The Tammys

The Tammys, a Pennsylvania girl group in which sisters Gretchen Owens and Cathy Owens sang with Linda Jones, did three obscure singles in 1963 for the Ascot, United Artists, and Veep labels. They are most remembered because of their association with Lou Christie, who helped get them signed, and who (with songwriting partner Twyla Herbert) composed some of their material. "Egyptian Shumba," their second single, is one of the weirder girl group novelties, with its ludicrously savage vocals and wavering Middle Eastern melody, some of which is played by what sounds like a distorted guitar (though it's been attributed to a clarinet). Their other tracks were in a far more standard, dippy pop/rock style, ranging from passable to lackluster. Both sides of all three singles, along with three unreleased tracks, are included on the compilation Egyptian Shumba, which also has almost a dozen Lou Christie songs from the same era. ~ Richie Unterberger