this song first came out in 1965, I blew $2.00 in the juke box playing this song over & over again. lol (songs on the juke box were only ten cents a play back then.)
@@user-kh8ue5nu1w Sorry user, you are wrong! The garage rock song, Wooly Bully was recorded in 1964 at Phillips recording studio in Memphis,Tennessee & it was released on March 12, 1965. Do your homework dude before you speak!
This all-time party tune was one of the biggest hits of 1965, almost reaching #1 that summer. It's also a song in classic 12-bar blues progression, although faster than most blues tunes. They were from Dallas, TX. Another great '60s boogie party tune that *did* reach #1 (in 1968) is "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" by John Fred & His Playboy Band. It's a fast mover with a lot of wild instrumentation, I think you would really like it.
In 1965 when Wooly Bully was top of the charts a DJ in Salt Lake City named Gary Waldron decided he needed a nickname. On his next show he played Wooly Bully on the air for 3 hours straight. Wooly Bully over and over again for 3 hours and then told his audience that his new name was Wooly Waldron. To this day Utahns know him as Wooly Waldron.
I read an interview with him awhile ago and he was asked who influenced his career and he said it was a particular HS teacher and said it was because the teacher had told him that as a mixed race person he would probably never amount to much and how that motivated him to prove the teacher wrong! I found out his name was Domingo Samudio and wikipedia says he is still living at the age of 87. I have several of his 45s including Wooly Bully, Lil Red Riding Hood, Swear by the Hair of my Chinny Chin Chin, and my favorite, Oh That's Good, No That's Bad. On a live video in 2000 someone saying he was his grandson posted on that video in 2021 that he was mostly singing gospel music at that time.
Costumes for bands were pretty much exclusive to the 60s. Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs were just one example. Two more were Paul Revere and the Raiders, where the band dressed up as Revolutionary War soldiers, and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap where they dressed as Union soldiers of the Civil War.
Sam the Sham was already a major artist in the sizzling Memphis music environment of the mid-60s. This song broke him internationally and has been used in multiple movies, TV ,etc. I grew up in Memphis during those years, and my dad sold insurance to Sam. I remember him coming over to my house in his decorated hearse to pay his premiums. I remember Sam as being hilarious. He would say hello to everybody and laugh-he might even go over to the neighbor's house just for fun. Great guy.
In the lyrics he says " Let's not be L7 Come and learn the dance" L7 - put your two thumbs and index reversed they form a square and "square" meant unhip or straight.
Sam the Sham was Texan with Mexican Heritage. Uno, dos….read Wiki for quick histories of groups. Domingo “Sam” Samudio from Dallas Texas, made his singing debut in second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast. Later, he took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini Lopez. After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy, where he was known as "Big Sam." He lived in Panama for six years, until his discharge. Back in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at Arlington State College, now the University of Texas at Arlington.[3] He recalled: "I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at night. That lasted about two years, before I dropped out and became a carny."[4] Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs The Pharaohs in 1965. From up and down; Butch Gibson, David A. Martin, Jerry Patterson, Sam the Sham (crouched down) and Ray Stinnet Background information Origin Dallas, Texas, U.S. Genres Garage rock Years active 1961-1967 Past members Domingo "Sam" Samudio Ray Stinnett David A. Martin Butch Gibson Jerry Patterson Tony "Butch" Gerace Frankie Carabetta Billy Bennett Andy Kuha Carl Miedke Russell Fowler Omar "Big Man” Lopez Vincent Lopez In Dallas in 1961, Sam formed the Pharaohs, the name inspired from the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.
In 4th grade, we had a tour of a local radio station. The DJ gave us a choice between "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins and "Woolly Bully". We all voted "Woolly Bully." I think he was surprised because it took him a few minutes to find the record. He didn't think anybody would choose that song.
This was roller skating music...I grew up in a small town that had a skating rink with a wooden floor inside a big tent...It was set up in a meadow every summer...Great place to meet girls lol...Miss those free and easy days...What a time to be a kid...
The lyrics describe a conversation between "Mattie" and "Hattie" concerning the "Wooly Bully" (a creature which Mattie describes as "a thing she saw [that] had two big horns and a wooly jaw" - that is, an American bison) and the desirability of developing dancing skills, although no attempt is made to synthesize these
The keyboard on this song was the Farfisa organ which was used in many hit songs back then and made everything sound cheesy and wonderful at the same time.
