Icy Fingers / Party Ice

The Playboys recorded this single in 1959, after losing their original vocalist, Ron Holden (1940-1997), and bringing on a new one. The single was released with Dolton Records, the year the record label was formed. Within a couple years, and after many successes releasing music from local groups like The Playboys, Dolton Records was acquired by Liberty Records and moved to Los Angeles, California. Both songs on the single are originals; “Icy Fingers” was written by band members Carlos Ward (b. 1940) and Andy Duvall (b. unknown) and “Party Ice” was written by Ward and Bob Risley (1940-2020).

The Playboys formed in 1957 around a group of schoolmates. Their first performance was at a University Presbyterian Church dance, but as they improved, and learned to play more songs, they were able to perform at better venues. The Playboys was one of the most significant young bands in Seattle, Washington, in the late 1950s, alongside The Frantics, an all-white rock band, which they often competed with for recognition and venues. However, The Playboys are probably best known for being one of the first Pacific Northwest bands to play “Louie Louie,” even before the canonical versions performed by the Wailers, the Kingsmen or Paul Revere and the Raiders.