The Beau Brummels - Just a Little (1965)

As mentioned in the previous post featuring this band, The Beau Brummels were eternally honored by being animated as The Beau Brummelstones for an appearance on The Flintstones, singing their first hit song “Laugh Laugh” in its entirety for an episode. More than that, the band also appeared in the 1965 movie Village of the Giants and the 1966 movie Wild Wild Winter. The band made a unique screen appearance once more in 1994, when Village of the Giants was chosen as the subject for an episode of the satirical comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Since the mid-1990s, the band has performed at San Francisco’s Baypop Festival and Summer of Love Festival in 2000 and 2002, respectively. In March 2013, the living original band members released an album titled Continuum, using drum recordings of the band’s drummer, John Petersen, who had passed away in 2007 from a heart attack.

When the band’s first hit “Laugh Laugh” halted at number fifteen on the charts, the band themselves blamed its stalling on their label’s lack of ability to effectively distribute their material nationally. With the release of their second single, heard below, the band was able to climb a little higher on the charts. Written by the band’s guitarist, Ron Elliott, with his friend Bob Durand, this song reached number eight on the American charts. It was produced by Sylvester Stewart, later to be known as Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone.



The Beau Brummels - Just a Little (1965)

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Lyrics:

I can’t stay, yes, I know
You know I hate to go
But goodbye; love was sweet
Our worlds can never meet

So, I’ll cry just a little
‘cause I love you so
And I’ll die just a little
‘cause I have to go
Away

Can’t you see how I feel
When I say love’s unreal?
So goodbye; it’s been sweet
Even though incomplete

So, I’ll cry just a little
‘cause I love you so
And I’ll die just a little
‘cause I have to go
Away

Every night I still hear
All your sighs very clear
Now love’s gone, gone away
As I once heard you say

Now I’ve cried just a little
‘cause I loved you so
And I’ve died just a little
‘cause I had to go
Away

Harpers Bizarre - The Biggest Night of Her Life (1967)

When a Santa Cruz, California band known as The Tikis signed up with Autumn Records, they released two moderately successful singles. In early 1967, their record producer, Lenny Waronker, decided to have the band record a track written by Paul Simon. The track, “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy),” which had already been released by Simon & Garfunkel, was put together with a new arrangement by Leon Russell and recorded by the band. When it came time for the song to be released, they chose to change their band name and settled on a pun which referenced Harper’s Bazaar magazine, the name seen above. The song reached number thirteen and became the band’s signature song. They quickly released a full-length album and continued to release new, less successful material over the next few years. Once, on Halloween in 1969, the band was taking a flight back home to San Francisco when the plane was hijacked. Luckily, no one was hurt and the band was released safely (along with everyone else) in Denver, Colorado. After four full-length albums and ten singles, the band couldn’t match the same success of “Feelin’ Groovy” and decided to split up at the end of 1969.

Released on the band’s second album, Anything Goes, this song was written by an ex-member of the band when it was known as The Tikis: Randy Newman. Newman, along with Van Dyke Parks and Harry Nilsson, had been working with the band as arrangers and/or session musicians. The Anything Goes album was released in December 1967.



Harpers Bizarre - The Biggest Night of Her Life (1967)

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Lyrics:

Susie’s goin’ out tonight
To a sixteenth birthday party
Her shoes are pink, her dress is white
And she’s a beautiful sight to see
And you can bet it will be
The biggest night of her life

Susie’s got a boy she likes
And his name is Tom Van Fleet
And Susie’s parents think he’s nice
‘cause his hair is always neat
And tonight’s gonna be
The biggest night of his life

Two kids out dancin’
Having fun ‘til the sun comes up
In a high school sweater and a paper hat
What could be wrong with that?

Susie’s goin’ out tonight
To a promise she must keep
She thought about it all last night
And she was too excited to sleep
And you can bet it will be
The biggest night of her life

Susie’s goin’ out tonight
To a sixteenth birthday party
Her shoes are pink, her dress is white
And she’s a beautiful sight to see
And tonight’s gonna be
The biggest night of her life

You can bet it will be
The biggest night of her life

(You bet it will be)
The biggest night of her life

(You bet it will be)
The biggest night of her life

The Beau Brummels - Laugh, Laugh (1964)

Helping to create the emerging San Francisco music scene that was arising in response to the British Invasion, this American group was originally produced by Sly Stone. Formed in 1964, the group had multiple members swapped due to illnesses and being drafted for the war in Vietnam. In the mid-60s, their drummer John Petersen left to help form Harpers Bizarre.

When The Beatles cartoon was released in 1965 and became an instant success, other animation studios decided that they wanted to cash in on the ‘60s music craze. Hanna-Barbera chose this group to feature on their legendary cartoon, The Flintstones, where an animated version of the group, renamed The Beau Brummelstones, performed this song at Bedrock’s Shinrock teen dance show (a parody of the ‘60s show, Shindig!). (Watch the clip here.)



The Beau Brummels - Laugh, Laugh (1964)

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Lyrics:

I hate to say it
But I told you so
Don't mind my preaching to you
I said don't trust him
Baby, now you know
You don't learn everything
There is to know in school

Wouldn't believe me
When I gave advice
I said that he was a tease
If you want help
You better ask me nice
So be sincere, convince me
With a “pretty please”

Laugh, laugh, I thought I'd die
It seemed so funny to me
Laugh, laugh, you met a guy
Who taught you how it feels to be

Lonely, oh, so lonely

Don't think I'm bein’ funny
When I say
You got just what you deserve
I can't help feeling
You found out today
You thought you were too good
You had a lot of nerve

Won't say I'm sorry
For the things I've said
I'm glad he packed up to go
You kept on bragging
He was yours instead
Found you don't know everything
There is to know

Laugh, laugh, I thought I'd die
It seemed so funny to me
Laugh, laugh, you met a guy
Who taught you how it feels to be

Lonely, oh, so lonely

Before I go
I got to say one thing
Don't close your ears to me
Take my advice and
You'll find out that being
Just another girl
Won't cause you misery

Don't say you can't
Get any boy to call
Don't be so smug or else
You'll find you can't
Get any boy at all
You'll wind up an old lady
Sitting on the shelf

Laugh, laugh, I thought I'd die
It seemed so funny to me
Laugh, laugh, you met a guy
Who taught you how it feels to be

Lonely, oh, so lonely…