My 2 sisters and I would put the 45 on the record player and dance to this on the living room floor. Good memories. We are in our 70s now and still love our music!
'64 - '65 was my freshman year in high school. don't know how they managed to keep it secret but our songleaders launched a badass routine for this song during a pep rally and they rocked that gym. it seems like music enables time travel better than anything else does.
Here's the lyrics I heard -- and my band played -- from the first time I heard this banger. Web sources differ slightly. Mattie told Hattie About a thing she saw Had two big horns And a WOOLY JAW Wooly Bully ... Wooly Bully Hattie told Mattie Let's don't take no chance Let that be a sermon Come and learn to dance Wooly Bully ... Wooly Bully Mattie told Hattie It's a thing to do Git yourself a filly Pull the WOOL with you Wooly Bully ... Wooly Bully I've always loved this song, and it was ALWAYS a way to get the room dancing. We had no sax, so we used a screaming fuzz guitar for the sax parts.
Sam the Sham is a recovering alcoholic, and he said he was offered a lot of money by a beer company to license this song. He refused. Very admirable of him.
I was around when this song came out, but with the transistor radio and the guy's fuzzy voice, I couldn't make out most of the lyrics. I was only 3 years old anyway. Lol. But one interesting fact I learned later: "let's not be L-7," is referring to a saying at the time. Form the letter "L" with your thumb and index finger of your left hand, and form the number "7" with the thumb and index finger of the right hand (twist your wrist around), and put the fingers of both hands together. It forms a square (actually a rectangle). So "let's not be L-7" means "let's not be a square (nerd). "Let's not be a square, come and learn to dance". Something similar we have these days: form an L with thumb and index finger of your right hand, and place it against your forehead. You are calling yourself or the person you are talking to a 'Loser"
Ahh, Sam the Sham! These guys were awesome! Since you've already done "L'il Red Ridin' Hood", you should check out "Mary Is My Little Lamb", "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin", "I'm Not A Lover Anymore", "Big Blue Diamonds" and "Ju Ju Hand", among others
I saw Sam the sham at Mt Tom Ballroom. Holyoke Ma. 1965! graduated HS 1966. USMC 1967. The Mt Tom Ballroom was great place for live music and meeting girls.
🇬🇧 This song was sooooooo popular at Disco back in the 70's, filled that dancefloor EVERY TIME 💃🕺🪩 LOVE IT. 🎶🎼❤️🎷 Edit...... I know this came out in the 60's, but I got to know it in the 70's at our Youth club Disco.
Although this song came out in the 60's, I really enjoyed it in the 80's. I was twenty something, and used to go dancing at a dive bar in Hamtramck, a small city within Detroit. The wooden dance floor was tiny, and when this song came on, it was packed! I used to love this one and also Devil With the Blue Dress by Mitch Rider. What energy and a blast!
Amber, since you asked … The lyrics describe a conversation between "Mattie" and "Hattie" concerning the "Wooly Bully" (a creature which Mattie describes as "a thing she saw [that] had two big horns and a wooly jaw" - that is, an American bison) and the desirability of developing dancing skills, although no attempt is made to synthesize these ... Many radio stations banned the song bc they thought it was referencing something illicit or too sexual even tho it wasn’t.
I was told by my mother (my mother!) that this song was dirty and the lyrics were "a two bit whore with a woolly door". After explaining that, you can only imagine what the woolly bully must be. Watch it now! Here it comes! 😮 So that was at least the rumor amongst the young people of that time. Note: she didn't tell me this until about my senior year of high school, and it never crossed my mind or those of my friends that this song was anything but innocent and fun until then. We were shocked. 😂
Google memories of my dad cranking up the volume singing to this song my dad past away 27 years ago and my best memories of my dad are through the music
"What's a woolly bully?" Well, aparently its, "a thang she saw, a two big horns like a woolly dog!"...Whatever that is. A bison maybe? By the way, Sam The Sham grew up just south of you guys in Rockwall, Texas (a suburb of Dallas)
I grew up in the ‘60’s and remember hearing many garage bands in the neighborhood playing this one and several others back in the day. Great memories!!
Saw them do this live in the mid 60s. Sam's quite a character. He had a broken leg from a skiing accident, but that didn't slow him down. He stiff-legged it across the stage; the crowd loved it. He was funny as hell.
