Biography of The Chantays

Although the Chantays only recorded one great song, it was an astoundingly great one. The quintet formed while they were students at the Californian Santa Ana High School in 1962, releasing their first single about a year later. The vocal on the A-side received no attention; it was the instrumental on the B-side that sent them to the top of the charts. That instrumental was "Pipeline," which set a new standard for surf guitar rock with its complex construction and blistering guitar. After it became a big hit in both the U.S. and U.K., The Chantays released several more records that were only marginally successful; they broke up quietly in the mid-'60s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine