* En anglais uniquement
Two albums were released by
the Deuce Coupes in 1963, one on Crown Records (Shut Downs) and one on Del-Fi Records (Hotrodder's Choice), and although both were full of the hot rod-themed songs and instrumentals that were popular at the time, they were actually two different groups sporting the same name. The Del-Fi version of
the Deuce Coupes grew out of the Avantis, formed by brothers
Lolly Vegas and
Pat Vegas, who would go on to fame in the 1970s as
Redbone. The duo recorded Hot Rodder's Choice as
the Deuce Coupes backed by a group of crack L.A. session players, including
Glen Campbell,
Hal Blaine,
Tommy Tedesco, and
Leon Russell. By 1965 the bottom had dropped out of the hot rod boom, and the brothers Vegas dropped the
Deuce Coupes name and moved on to other ventures. The Crown Records version of
the Deuce Coupes was a group of session players thrown together to capitalize on the drag strip craze. Owned by Saul and Jules Bihari, who also owned and ran the Modern and RPM record labels, Crown Records was the company's discount budget line, and Shut Downs was never intended to be more than a quick cash in, but the record has its moments in spite of its origins. Confusion over the two groups was never much of an issue, since neither was a big success. Tracks from the Vegas version of
the Deuce Coupes show up fairly regularly on surf and hot rod comps, particularly "Nite Prowler," which also turned up on the Home Alone 3 soundtrack. ~ Steve Leggett