Great memories of "Cutting a Rug" to this classic back in the day You might also like to check out ; "Ring Dang Doo", "JuJu Hand", "Red Hot"and "Lil' Red Riding Hood". Also the flip of "Woolly Bully", ie."Ain't Gonna Move"is well worth a spin too! I'm 76 and I sure get a kick out of seeing you "Young Folk" digging the music from our youth. Keep it up!
My first husband was in a 50s 60s band (among others😊) and he brought me into some really fun music that I might have glossed over. Still like this genre.
lol--u guys remind me how Chicago Bulls fans during the Jordan dynasty used to dance to this..for 10 years it was played at every home game during peak moments to fire up the fans, with the Bull's mascot , Woolly, leading the way in the stands.
I thought you both looked like naturals when you started dancing in your seats to this music. Funny how you said later you could dance to this easier than today's music. You would have fit right in. This song took me back to when I was a kid and parents listened to it. Always fun to hear.
I was eleven when this was released somewhere in the midst of the Beatles multiple works of genius and other songs of the times. With the infectious beat and hook, how could we not love this? Great choice guys! 🌸💐✌️
I grew up in the 60's and this song was a favorite everywhere, but I will always assosciate it with the last part of Fast Times At Ridgemont High. The scene is epic.
I love this song… I was at the Line Star bar on 13th street on NYC to see Levon Helm and friends .. one of the friends that showed up was Bob Dylan… but at about 2 or 3 am Harry Dean Stanton got up and did a great drunken version of Wooly Bully..
The sax player who is killing it is Butch Gibson. Lastly one of the best songs with a title that makes you wonder is The Edsel's song Rama Lama Ding Dong. In short his girl is named Rama Lama Ding Dong. Absolutely a great song with a great title.
Jay and Amber After listening to this awesome oldie, I feel compelled to tell you about another song that’s just pure fun. Nothing else. It’s by Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Groups (no I have no idea what a Skiffle Group is) and the song was called “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bed Post Overnight?” and it was a hit in 1961. Does anyone else remember this antique? Y’all will love it! Another fun song was “Guitarzan” by Ray Steven’s. Have y’all reacted to that one? P.S. I love you guys!! Peace and Love
This is indeed a wonderfully fun song! I've always wanted the band Madness to take a crack at this song with a remake. I think it'd be a lot of fun too. Another one of my all-time favorite fun songs is "Don't You Just Know It" by Huey "Piano" Smith. Brings back great memories of going to the dinner/dance parties hosted by my late uncle and his lodge brothers. They played all this good ol' music! The elders used to ask me, "Girl, how you know all these old songs?!" I'd always answer, "I was raised RIGHT!" 😁
This was the # 1 song of Billboard magazine in 1965 despite only peaking at # 2 on the magazine's weekly chart. The first time that a song was the # 1 song of the year without topping the Hot 100 chart. This happened only three times since in 2000, 2001 and 2021.
"Sam" is Domingo Zamudio, which could explain "uno, dos... one, two, tres, cuatro!" 😄 For many years I wanted to see Chris Tucker, a non-singer, open an award show performing this with a band. 😅
Great old mid 60s Classic Rock" song. Sort of a novelty song, very unusual. Used in many tv shows, movies, and commercials over the last 60 something years. Classic stuff.
I was 9 Years old in 1965 when I heard this song on a TV show in NY called Lalapalooza. Always brings back memories, fun times. Thanks for the reaction.
I was about 4 or 5 years old... Mother worked, and Daddy a silkscreen artist at that time was not working, he would take me to a corner dive bar called "The Red Cardinal" in Dallas Texas on Peak & Bryan Streets, where I played shuffleboard and danced on the tabletop to Wooly Bully for a bag of chips, we would always leave around 5 pm to start dinner before mother got home...lol.. oddly, it's a good memory ...I am 66 now and both parents have passed away... ( read the Lyrics) Matty told Hatty bout she saw, had two big horns and a wooly jaw....
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Produced by my uncle: Stanley Augustus Kesler (August 11, 1928 - October 26, 2020) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter, whose career began at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He co-wrote several of Elvis Presley's early recordings including "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", and played guitar and bass on hit records by Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a producer, his successful records included "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
Cool story 😎
Fabulous!
