Everyone loves a dance party. There doesn’t seem to be too many bands these days that play for that purpose but in the 60’s it was different. I recently stumbled upon a band from Southern California during that time that took things a bit further. It might seem a bit strange now but a multi-racial band compromised of Black, Asian, Native American, Latino and White musicians was nearly unheard of in the early 60’s. Hailing from Ventura, California, The Mixtures were on of the first bands to rock such a mixed lineup. They didn’t have trouble finding gigs around Southern California and played all over the place, opening for bands like the Beach Boys getting bands like the Beach Boys to open for them, and eventually becoming house band at the Rainbow Gardens in Pomona.
The Mixtures only released one album on Linda Records and it’s been long out of print… until now. Stompin’ at the Rainbow is a live LP featuring mostly instrumental tracks with a Southern California flair. Some are covers, like “Peter Gunn” and others are fun, wacky songs like “Olive Oyl,” which was likely their biggest hit. Minky Records just put out a reissue of Stompin’ at the Rainbow that has all the tracks from the original live recording as well as all the singles they released. Look for it at your local record store or you can snag the CD at Insound.
Mark Guerrero has a bunch more info on The Mixtures. You can check out a couple tracks below too
I was the original guitarist with The Mixtures (I’m pictured in your photo holding the guitar) and we never opened for the Beach Boys back then….THEY OPENED FOR US!