Wooly Bully

“Wooly Bully” was the Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs first and biggest hit. It was a worldwide success, selling three million copies and reaching No. 2 on the American Hot 100 chart in 1965. It stayed in the Hot 100 for 18 weeks, the longest time for any entry that year, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. It was Billboard’s “Number One Record of the Year” despite never reaching No. 1.

The Ventures included an instrumental version of the song on their 1965 album, “Ventures A Go-Go”. Considering that the lyrics of the original are both fairly unintelligible and nonsensical, it does seem a good candidate for an instrumental approach.

My arrangement was inspired by the Ventures version but is not a cover.

 

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