That's awesome! ❤
Wow, great info…great uncle!
@@tjrivers Well, technically, he was my great uncle. My dad's uncle. 😁
This is one of those songs that it has actually stood the test of time and no one has a clue why. We all know it's just a fun song. Art is an incredible intangible.
Because it's fun and ketchy
@@trudieristich795 yea it is
@Pennylove-e5r Do you remember it? I'm 65 so I do.
It's just like bird is the word
Because it's wonderfully gonzo frat party rock. It's kinda stoopid but it doesn't matter because it's so much fun.
When I was a kid, my family went to a tiny, ultra conservative backwoods Baptist church. So conservative that the women sat on one side of the church and the men on the other side. One night during church, the preacher's oldest daughter sang a solo hymn and when she finished, the younger daughter (about 7 or 8 years old) stood up and loudly requested: "now sing Woolly Bully". Other than the audible gasps, you could have heard a pin drop, lol.
😂
😂
🤣
😂😂😂😂😂
😅
This tune, and 'Louie Louie', and 'Shout' always got people out on the dance floor.
You mean "Shout, Pts.1&2" by The Isley Brothers? I love that song! I wonder if Jordan and Amber already know that song. They haven't reacted to that one yet!
I associate Mony Mony in this category of songs too
Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw
Had two big horns and a wooly jaw
Wooly Bully!
Sounds like an American Bison to me. Always did, and I did dance to it when it was brand new. Funny thing, I worked with a woman whose mother was a twin. The twins were named Mattie and Hattie. I don't know where they grew up, but we were in Atlanta, GA at the time.
I always heard it as Mata told Hari
I never knew, nor cared, what they were singing. 😆
This is the opening song in the Tom Hanks, John Candy movie “Splash!” which is a perfect Rob Squad Movie Reaction suggestion. We fans of yours LOVE “Splash!”
They would love Splash!
FUN MOVIE!!!
This was also in "Full Metal Jacket!"
Fun movie.
@@rayseva1278 , Not as fun a movie, lol.
This is the song that made Sam famous. A rock staple.
Amber's chair dancing is getting better all the time. Fun.
You're right! 😅🙃
She got hooked and started dancing!
Advanced!😸
Wait till she pogos.
Fun fact: This song was Billboard's #1 song of 1965
Without actually hitting #1 in the Hot 100. The other Billboard songs of the year that didn't hit #1 were Breathe (2000), Hanging By A Moment (2001) and Levitating (2021).
@@paulojrneto Right! Very unusual
"I KNOW that song!" - Jeff Spicoli
Duuuuuuuuuude!
That's always the first thing I think of when I hear this fast Times
The Wooly Bully is actually a Buffalo (American Bison). The line "Let's not be L7" means "Don't be a Square" (form an L with thumb and forefinger and on the other hand form a 7 - put them together = A Square)
Tanks for clearing L7 stuff up lol
L7 also a great all female 90's band! They were in the movie Serial Mom as the band Camel Lips.
also a band. L7. Pretend We're Dead was their big hit
@eurofritz4617 I responded with similar info but RUclips is hiding my replies.
I didn't realize that went back so far.
These guys were one of the opening acts when the Beatles hit Shea Stadium in 1965.
Little Red Riding Hood is another classic.
They did react to that one already.
I play that every Halloween.
Home Free has a great live video of this.
Something I found online re Wooly Bully, “Domingo Samudio wrote the song “Wooly Bully” after being inspired by a dance move that he witnessed while hanging out with some dancers in Texas, where he grew up. He described the dance as “doing a little thing called the Hully Gully.” The dance was characterized by dancers jumping around while shouting and getting loose”.
“When Samudio returned to his hotel room, he wrote down some lyrics that he felt would make a great chorus. Over time, Samudio added more verses to the song as he saw the reaction of the dancers to the catchy tune.”
The Hully Gulley is also a song I think.
just imagine this hitting the airwaves back in 1964- so different and fun- it must have blown people's minds!
THis and Louie Louie!
I’m Latino and can’t understand what he’s singing other than Wooly Bully Wooly Bully Wooly Bully. Love this song.
Man, what memories this song brings back -- and not all of them family friendly! The girls loved to shake it all to this one.
Yeah, they shook it to this one, and WILD THANG
@@LBinsocal So true.
