The band released two albums, 1973's
Bongo Rock, and 1974's
Return of the Incredible Bongo Band.
Michael Viner would make use of
MGM recording facilities in down-time, recruiting whichever studio musicians were on-hand, which included
Glen Campbell on guitar and
Harry Nilsson on keyboards and arrangements. Important contributions were made by
Jim Gordon on drums, The first Incredible Bongo Band album included a cover of "
Apache", an instrumental tune written by
Jerry Lordan and originally made popular in the
UK by
the Shadows, and in the United States and Canada by
Jørgen Ingmann. Their version took inspiration from
The Arrows "Apache 65". They recorded the song at
Can-Base Studios in Vancouver to take advantage of
Canadian content laws, which had helped promote their previous hit, "
Bongo Rock." The group's version of "Apache" (produced by
Perry Botkin Jr.) was not a hit upon release, and languished in relative obscurity until the late 1970s, when it was adopted by early
hip-hop artists, including pioneering deejay
Kool Herc, for the uncommonly long percussion
break in the middle of the song. Subsequently, many of the Incredible Bongo Band's other releases were sampled by hip-hop producers, and the "Apache" break also remains a staple of many producers in
drum and bass. The song received popular attention again in 2001 when it was featured in an ad for an
Acura SUV. In 2008, music critic
Will Hermes wrote an article on "Apache" and the Incredible Bongo Band for the
New York Times and had an entire documentary devoted to it called
Sample This: The Birth of Hip Hop. In 2018,
Apache was used as the soundtrack to a fight scene in
Black Lightning. As well, the band's cover of "Let There Be Drums," which was made famous by
Sandy Nelson and also performed by
the Ventures, was used as the theme song for the long-running television show
Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling during the 1980s. It made #66 in
Canada in December 1973. "Last Bongo in Belgium" has been notably sampled in the songs "
Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" performed by the
Beastie Boys, "
Angel" performed by
Massive Attack and "
Song of Life" performed by
Leftfield. "
Let There Be Drums" was used in
Ken Burns'
Baseball: The 10th Inning, the follow-up to Burns' '94 PBS documentary. "
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was used as the main loop in two different songs by
Nas: "
Thief's Theme" and "
Hip Hop Is Dead". The 2013 documentary
Sample This, directed by Dan Forrer and narrated by
Gene Simmons, recounts the story of the Incredible Bongo Band and its recording of "Apache". "Bongolia" a track from the
Bongo Rock album, was used in
Edgar Wright's 2017 film
Baby Driver. ==Covers==