The Pets were a group of studio hands—drummer Earl Palmer is the only name I recognize in the quartet—who had a #34 hit with this exotic and deeply silly instrumental, which became a staple among Latino acts. I see that my streaming service offers versions by the Crownstars, Tito Gomes & Orquestra Riverside, Orquestra Riverside with sole credit, and Joe Lubin & Orquestra Riverside again (I believe Lubin was cowriter of the song, with someone named Irving Roth, who is also apparently the arranger ... note that information about this song is scant on the internet). There are more, some sounding like the same recording with different artist credits. But it does not have this version by the Pets, unfortunately, which is the first I heard and still my favorite. For my fix I have to go to youtube or the Volume 3 CD of the Ace label’s invaluable series The Golden Age of American Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Cha-Hua-Hua” (pronounce it “chihuahua”) attacks with something that sounds like a bubbly game show interlude and then quickly pivots to churning, soaring proto-Star Trek vocals, women putting it over in the high registers. The falling-forward momentum behind it is irresistible—beautiful, driving, single-minded, full of the drama of science fiction. After about 30 or 40 seconds of that (on a 2:15 track) and a quick cha-cha-cha it lapses into more conventional rock ‘n’ roll, eventually with a chattering alto sax solo (Plas Johnson). Have no fear, it’s good classic rock ‘n’ roll and outer space is never far again. I seem to find myself playing it a lot on repeat until I’ve had enough.
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