Novelty songs have always been part of the music scene and have launched the career of many artists. Sydney singer Little Pattie was only 14 years old when her first record, He’s My Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy rocketed to the top of the charts and Melbourne teenager Johnny Farnham’s debut 45, Sadie (The Cleaning Lady), spent five weeks at the No.1 position. American performer Audrey swooned Dear Elvis in 1956, while Australian singer Donna Gaye, a decade later, livened up many Normie Rowe concerts with Normie (Norman), in tribute to Australia’s top teenage idol of the time. But no one generated more novelty songs than the Beatles – at least 200 during their 1964-65 onslaught and many more later.
The novelty records ranged from declarations of undying devotion to downright hostility. Female singers tended to swoon (We Love You Beatles by the Carefrees), while male singers displayed either envy (I Want To Be A Beatle by Bobby Wilding), or aggression (Stamp Out The Beatles by the Hi-Riders). Some Beatle novelty records were hardly worth the vinyl they were pressed on, while others are interesting and clever. Only four Beatle novelties managed to break into the Billboard Top 100, the first being My Boyfriend’s Got A Beatle Haircut by Donna Lynne. The record was released with excellent timing, on February 14th, 1964, the day the Beatles appeared on the ‘Ed Sullivan Show’.
Other chart makers included The Boy With The Beatle Haircut by the Swans (No. 85) and We Love You Beatles by the Carefrees, which was an adaptation of We Love You Conrad from the musical ‘Bye Bye Birdie’. The song became a sizable hit in the US peaking at No. 39 in April 1964. On the strength of the song’s strong chart placing, an album was recorded and rush released. The Carefrees consisted of three female session vocalists, Lynn Cornell, Barbara Kay and Betty Prescott and three male singers, Don Riddell, Johnny Evans and Johnny Stevens. It’s interesting to note that Cornell was at the time married to Andy White, the session drummer who played on Love Me Do in September 1962.
The fourth and final Beatles’ novelty song to make the US charts was A Letter To The Beatles by the Four Preps, but its success was short-lived. The Four Preps recorded for Capitol, which is the same label the Beatles were signed to in America. The clean-cut vocal quartet had a big following on the college circuit. When the record was released it shot to No. 85, with a bullet, which meant that it would go much higher the next week. But when Brian Epstein heard this song that poked fun at his group, he was outraged and wasted no time phoning the head of Capitol to protest, “You can’t do that to the boys, we’re your hottest act and it’s derogatory to them.” Despite strong protests from the Four Preps, the record was withdrawn immediately and all existing copies were destroyed.
For some unknown reason, Ringo received the most attention in novelties to individual Beatles, with over 50. Cher, using the name Bonnie Jo Mason sang, Ringo I Love You, a song produced by Phil Spector. Others included Like Ringo by Dick Lord and What’s Wrong With Ringo by the Bon Bons. There was only one known tribute to George – Casey Kasen’s corny dialogue, A Letter From Elaina. A decade later, Paul came in for some attention when rumours of his death began circulating. The Ballad Of Paul by the Mystery Tour was a blatant attempt to exploit the controversy and received a lot of airplay. John created a great deal of bad publicity when he and Yoko appeared naked on their ‘Two Virgins’ album. Sissy Spacek, before starting her career as an actor, recorded John, You Went Too Far This Time, using the recording name Rainbo.
In Britain, the first Beatle novelty record to appear was Dora Bryan’s All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle, released on November 23rd, 1963. It reached No. 20 on the British charts that December, while another early Beatle tribute, Beatle Crazy by Bill Clifton, also sold well over a longer period of time. American Bluegrass legend Bill Clifton from Maryland, relocated to the UK in 1963 and settled in London with his wife and four children. He began doing TV and radio spots and in November 1963 he recorded Beatle Crazy. The song became his calling card during the three years he lived in England.
The Vernons Girls were a vocal trio from Liverpool consisting of Jean Owen, Francis Lee and Maureen Kennedy. Known for their exaggerated scouse accents, they frequently appeared on TV and toured as a support act on Beatles shows. Decca rush released the Vernons’ We Love You Beatles (Beatlemania), a couple of weeks before Christmas 1963 and it made the lower reaches of the Top 50 in Britain. Australian entertainer Frankie Davidson, who had won a trip to England in a competition run by a Melbourne radio station, wrote the song. Davison excelled at writing novelty songs and had gained national recognition in Australia in 1961 for the song, Have You Ever Been To See Kings Cross, which became a huge hit. When We Love The Beatles was released the song received some favourable comments in the British press,“……it has just about everything – Liverpool dialogue, an amusing lyric, a pounding rhythm, Beatle-type yeah-yeahs and even Beatle impressions.” When the Vernons got on stage at Beatle shows in the early days of Beatlemania, and sang We Love You Beatles, it must have been sensational.
