The Olympics

Among the prominent Los Angeles ensembles that achieved localized success across the Pacific coast by mixing energetic and frequently witty novelty rhythm-and-blues selections with numbers spotlighting then-current dance steps were the Olympics, joined by similarly styled West Coast outfits such as the Jay Hawks, the Cadets/Jacks, the Marathons, and the DooTones. Although their Coasters-derived “Western Movies” endures as the act’s signature recording, further L.A.-area chart entries included the popular dance track “Baby Hully Gully,” “Big Boy Pete” (which climbed no higher than number 50 pop yet attained number ten R&B), and “Mine Exclusively.”

The group’s founding roster—raspy baritone Walter Ward, who handled lead vocals, Eddie Lewis on tenor, Charles Fizer on baritone, and Walter Hammond also on baritone—began as Walter Ward & the Challengers, cutting “I Can Tell” in 1958. The three baritone voices seldom delved into their lower registers, favoring instead piercing upper-range delivery. They adopted the Olympics name soon afterward and aligned with songwriters Fred Smith and Cliff Goldsmith, who composed and produced the quartet’s initial 1958 hit for Si Aronson’s Hollywood-based Demon Records. The Coasters-style novelty “Western Movies” gained rapid traction amid the nation’s fascination with Western films and television programs, ultimately rising to number eight pop and number seven R&B that same year.

The Olympics, together with Smith and Goldsmith, transferred to the Arvee imprint in 1959. Across numerous singles for various labels, the group favored urban dance-oriented material, among them the Smith/Goldsmith compositions “(Baby) Hully Gully,” “The Philly Dog,” “The Slop,” and “The Duck” (a regional success for Jackie Lee, also known as Earl “Chip” Nelson). Ballads appeared only sporadically, such as the doo-wop-styled “Stay Where You Are,” while occasional rockers included “Shimmy Like Kate” and “Dance by the Light of the Moon.” Predominantly, the Olympics sought to replicate their breakthrough through novelty fare modeled on “Western Movies.”

Their most notable novelty success arrived via a remake of “Big Boy Pete,” originally written and recorded by Don & Dewey for Specialty. Additional regional entries encompassed “Little Pedro,” “Little Dooley,” and “Big Chief Little Foot,” the latter incorporating “war whoops.” Tracks such as the humorous “Dodge City” and “(I Wanna) Dance With the Teacher” evoked an innocent strain of teenage West Coast Americana, although contemporary religious organizations condemned the lyrics as satanic.

Several Olympics members also cut a version of the Marathons’ “Peanut Butter,” itself a 1961 Checker hit produced by H.B. Barnum and essentially a rewrite of the Olympics’ “(Baby) Hully Gully.” Arvee pursued litigation over contract infringement, secured the master, and assembled additional vocalists—including some from the Olympics—to record follow-ups and album material. The situation grew further entangled because the Marathons shared personnel, at least in part, with the Vibrations on Checker, who had recorded as the Jayhawks for Flash Records in 1956 on “Stranded in the Jungle” and who also performed live under the Marathons name, generating lasting uncertainty over lineups and song attributions.

Arvee ultimately issued three Olympics albums: Doin’ the Hully Gully (1960), Dance by the Light of the Moon (1961), and Party Time (also 1961).

Departing Arvee, the group notched two 1963 hits on the Los Angeles-based Tri-Disc label—“The Bounce,” a spirited dance number, and “Dancin’ Holiday”—both produced by Fred Smith. In 1965 they moved to the Loma roster and cut “Good Lovin’,” which made little impact until the Young Rascals transformed it into a major Atlantic hit the following year.

The Olympics joined Mirwood in 1966, the label operated by former Vee-Jay executive Randy Wood (distinct from the Dot Records figure of the same name). There they scored two chart entries: “(Baby) Do the Philly Dog” and the gospel-infused East-side soul side “Mine Exclusively,” which entered Billboard’s Hot 100 at number 99 in May 1966. Anticipating renewed interest, Wood assembled an album despite possessing only these modest successes, opting to have the group re-record earlier Demon, Arvee, and Tri-Disc material under the title Something Old, Something New; these later versions have since dominated most reissues and compilations, to the frequent irritation of collectors.

In subsequent decades the Olympics inspired a wave of comparable ensembles, among them the Contours, the Five Dutones, and Bull & the Matadors, yet the original members have sustained performances on oldies revival bills nationwide. The current lineup retains two founding voices, Walter Ward and Eddie Lewis; Charles Fizer died in 1963 and Walter Hammond retired, with William DeVase and Kenneth Sinclair filling the remaining roles for more than twenty years. Following his work with the Olympics, Fred Smith collaborated with Little Caesar & the Romans, and he and Goldsmith subsequently established Keyman Records. Goldsmith passed away on June 14, 1991, in Burbank, California.