Eddie & The Showmen

About

Eddie & the Showmen were an American surf rock band of the 1960s. Formed in Southern California by Eddie Bertrand, formerly of The Belairs, they released several singles on Liberty. Their highest-charting single in Los Angeles was "Mr. Rebel", which reached number four on the Wallichs Music City Hit List on February 10, 1964. Another big hit, "Squad Car", was a cover version of a Belairs track. The band originally formed because Bertrand wanted to move on from the Belairs. While the Belairs had focused more on guitar interplay, and a moderate sound, Eddie & the Showmen played more in the style of Dick Dale with a prominent lead guitar and heavy sound. The band's original drummer was former Mousketeer Dick Dodd, who later joined The Standells. One of the guitar players, Larry Carlton, later became a famous jazz guitarist; another was Rob Edwards of Colours; he would later contribute the title track for the surf movie, 'Pacific Vibrations'. Eddie Bertrand died of cancer in November 2012.