From summer 1965. There was a time and may still be that this song would get everyone out of their seats dancing. We couldn't really understand what he was singing the 2nd verse. Sam had probably on of the greatest rock and roll screams on this record. Notice the sax solo plays a high blooper note toward the end of the solo. Hit hit a major 7th instead of the intended minor 7th. But it makes your ears prick up like "what was that note?"
“Wooly Bully” started as a dance song about the Hully Gully, but Pen Records lawyers advised Samudio to change the lyrics. Samudio replaced the title with his cat’s name, Wooly Bully.
Some songs require their own dance and this is one of those. It consists of two jump steps to the left, two kicks with the right leg,two jump steps to the right, two kicks with the left leg. Try it….it’s fun when you are all in a line.
the guys at a club I used to go to, would do that dance ... thanks for the memory.
Even 30 years ago, this was still on all the jukeboxes!! Always a fun time!!
A thumb's up worthy reaction. This was a BIG -TIME party tune on college campuses. It sounds different when you are falling down drunk, spilling beer down the front of your shirt.
Domingo Samudio (Sam the Sham) was born in Dallas, Texas, is 87 years old, and does motivational speaking and small concerts around the country.
I saw him open for Chuck Berry in Cincinnati in 1996.
Small concerts at 87?
And another thing! My grandmother used to say "Dance like the whole world is watching and you don't care"
You have a really cool grandma❤
I remember when this song first came out in 1965, I blew $2.00 in the juke box playing this song over & over again. lol (songs on the juke box were only ten cents a play back then.)
Came out in 1960
@@user-kh8ue5nu1w
Sorry user, you are wrong!
The garage rock song, Wooly Bully was recorded in 1964 at Phillips recording studio in Memphis,Tennessee & it was released on March 12, 1965. Do your homework dude before you speak!
@@user-kh8ue5nu1w
You been schooled.
This all-time party tune was one of the biggest hits of 1965, almost reaching #1 that summer. It's also a song in classic 12-bar blues progression, although faster than most blues tunes. They were from Dallas, TX. Another great '60s boogie party tune that *did* reach #1 (in 1968) is "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" by John Fred & His Playboy Band. It's a fast mover with a lot of wild instrumentation, I think you would really like it.
Yeah my dad has that song on a record as well
My dad has this song on a record as well
In 1965 when Wooly Bully was top of the charts a DJ in Salt Lake City named Gary Waldron decided he needed a nickname. On his next show he played Wooly Bully on the air for 3 hours straight. Wooly Bully over and over again for 3 hours and then told his audience that his new name was Wooly Waldron. To this day Utahns know him as Wooly Waldron.
One of the most fun songs!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!❤❤❤❤
That organ playing staccato chords the whole time, like a rhythm instrument, just makes me wanna smile!
I read an interview with him awhile ago and he was asked who influenced his career and he said it was a particular HS teacher and said it was because the teacher had told him that as a mixed race person he would probably never amount to much and how that motivated him to prove the teacher wrong! I found out his name was Domingo Samudio and wikipedia says he is still living at the age of 87. I have several of his 45s including Wooly Bully, Lil Red Riding Hood, Swear by the Hair of my Chinny Chin Chin, and my favorite, Oh That's Good, No That's Bad. On a live video in 2000 someone saying he was his grandson posted on that video in 2021 that he was mostly singing gospel music at that time.
Costumes for bands were pretty much exclusive to the 60s. Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs were just one example. Two more were Paul Revere and the Raiders, where the band dressed up as Revolutionary War soldiers, and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap where they dressed as Union soldiers of the Civil War.
He didn't skip at the beginning but did a mix...Uno, dos One, two, tres, cuatro, LOL!
Surely this is the inspiration for U2 with their One, two, three, fourteen.
Sam the Sham was already a major artist in the sizzling Memphis music environment of the mid-60s. This song broke him internationally and has been used in multiple movies, TV ,etc. I grew up in Memphis during those years, and my dad sold insurance to Sam. I remember him coming over to my house in his decorated hearse to pay his premiums. I remember Sam as being hilarious. He would say hello to everybody and laugh-he might even go over to the neighbor's house just for fun. Great guy.
In the lyrics he says " Let's not be L7 Come and learn the dance" L7 - put your two thumbs and index reversed they form a square and "square" meant unhip or straight.
