"In 1965, Robert "Rabbit" Jaramillo and his friends were on the cusp of becoming rock 'n' roll royalty. Their Eastside quartet, Cannibal and the Headhunters, had a spring smash with "Land of 1,000 Dances." The hypnotic tune with a memorable " nah na na na nah " chorus earned them appearances on TV music variety programs like "American Bandstand." They played at concerts with chart toppers like the Temptations, the Righteous Brothers, Marvin Gaye and the Rolling Stones."
"Jaramillo danced with such energy that his pants ripped while he and the others scooted across the stage on their behinds, drawing delighted shrieks from the hometown crowd. "We were the act, the act!" Jaramillo told the Times in 2015. "Didn't make no difference what color you are. We're here, we'd perform, and we'd do our best to show 'em a good time.""
Robert 'Rabbit' Jaramillo, founding member of Cannibal and the Headhunters, died Aug. 8 at age 78. The Eastside vocal quartet reached national fame in 1965 with their recording of "Land of 1,000 Dances," which reached No. 30 on the Billboard charts and led to television appearances and concerts with major acts. The group opened for the Beatles' 1965 U.S. tour and performed two Hollywood Bowl shows weeks after the Watts riots, with Jaramillo delivering a famously energetic performance. The Headhunters toured later with the Animals but never recorded another hit, and Jaramillo left the group two years afterward to support his family.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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