On this day in music history: December 13, 1968 - “We’re The Banana Splits”, the lone album by The Banana Splits is released. Produced by David Mook, it is recorded at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, CA in Early - Mid 1968. Created by TV cartoon kings William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, The Banana Splits is conceived as an hour long live action Saturday morning TV show. Hanna Barbera approach puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft to design costumes for the characters who are to be the hosts of the program. Basing the show’s format on the hit comedy variety series “Laugh-In”, The Krofft Brothers work with the Hanna Barbera team to come up with the characters Fleegle (voiced by Paul Winchell), Bingo (voiced by Daws Butler), Drooper (voiced by Allan Melvin) and Snorky (voiced with sound effects). Also wanting to incorporate music into the show, they hire David Mook and Ted Nichols. Music publisher Aaron Schroeder assembles a team to write original songs. Contributors include former Blood, Sweat & Tears lead vocalist Al Kooper (“You’re The Lovin’ End”), Joey Levine (“I Enjoy Being A Boy”, “It’s A Good Day For A Parade”), Gene Pitney (“Two Ton Tessie”), and a then unknown Barry White (“Doin’ The Banana Split”). Utilizing studio musicians and session singers, another vocalist is Ricky Lancelotti (aka “Rick Lancelot”) who sings the lead vocal on White’s “Doin’ The Banana Split”. Lancelotti goes on to greater fame singing with Frank Zappa. As series hits the air, Decca Records releases “Wait Till Tomorrow” b/w “We’re The Banana Splits”, which fails to chart when it receives virtually no promotion or radio play. The album is released in mid December of 1968, three months after making its network debut on NBC on September 7, 1968. The show’s theme song “The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)” (#96 Pop) is the follow up, but only scrapes the bottom of the chart before fading from view. The album has a similar fate, though show sponsor Kellogg’s also issues two extended 45 EP’s as mail order premiums during 1969. A third single “Long Live Love” is released in August of 1969, but when it also flops, plans for a second album are scrapped. The series lasts on NBC until September of 1970, but enjoys major popularity in syndicated re-runs over the next three decades. Over time, the music from The Banana Splits enjoys a cult following, turning the album which had been regulated to the cut out bin, into a heavily sought after and high priced collector’s item. So much so that bootleg copies of the LP begin to flood the market in the 90’s. It is even bootlegged on CD after Liz Phair & Material Issue cover “The Tra La La Song” for the tribute album “Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits”, previously being covered by the punk rock band The Dickies in 1978. To date, “We’re The Banana Splits” has yet to be legitimately reissued since it is owned by Hanna Barbera’s owner Warner Bros.
annaxmalina
baratheonpilled
titsay
vaporwave
jbbartram-illu