Back in the day,, This classic was a party starter,, It got people movin' & groovin'. 🔥
Sam the Sham was Texan with Mexican Heritage. Uno, dos….read Wiki for quick histories of groups.
Domingo “Sam” Samudio from Dallas Texas, made his singing debut in second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast. Later, he took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini Lopez. After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy, where he was known as "Big Sam." He lived in Panama for six years, until his discharge.
Back in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at Arlington State College, now the University of Texas at Arlington.[3] He recalled: "I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at night. That lasted about two years, before I dropped out and became a carny."[4]
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
The Pharaohs in 1965. From up and down; Butch Gibson, David A. Martin, Jerry Patterson, Sam the Sham (crouched down) and Ray Stinnet
Background information
Origin Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Genres Garage rock
Years active 1961-1967
Past members Domingo "Sam" Samudio
Ray Stinnett
David A. Martin
Butch Gibson
Jerry Patterson
Tony "Butch" Gerace
Frankie Carabetta
Billy Bennett
Andy Kuha
Carl Miedke
Russell Fowler
Omar "Big Man” Lopez
Vincent Lopez
In Dallas in 1961, Sam formed the Pharaohs, the name inspired from the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.
So much fun dancing to that great music .
In 4th grade, we had a tour of a local radio station. The DJ gave us a choice between "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins and "Woolly Bully". We all voted "Woolly Bully." I think he was surprised because it took him a few minutes to find the record. He didn't think anybody would choose that song.
This was roller skating music...I grew up in a small town that had a skating rink with a wooden floor inside a big tent...It was set up in a meadow every summer...Great place to meet girls lol...Miss those free and easy days...What a time to be a kid...
This was some roller skating music!
The lyrics describe a conversation between "Mattie" and "Hattie" concerning the "Wooly Bully" (a creature which Mattie describes as "a thing she saw [that] had two big horns and a wooly jaw" - that is, an American bison) and the desirability of developing dancing skills, although no attempt is made to synthesize these
The keyboard on this song was the Farfisa organ which was used in many hit songs back then and made everything sound cheesy and wonderful at the same time.
My 2 sisters and I would put the 45 on the record player and dance to this on the living room floor. Good memories. We are in our 70s now and still love our music!
Rob... brother! I hope you appreciate how blessed you are. Amber is amazing!
'64 - '65 was my freshman year in high school. don't know how they managed to keep it secret but our songleaders launched a badass routine for this song during a pep rally and they rocked that gym. it seems like music enables time travel better than anything else does.
As a Brit living in Thailand I have to say that I love this channel and am really loving Ambers’ T’Shirt.
Wooly Bully along with Louie, Louie became the standards for drunken frat parties.
Here's the lyrics I heard -- and my band played -- from the first time I heard this banger. Web sources differ slightly.
Mattie told Hattie
About a thing she saw
Had two big horns
And a WOOLY JAW
Wooly Bully ...
Wooly Bully
Hattie told Mattie
Let's don't take no chance
Let that be a sermon
Come and learn to dance
Wooly Bully ...
Wooly Bully
Mattie told Hattie
It's a thing to do
Git yourself a filly
Pull the WOOL with you
Wooly Bully ...
Wooly Bully
I've always loved this song, and it was ALWAYS a way to get the room dancing. We had no sax, so we used a screaming fuzz guitar for the sax parts.
Had to come back for Woolly Bully.
This song makes you want to get out of your chair and get on the dance floor and get your boogie on !!!... Keep being awesome guys !!!...
Sam the Sham is a recovering alcoholic, and he said he was offered a lot of money by a beer company to license this song. He refused. Very admirable of him.
Wooly Bully was a play on a dance named Hully Gully which was characterized by people jumping around while shouting & getting loose.
