1964
LA LA LA LA LA * THE BLENDELLS * REPRISE 20291 * UK
It could be said that, in the 1960s, there were three categories of 'blue eyed' Soul groups for the UK Soul fan who had little or no visual reference to the performers. Firstly there were those that many would swear were Afro American, groups like: The O'Kaysions and The Reflections; secondly were those that were possibly white but no way to tell for certain, groups like: The Casinos and The Sir Douglas Quintet; finally there were those groups that it was more than likely they were white guys playing Soul but doing so well that it didn't matter, like The Kingsmen. The Blendaells fited in the second category, and it wasn't until some time after the release of La La La La La in the UK, and it had been played extensively in clubs and dances, that knowledge came across from the States that The Blendells were in fact a Mexican outfit from LA.
La La La La La is a Latin flavored cover of Little Stevie Wonder's 1962 cut of the same name, released on the B side of Little Water Boy Tamla 54070. The Blendells only recorded two records the above and Dance with Me, before they were drafted into the army and sent to the war in Viet Nam.