Dave Burgess, Grammy-winning Tequila hitmaker, dies at 90 after Pee-wee’s Big Adventure revival.

Dave Burgess, the band leader of an early rock and roll group that recorded the iconic tune Tequila, has died at 90.

According to his obituary, Burgess died on October 19 in Dover, Tennessee.

From the late ’50s through the mid-’60s, Burgess led his group The Champs, which found lasting fame thanks to its 1958 hit Tequila.

The song, which was written by Burgess’ bandmate, the saxophonist Chuck Rio (real name: Daniel Flores), rose to the top of the charts in just a few weeks.

Tequila’s success was particularly unusual, as the song is instrumental aside from its shouted title, and it was part of The Champs’ first release.

Ironically, Tequila wasn’t the song Burgess’ label Challenge Records was eyeing as a possible hit.

The tune was instead released as the instrumental B-side on the group’s debut single, which featured a Burgess-penned song, Train To Nowhere.

That song was expected to have the greatest chance of success, but it was instead the throwaway song rounding out the single that went to be immortalized.

Tequila and Train To Nowhere were released in January 1958, but it wasn’t until March of that year that DJs began to play the B-side heavily, which contributed to it shooting to the top of the Billboard pop charts.

Tequila was the top-selling and highest-charting single for five weeks, beginning on March 17, 1958, and it was also a chart topper on the Canadian charts in the same year.

The song also went on to win the award for Best R&B Performance at the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony in 1958. 

The Champs technically hadn’t even formed as a group when the future hit was recorded in December 1957.

Burgess, a rockabilly singer and guitarist, had been brought in by Challenge Records, the label founded by the singer and actor Gene Autry, to assemble a recording session in hopes of generating a hit for the label.

Tequila originated with saxophonist Chuck Rio’s trio, but the three members subsequently absorbed into The Champs.

The group tried to go back to the well in 1960 by recording the sequel song Too Much Tequila, which never equaled its predecessors success, though it did become a top 40 hit after peaking at number 30. 

Burgess returned to the recording project late in life with a revived version The Champs that recorded the album Tequila Party in 2020, which featured a new version of the iconic hit. 

Although Tequila had lasting popularity, it got an extra boost in 1985 with the release of Tim Burton’s film Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

The surreal comedy featured its star Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) dancing to Tequila while wearing platform shoes as he tries to get on the good side of a hostile biker gang.

Burgess was born on December 3, 1934, in Los Angeles, according to his obituary.

When he started his career in music, the performer took on his stepfather’s last name, Burges, but added an ‘S’ to distinguish it before legally changing his name in 1959 after his Tequila success.

The same year, he tied the knot with the dancer and actress Deon Adair Raab, who had been featured in multiple films starring Elvis Presley. 

After Burgess’ music business success had largely run its course, he and his wife left California to run an art gallery in Montana. 

But he was still afflicted by the music bug, and he and his family later relocated to another music capital, Nashville, Tennessee.

Although he didn’t write the biggest hit associated with his name, Burgess went on to amass a songwriting catalogue of over 700 songs, according to TMZ. 

His obituary notes that, in addition to being a respected musician and songwriter, he was also an ‘avid hunter and fisherman.’ 

Burgess was preceded in death by his wife Deon, as well as his daughter Charmaine. He’s survived by his son David.

A ceremony honoring Burgess was held on November 8.