| Bongo Rock | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Incredible Bongo Band |
| Cover: | Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock.png |
| Studio: | Can Base Studios, Vancouver, Canada |
| Genre: | Funk |
| Label: | Pride |
| Next Title: | The Return of the Incredible Bongo Band |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
Bongo Rock is the debut studio album by Incredible Bongo Band, released in 1973.[1] It peaked at number 197 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. It includes the band's version of the Jerry Lordan-written song "Apache".[2]
Michael Viner, who was an executive at MGM Records, started the project Incredible Bongo Band. He was asked to provide music to the soundtrack for the film The Thing with Two Heads; he and Perry Botkin Jr. recorded the songs "Bongo Rock" and "Bongolia". After that, they decided to create the album Bongo Rock.
Jeff Tamarkin of AllMusic wrote, "Interesting as it is to hear how the bongo-centric beats were toyed with by the hip-hoppers, the original recordings stand up on their own as classically kitschy cheese-rock." He added, "Bongos aren't the only sound heard, naturally, and fans of both lounge-rock and that crisp, reverby guitar sound prominent in old spy movies and Ventures records will dig what the IBB were all about." Alan Ranta of Tiny Mix Tapes stated that "'Apache' may be the most recognizable, but there is still a rich field of extractable samples to be had for the next generation."
| Peak position | ||
| US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[3] | 197 | |
|---|---|---|
| US Top Soul LPs (Billboard)[4] | 58 |