The Rip Chords

Following on the success of surf rock groups such as Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys, a number of other acts found chart success with the same kind of sound, often combining the same themes of beaches and cars that made the genre so successful in the early 1960s.  One such group, the Rip Chords, scored a top 10 hit on Billboard‘s Hot 100 as “Hey Little Cobra” peaked at number 4 exactly 50 years ago.

The Rip Chords’ follow-up single, “Three Window Coupe,” would peak at number 28, but these two songs about cars were their only Top 40 hits.