Yes a dance as referenced by the line, "Let's not be L7 (meaning square) come and learn to dance"
I was around when this song came out, but with the transistor radio and the guy's fuzzy voice, I couldn't make out most of the lyrics. I was only 3 years old anyway. Lol. But one interesting fact I learned later: "let's not be L-7," is referring to a saying at the time. Form the letter "L" with your thumb and index finger of your left hand, and form the number "7" with the thumb and index finger of the right hand (twist your wrist around), and put the fingers of both hands together. It forms a square (actually a rectangle). So "let's not be L-7" means "let's not be a square (nerd). "Let's not be a square, come and learn to dance". Something similar we have these days: form an L with thumb and index finger of your right hand, and place it against your forehead. You are calling yourself or the person you are talking to a 'Loser"
Ahh, Sam the Sham! These guys were awesome! Since you've already done "L'il Red Ridin' Hood", you should check out "Mary Is My Little Lamb", "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin", "I'm Not A Lover Anymore", "Big Blue Diamonds" and "Ju Ju Hand", among others
This song was inspired by his cat
See Sam the Sham and Thr Pharoahs on tv on a school night was a great take. If i knew then what i know now, i would've taken notes.
I saw Sam the sham at Mt Tom Ballroom. Holyoke Ma. 1965! graduated HS 1966. USMC 1967. The Mt Tom Ballroom was great place for live music and meeting girls.
My parents told me this was the first song I sang from the radio. I had just learned how to talk and started singing Wooly Bully around the house. 😂
So many movies use this tune. From Full Metal Jacket to the Sandlot. It’s a TITAN of a “test of time” song.
🇬🇧
This song was sooooooo popular at Disco back in the 70's, filled that dancefloor EVERY TIME 💃🕺🪩
LOVE IT. 🎶🎼❤️🎷
Edit...... I know this came out in the 60's, but I got to know it in the 70's at our Youth club Disco.
Its good to see you guys discover this music and having so much fun discovering it
Although this song came out in the 60's, I really enjoyed it in the 80's. I was twenty something, and used to go dancing at a dive bar in Hamtramck, a small city within Detroit. The wooden dance floor was tiny, and when this song came on, it was packed! I used to love this one and also Devil With the Blue Dress by Mitch Rider. What energy and a blast!
Amber, since you asked … The lyrics describe a conversation between "Mattie" and "Hattie" concerning the "Wooly Bully" (a creature which Mattie describes as "a thing she saw [that] had two big horns and a wooly jaw" - that is, an American bison) and the desirability of developing dancing skills, although no attempt is made to synthesize these ... Many radio stations banned the song bc they thought it was referencing something illicit or too sexual even tho it wasn’t.
I was told by my mother (my mother!) that this song was dirty and the lyrics were "a two bit whore with a woolly door". After explaining that, you can only imagine what the woolly bully must be. Watch it now! Here it comes! 😮 So that was at least the rumor amongst the young people of that time. Note: she didn't tell me this until about my senior year of high school, and it never crossed my mind or those of my friends that this song was anything but innocent and fun until then. We were shocked. 😂
My favorite song way back when. Loved cleaning house to wooly bully ❤
This is one of the jams my sister and I always listened to with our mom.
Google memories of my dad cranking up the volume singing to this song my dad past away 27 years ago and my best memories of my dad are through the music
This song was extremely popular during the Vietnam war in the later years of the war.
Wasn't it used in Full metal jacket?
Oh remember Woolly Bully very well. Good old drinking and dancing song.
"What's a woolly bully?" Well, aparently its, "a thang she saw, a two big horns like a woolly dog!"...Whatever that is. A bison maybe?
By the way, Sam The Sham grew up just south of you guys in Rockwall, Texas (a suburb of Dallas)
I grew up in the ‘60’s and remember hearing many garage bands in the neighborhood playing this one and several others back in the day.
Great memories!!
Back in the 60’s my brother had the most random run in with them at the A&W root beer stand in Rapid River Michigan.
how fun!
Saw them do this live in the mid 60s. Sam's quite a character. He had a broken leg from a skiing accident, but that didn't slow him down. He stiff-legged it across the stage; the crowd loved it. He was funny as hell.
I love this song when I was a little boy. I was 8 yrs. old in 3rd grade. Amber your hair looks fantastic!
Great memories of "Cutting a Rug" to this classic back in the day You might also like to check out ; "Ring Dang Doo", "JuJu Hand", "Red Hot"and "Lil' Red Riding Hood". Also the flip of "Woolly Bully", ie."Ain't Gonna Move"is well worth a spin too! I'm 76 and I sure get a kick out of seeing you "Young Folk" digging the music from our youth. Keep it up!
My first husband was in a 50s 60s band (among others😊)
and he brought me into some really fun music that I might have glossed over. Still like this genre.
lol--u guys remind me how Chicago Bulls fans during the Jordan dynasty used to dance to this..for 10 years it was played at every home game during peak moments to fire up the fans, with the Bull's mascot , Woolly, leading the way in the stands.
