They were one of the best known acts to come out of East Los Angeles in the 1960s, with a cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances" that charted in Canada in 1965, and an instrumental track "Whittier Boulevard" in 1965.
[1] The band was promoted by Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg on local radio station KTYM in Inglewood, California and also by his fill-in Godfrey Kerr.
Most band members attended Salesian High School located near the corner of Whittier Boulevard and Soto Street in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles.
Thee Midniters were largely school trained, highly professional and musically sophisticated in comparison to many of the surf bands of the day.
[3] Thee Midniters continue with a combination of original and new members and appeared in Raven Productions' PBS pledge break special Trini Lopez presents the Legends of Latin Rock, along with El Chicano, Tierra and Gregg Rolie (of Santana and Journey fame) in the spring of 2009.
Since 2006, they have featured Gregory Esparza as lead vocalist along with longtime Midniter mainstays through the years such as Bob Robles on lead guitar, Aaron Ballesteros playing drums, Bobby Navarrete on sax, Bobby Loya on trumpet, Samuel Trujillo on trumpet and valve trombone and Bob Luna playing keyboards.
[5] In 1964 they released a cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances" which had been a hit by both Chris Kenner and Cannibal & the Headhunters and subsequently, by Wilson Pickett.