1966 The McCoys – Come On, Let’s Go

1966 McCoys – Come On, Lets Go 

We primarily remember Ritchie Valens thanks to a two-sided hit from 1958: Donna and La Bomba. In early 1959, he died in the plane crash that is immortalized in the Don McLean song American Pie.

Ritchie actually released his first charting single earlier in 1958, it simply did not do as well. He wrote and sang Come On, Let’s Go and the single peaked at #42 on the Hot 100.

The song probably still sounds familiar thanks to several cover versions.

In England, Tommy Steele became a teen idol thanks to a long line of hit records between 1956 and 1960. He had one #1 single and seven more top ten singles in the UK but never reached the US charts at all.

Shortly after Ritchie’s single came out, Tommy covered Come On, Let’s Go. His single peaked at #10 on the UK chart.

The McCoys were formed in Indiana in 1962. A few lineup changes came about over the years, but guitarist Richard Zehringer remained a constant member. You may remember him better with a different stage name: Rick Derringer.

In 1964, the Vibrations recorded the song My Girl Sloopy and their single stalled at #26 on the Hot 100. The McCoys recorded a cover version with a slightly different name (Hang On Sloopy) and reached #1 on the chart in 1965.

The band’s last top forty single followed in 1966. They recorded their own version of Come On, Let’s Go, which reached #22 on the Hot 100. 

A biopic called La Bomba came out in 1987 featuring Lou Diamond Phillips portraying Richie. Los Lobos provided some of the music for the film, including their own version of Come On, Let’s Go. The single reached #21 on the Hot 100 and #35 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The next single from the film’s soundtrack, La Bomba, topped the charts in at least ten countries, including the US and the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_McCoys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_On,_Let%27s_Go

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