The Fendermen were an American rockabilly duo, composed of Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, active in the early 1960s.
Jim Sundquist (lead guitarist; born James D. Sundquist, November 26, 1937, Niagara, Wisconsin; later settled in Minnesota) and Phil Humphrey (rhythm guitarist; from Milwaukee, Wisconsin). At this point, Humphrey lived in Stoughton, Wisconsin with his wife and daughter.
Sundquist and Humphrey, both born on November 26, 1937, met as students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the late 1950s under the direction of music store owner William Dreger, also deceased. William was the owner of Middleton Music store in Middleton Wisconsin. The duo had one hit single, "Mule Skinner Blues", released in 1960 on the Cuca Records label which was picked up for national distribution by Soma Records. The song was originally recorded in the basement of Middleton Music on an aluminum disc. The song hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 32 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1960, and No. 2 in Canada.
The duo called themselves "the Fendermen" because they played Fender guitars (a Telecaster and a Stratocaster), and they connected them both to the same amplifier.
(read more on Wikipedia)
Links to Peel[]
Peel revealed on his 22 February 1989 show that one of the first four records he bought in America in 1960 was the Fendermen's 'Mule Skinner Blues', which was a big hit in the country itself. He would play the song often on his radio shows and in 1992, 1997 and 2000, he played the b-side to the hit, called 'Torture', on his radio programmes.
Shows Played[]
- 01 February 1972: Mule Skinner Blues (single, 1960) Top Rank
- 1979
- 27 March 1979: Mule Skinner Blues
- 1985
- 30 October 1985: Mule Skinner Blues (7" - Mule Skinner Blues / Torture) Apex
- 1991
- 09 February 1991: Mule Skinner Blues (v/a album - Born Bad, Vol. 5) Born Bad
- 01 February 1992: Torture (album - Mule Skinner Blues) Soma
- 1995
- 11 March 1995: Mule Skinner Blues (7 inch) Soma
- 18 March 1995 (BFBS): 'Mule Skinner Blues (7")' (Soma) (JP: 'One of the all-time great singles,' which he forgets to name and then plays yet another wrong track)
- 1997
- 18 January 1997: Torture (7" - Mule Skinner Blues)
- 2000
- 04 July 2000: Torture (7” - Mule Skinner Blues)