Memories Of El Monte

Lyrics

I'm all alone
Feeling so blue
Thinking about you
And the love we once knew
And each time I do
It brings back those memories
Of El Monte

Remember the dance
I held you so tight
The Satins were singing
In the still of the night
You gave me your heart
And your love undying
Now I'm alone . . .
I'm sitting here crying

If only they have
Those dances again
I'd know where to find you
And all my old friends
The Shields would sing . . .
"You cheated. You lied . . ."
And The Heartbeats . . .
"You're a thousand miles away . . ."
And The Medallions with "The Letter" and . . .
"Sweet words of his mortality . . ."
Marvin and Johnny with . . .
"Cherry Pie . . ."
And then, Tony Allen with . . .
"Night Owl . . ."
And I, Cleve Duncan, along with The Penguins will sing . . .
"Earth Angel
Earth Angel
Will you be mine?"
At El Monte

If I could go back
To those days of the past
I'd show you a love . . .
A love that would last
Oh, I remember
Those wonderful dances
In El Monte
In El Monte
"Earth angel
Earth Angel
Will you be mine?"
At El Monte

Players On This Song

Cleve Duncan - lead vocals

FZ - Xylophone

Records On Which This Song Has Appeared

Singles

• Memories Of El Monte (02:44) / Be Mine (02:37) - The Penguins (Label: Original Sound OS-27 - Release: April 1963)

Albums

• Art Laboe's Memories Of El Monte (1991)
• Cucamonga Years - The Early Works Of Frank Zappa (1962-1964) (1991)
• Art Laboe's Dedicated To You (1992)
• Art Laboe's 60 Killer Oldies (1993)
• Oldies But Goodies, Vol. 3 (1994)
• The Doo-Wop Box II (1996)

Notes About This Song

Written by FZ and Ray Collins recalling the groups who performed at El Monte Legion Stadium. Although credited to The Penguins, only Cleve Duncan remains from the original group which had a hit with "Earth Angel" ten years earlier and broke up around 1959. FZ described the other vocalists as "a bunch of guys from the car wash" but they were El Monte Legion Stadium favorites The Viceroys.

The very first tunes that I wrote were 50's doo wop, Memories Of El Monte, and stuff like that. It's always been my contention that the music that was happening during the 50's has been one of the finest things that ever happened to American music and I loved it. I could sit down and write a hundred more of the 1950's type songs right now, and enjoy every minute of it.

Frank Zappa - In His Own Words (1974)

"Memories Of El Monte" refers to several of Zappa's favorite doo-wop groups, namely The Satins, The Shields, The Heartbeats, Marvin & Johnny, The Medallions, Tony Allen and The Penguins.