Grammy Winner Behind Iconic ‘Tequila’ Song Dead at 90: RIP to Dave Burgess

Musician Dave Burgess has died. He was 90.

The guitarist, known for his work with the band The Champs, died last month according to an obituary posted by the Anglin Funeral Home in Dover, Tennessee, the town he died in.

His best-known work is, of course, “Tequila.” The Latin-adjacent, sax-filled instrumental chant-along helped the band live up to their name when it knocked off Elvis Presley’s “Don’t” from its #1 spot on the charts in 1958. It’s now known all around the world and has probably been played in just about every bar you can think of.

“Tequila” has also been used in countless movies and TV shows, although none more memorable than its use in Paul Reubens’ 1985 comedy Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.

Burgess was a songwriter with more than 700 copyrights, however, with songs that would later be made famous by huge names like Glen Campbell, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin. He also managed the publishing of Hank Williams Jr., according to Entertainment Weekly.

In a quote about his band’s rise from the book Record Breakers and Makers by John Broven, he said his favorite part of their success was how many live performances the group got to put on.

“The youngsters loved it, and the parents hated us,” he said. “We were the bad guys. We were gonna corrupt their kids with rock & roll.”

Burgess is survived by his son, David.