Guantanamera

Biography

There are at least three artists who recorded as The Sandpipers. 1. The Sandpipers were a U.S. pop/folk-rock group. Founding members Jim Brady, Mike Piano, and Richard Shoff first performed together in the Mitchell Boys Choir, before deciding to go it alone as 'The Four Seasons'. It was quickly pointed out to them that a group of that name already existed in New York, and they changed their name to The Grads. Although they didn't set the charts on fire with their early recordings, they perfor...

There are at least three artists who recorded as The Sandpipers.

1. The Sandpipers were a U.S. pop/folk-rock group.

Founding members Jim Brady, Mike Piano, and Richard Shoff first performed together in the Mitchell Boys Choir, before deciding to go it alone as 'The Four Seasons'. It was quickly pointed out to them that a group of that name already existed in New York, and they changed their name to The Grads. Although they didn't set the charts on fire with their early recordings, they performed well enough to secure a residency in a Lake Tahoe nightclub, where a friend brought them to the attention of trumpet playing A&M Records boss, Herb Alpert. Alpert was impressed enough to give The Grads a shot, but after a couple of singles without success the group agreed upon a name change to The Sandpipers, apparently unaware that a girl trio in Florida was already using that name. After the name change, their producer, Tommy LiPuma, recommended they record the Cuban song "Guantanamera", and the group finally had their first hit.

Although sidelined by the original trio for reasons which may never become clear, Pamela Ramcier had now become an integral part of The Sandpipers' sound. Her lyricless vocals were used much like a second string section, adding what several reviewers described as an "ethereal" quality to The Sandpipers' sound.

"Guantanamera" charted in the U.S. in September 1966, and in the U.K. the following month, and remains the group's biggest hit. They had many lesser chart entries, including a 'Guantanamera-ised' cover version of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", and songs from the films The Sterile Cuckoo and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

Having not had a hit in the previous five years, The Sandpipers finally broke up in 1975.

2. The Sandpipers was a quartet (sometimes The Golden Sandpipers) - Mike Stewart, Ralph Nyland, Dick Byron and Bob Miller - who sang a lot of material for children with Golden Records. This included recording the Mighty Mouse theme - perhaps the original (though on at least some 78 vinyl it's credited to The Terrytooners, Mitch Miller and Orchestra), but in any case likely the version that is now well known.

3. A female trio that recorded in the 1960s. They are most famous for having the Allman Joys as a backing band before their own success. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.