Tequila

Tequila is an alcoholic beverage named after a town in Mexico. It is a key ingredient in Margaritas and is often done as a shot by licking salt, taking the drink, then sucking a lemon wedge. Many bars turn this song into a production, often offering shots of tequila directly from the bottle.

This was originally released as the B-side of an aptly named song by The Champs called "Train to Nowhere" in December 1957. Disc jockeys flipped the single and played "Tequila" instead, and in March 1958, it went to #1 in America, where it stayed for five weeks, making the song one of the biggest hits of the '50s.

Danny Flores, who was the saxophone player in The Champs, wrote this song (it's credited to his pen name, Chuck Rio). Flores had the melody kicking around for a while, and would play it as an interlude during the group's club shows. He was a tequila drinker, so when the band decided to record his melody as a B-side, he named it "Tequila" and added the spoken title, which he voiced.