❤If y'all throw a 60s party this is a must. Best song to dance too when drinks are flowing. We threw 60s parties in college and and still do now.
This is such a fun song. Makes you want to get up and dance! Love your reactions!
British ska/two-tone band 'Bad Manners' did a great cover version of this song.
I thought you both looked like naturals when you started dancing in your seats to this music. Funny how you said later you could dance to this easier than today's music. You would have fit right in. This song took me back to when I was a kid and parents listened to it. Always fun to hear.
I was eleven when this was released somewhere in the midst of the Beatles multiple works of genius and other songs of the times. With the infectious beat and hook, how could we not love this? Great choice guys! 🌸💐✌️
One of the greatest dance songs of all time.
I grew up in the 60's and this song was a favorite everywhere, but I will always assosciate it with the last part of Fast Times At Ridgemont High. The scene is epic.
One of my all time favorite oldie songs!
I love this song… I was at the Line Star bar on 13th street on NYC to see Levon Helm and friends .. one of the friends that showed up was Bob Dylan… but at about 2 or 3 am Harry Dean Stanton got up and did a great drunken version of Wooly Bully..
My father was working on a home where they were rehearsing. He loved them. ❤
The sax player who is killing it is Butch Gibson. Lastly one of the best songs with a title that makes you wonder is The Edsel's
song Rama Lama Ding Dong. In short his girl is named Rama Lama Ding Dong. Absolutely a great song with a great title.
Jay and Amber After listening to this awesome oldie, I feel compelled to tell you about another song that’s just pure fun. Nothing else. It’s by Lonnie Donegan and his Skiffle Groups (no I have no idea what a Skiffle Group is) and the song was called “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bed Post Overnight?” and it was a hit in 1961. Does anyone else remember this antique? Y’all will love it! Another fun song was “Guitarzan” by Ray Steven’s. Have y’all reacted to that one?
P.S. I love you guys!!
Peace and Love
Back then we just listened to music to have fun!
Quintessential Americana classic!...Impossible to sit still to this.
This is indeed a wonderfully fun song! I've always wanted the band Madness to take a crack at this song with a remake. I think it'd be a lot of fun too. Another one of my all-time favorite fun songs is "Don't You Just Know It" by Huey "Piano" Smith. Brings back great memories of going to the dinner/dance parties hosted by my late uncle and his lodge brothers. They played all this good ol' music! The elders used to ask me, "Girl, how you know all these old songs?!" I'd always answer, "I was raised RIGHT!" 😁
"Matty told Hatty
About a thing she saw
Had two big horns
And a wooly jaw" LOL 1965!
This was the # 1 song of Billboard magazine in 1965 despite only peaking at # 2 on the magazine's weekly chart. The first time that a song was the # 1 song of the year without topping the Hot 100 chart. This happened only three times since in 2000, 2001 and 2021.
"Sam" is Domingo Zamudio, which could explain "uno, dos... one, two, tres, cuatro!" 😄 For many years I wanted to see Chris Tucker, a non-singer, open an award show performing this with a band. 😅
Great old mid 60s Classic Rock" song. Sort of a novelty song, very unusual. Used in many tv shows, movies, and commercials over the last 60 something years. Classic stuff.
I was 9 Years old in 1965 when I heard this song on a TV show in NY called Lalapalooza. Always brings back memories, fun times. Thanks for the reaction.
Best song of the 60s dancing!!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
I remember this song playing on the radio during 7th grade recess while we were playing kick ball, way back in 1965.
I was about 4 or 5 years old... Mother worked, and Daddy a silkscreen artist at that time was not working, he would take me to a corner dive bar called "The Red Cardinal" in Dallas Texas on Peak & Bryan Streets, where I played shuffleboard and danced on the tabletop to Wooly Bully for a bag of chips, we would always leave around 5 pm to start dinner before mother got home...lol.. oddly, it's a good memory ...I am 66 now and both parents have passed away... ( read the Lyrics) Matty told Hatty bout she saw, had two big horns and a wooly jaw....
This a perfect so for a dance party. A good dance party theme: 60's, 70's and 80's dance parties. And have guess dress in those eras. Fun, fun fun.