Career

Formed in 1962 by Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

, the Routers recordings

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 sometimes used session musicians in addition to the actual group with the exception of Gordon who played on most the sessions. The Routers first release in September 1962 was the guitar-driven instrumental "Let's Go (Pony)", which reached #19 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. Its infectious “clap clap clap-clap-clap clap-clap-clap-clap Let's Go!" chant became a favorite of cheerleaders and crowds worldwide. Although, the songwriting credits are given to local singer Lanny Duncan and his brother Robert Duncan, Lanny Duncan had previously recorded the original demo

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 of the song in 1961 as a member of the Starlighters, featuring Tony Valentino on guitar and Jody Rich on bass. Duncan, Valentino and Rich also created and recorded the hand claps and "Let's Go" chant after attending a high school football game in Burbank in 1961. The demo was recorded in Glendale with engineer Eddie Brackett. Valentino and Rich would go on to form The Standells

The Standells

The Standells are a garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as the "Godfathers of Punk Rock", and are best known for their 1966 hit "Dirty Water," now the anthem of several Boston sports teams.-The 1960s:...

 in 1962.

The Routers' recording was instigated by record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Joe Saraceno and his producing and songwriting partner Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

. Like many pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 instrumentals recorded in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, at this time, such as those by B. Bumble and the Stingers

B. Bumble and the Stingers

B. Bumble and the Stingers were an American instrumental ensemble in the early 1960s, who specialized in making rock and roll arrangements of classical melodies. Their biggest hits were "Bumble Boogie" and "Nut Rocker", which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1962...

, it involved Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

, (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Plas Johnson

Plas Johnson

Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....

 (saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

) and Earl Palmer

Earl Palmer

Earl Cyril Palmer was an American rock & roll and rhythm and blues drummer, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....

 (drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

), probably with Plas’ brother Ray Johnson on bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 as well as Tommy Tedesco

Tommy Tedesco

Thomas J. Tedesco was an American master session musician and renowned jazz and bebop guitarist.Tedesco's credits include the iconic brand-burning accompaniment theme from television's Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Vic Mizzy's iconic theme from Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Batman, and Elvis Presley's '68...

 on guitar.

Later Routers recordings were also written by Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

 which continued to be issued up to 1964 but with less commercial success, involved Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

, (guitar), Leon Russell

Leon Russell

Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....

 (piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

) and Hal Blaine

Hal Blaine

Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...

 (drums). The same group also recorded over the same period as The Marketts

The Marketts

The Marketts were an American instrumental pop group, formed in Hollywood, California. They are best known for their 1963 million-seller, "Out of Limits".-Biography:...

. Various studio

Recording studio

A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...

 and touring versions of the band may also have included Mike Gordon

Michael Z. Gordon

Recognizing the start of a new era in music, the surfing craze, Michael Z. Gordon wrote his first hit song, "Surfer's Stomp" almost immediately after he formed his first rock & roll band, The Marketts. Barely able to play the guitar, he taught himself how to play as he toured with his group...

, Pat and Lolly Vegas (later of Redbone

Redbone (band)

Redbone is a Native American rock group that was most active in the 1970s. They reached the Top 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974 with the million-selling gold-certified single, "Come and Get Your Love".-History:...

), and Scott Engel (later of The Walker Brothers

The Walker Brothers

The Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...

).