Thee Midniters were amongst the first Latino rock bands to have a major hit in the United States, and 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" and the instrumental "Whittier Boulevard" in 1965. They were amongst the first rock acts to openly sing about Chicano themes in songs like "Chicano Power" and "The Ballad of César Chávez" in the late 1960s.