Billy Joe & The Checkmates was an American band led by frontman Louis Bideu, who performed under the pseudonym Billy Joe Hunter. The group rose to popularity in the early 1960s during the "twist" dance craze with their hit instrumental song "Percolator (Twist)".
Bideau, or Louis Bideu as he was then known, started in showbusiness as a comedian and had his own radio show in New York in the mid-50s. In the early 60s he teamed up with noted arranger/composer Ernie Freeman, who had recently had a big hit with ‘Raunchy’. Together they wrote a catchy xylophone-led instrumental that they named ‘Percolator’, as it reminded them of the sound of coffee percolating. As it was early 1962, they added the almost obligatory word ‘Twist’ to the title and the record flew into the US Top 10. Maxwell House coffee used this perky tune for a US television commercial. Billie Joe continued to record charming instrumentals with titles such as ‘One More Cup’ and ‘Claire De Looney’, but never again achieved chart status.
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Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Percolator (Twist) @ 192
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1. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Percolator (Twist) (2:13)
2. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - The Drifters (1:56)
3. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - A Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (2:26)
4. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Nashville West (One More Time) (2:21)
5. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - One More Cup (2:03)
6. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Oozin' Soul (2:42)
7. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Round And Round And Round And Round (2:04)
8. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - The Nutty Dancing Instructors (2:27)
9. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Feeling Blue (2:41)
10. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Got You On My Mind (2:52)
11. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Chalypso Delight (1:26)
12. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - My Friend, The Rain (2:00)
13. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Strickly Psychedelic (2:06)
14. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Topless Dancer ( (2:00)
15. Billy Joe & The Checkmates - Try It, You'll Like It! (2:24)
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