It’s not always a good idea for romantically entangled couples to work together, but sometimes everything turns out fine and there’s no need to involve Human Resources at all.

Gene and Eunice both originally hailed from Texas, but ended up meeting years later in Los Angeles at a singing contest. They began writing songs together (soon to be known as “The Sweethearts of Rhythm & Blues”) and struck gold with their first single, “Ko Ko Mo,” released in late 1954 and immediately covered by every singer who heard it, with pop, rock & roll, jazz, country, rockabilly, and even mambo versions all flooding the vinyl market throughout early 1955. Easy listening star Perry Como bizarrely scored the biggest hit, nearly topping the chart with what was billed as “RCA Records’ First Rock & Roll Release.” (Elvis, of course, would take over the rock & roll throne at RCA shortly afterwards. Thanks for keeping the seat warm, Perry.)

“Ko Ko Mo” was so popular with audiences and recorded so quickly by so many people that it even spawned a parody that same year — by Andy (from Mayberry to Matlock) Griffith — and it, too, reached the Top 10. In all, nearly 20 versions competed with each other, including two versions by Gene and Eunice themselves, who, for contractual reasons, had to re-record their own song. The duo’s combined versions reached the Top 10 on the R&B chart, but unfortunately hit nowhere else.

Gene and Eunice scored another minor R&B hit later that year but wouldn’t find real success again until they teamed up with producer Gary Paxton (remember Gary?) in 1959. That year, they took a little bit of rockabilly and a little bit of R&B, a little bit of Texas and a little bit of Cali, and made a rollicking little record called “Poco Loco” ( or “A Little Crazy”) which climbed as high as #48 on the Hot 100, by far their biggest popular hit under their own name. They wrote the song specifically for the Mexican market and the single did, in fact, do well in Mexico City, too.

Unfortunately, it was their last hit on any chart, and based on the scant information available, Gene and Eunice appear to have left the music biz a couple of years later. But they made their influence felt, both on early rock & roll and on subsequent male and female duos. Now, why no other duo ever chose to cover this song is a mystery to me — this is a country rock smash hit in any other decade. Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris? Dwight Yoakam and Linda Ronstadt? Numero uno — no hay duda.

Might as well throw in “Ko Ko Mo” because we’re also here for the history! And even though I think the song is fine, I’m not entirely certain why every singer and everyone in the country went absolutely crazy for it over the span of half a year.