In Australia, I don’t recall hearing any Beatle novelty songs being played on the radio. During 1964, the radio stations I listened to played Beatle songs to saturation point with some stations playing Beatles records every second song. In Melbourne, two versions of We Love You Beatles charted and a handful of Aussie artists issued their own unique Beatle novelty records. Tasmanian born Kevin Shegog (born 1933, died 2000) was one of the most popular country music singers of the 60s/70s. Shegog was a prolific songwriter and recorded an impressive collection of singles, eps and albums for W&G. In 1964 he released the single, Don’t Bug The Beatles. The bluegrass-flavoured song was recorded at one of his live shows and certainly sounds like it was a crowd pleaser.
Another W&G single, The Bearded Beetle credited to the Beetle Bashers was also released in 1964. The song was written and sung by 3DB Melbourne disc jockey Barry Ferber and the title came from his bearded panel operator.
“Ferber was a witty bloke who had a way of sending things up, a bit in the tradition of Graham Kennedy, so it wasn’t surprising when he put out a record that took the mickey out of the teenage craze. These days, his name is still associated with the Beatles through George Harrison, whose 1964 message to him is anthologised on CD.” (Lynn Nuttal – poparchivesblog.blogspot.au)
By far the most interesting Australian Beatle novelty record of 1964 was ‘The Wonderful World of Beeplemania’ EP by Bob King Crawford on his own Talent City label. The 4-track parody record predates the Rutles by a decade. During his remarkable career Bob King Crawford (born 1927, died 2018) excelled at almost every field of entertainment and the arts he chose to pursue. These included singing, writing, composing, promoting, producing, directing, acting and painting. In 1954 he formed Planet Records, which became Australia’s biggest independent record company, recording only Australian artists. In the late 50s he produced, compered and was musical authority for various Melbourne radio stations and in the 60s he wrote and performed on a number of TV variety shows. Crawford was also a talented artist and exhibitions of his work always attracted a lot of attention. In 1972 he was appointed Arts Officer for the City of Melbourne and was responsible for setting up theatre and arts circuits throughout the community and initiated the Free Entertainment in Parks program. Crawford remained active in the entertainment industry until his death in 2018.
Sydney group, the Rajahs recorded a 6-track EP titled ‘Beatlemania – Tribute To The Beatles’ in 1964. Appearance-wise the Rajahs had nothing in common with the Beatles. As the picture sleeve of the EP shows, they still had the greased comb-backed hairstyles they wore when they backed teen sensation Dig Richards and called themselves the R’Jays. But they could play any Beatle song note perfect.
In 1962, the R’Jays parted ways with Richards and went out on their own. They made their own recordings, backed other artists on their recordings and were in high demand as a backing band for live shows. In February 1964, the band signed to Festival Records and became the Rajahs. They also appeared on the TV show, ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ hosted by Johnny O’Keefe. O’Keefe wanted the group to perform some Beatle songs on the show. Three tunes were pre-recorded at Festival Studios in Pyrmont, Sydney to be lip-synched on the show. An executive from the Sunday Mirror heard the playback of I Saw Her Standing There, and was amazed at how much the Rajahs sounded like the Beatles. He asked the group to record a few more songs and he would get the Sunday Mirror to release them as a Beatlemania EP.
To the Rajahs credit, they did not record six Beatle covers, but chose a variety of songs recorded by other English groups. There were two Lennon-McCartney songs and Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven, which the Beatles covered. Also included were Lucille, the Little Richard song that the Hollies covered, I’m Telling You Now, the Freddy & the Dreamers hit and an obscure Mitch Murray song, Can You Keep A Secret. English songwriter Mitch Murray, had written a number of chart topping hits in the early 60s and the Beatles recorded his composition How Do You Do It, which they did not release as a single. Another Liverpool group Gerry & the Pacemakers scored a No. 1 hit with the song as well as another Murray song I Like It. The group’s line-up consisted of Leon Isackson (drums), Jon Hayton (lead guitar), Mike Lawler (bass) and Lindsay (Nosmo) King (rhythm guitar).
Sold at a budget price through the Sunday Mirror, the EP was a huge seller but the group had mixed feelings about their title of ‘Australia’s Beatles’. None of the singles they recorded on the Leedon label including a great version of the minor UK hit for Tommy Quickly, Kiss Me Now, made the charts. In 1966 the Rajahs and another group whose records failed to sell, the Bee Gees, ceased to be Festival recording artists when their contracts were not renewed.
‘The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits’ is an album featuring Alvin & the Chipmunks singing renditions of early Beatles songs released in 1964 on Liberty Records. One single was lifted from the album, All My Loving/Do You Want To Know A Secret and a 6-track EP was also issued. The album was created by David Seville (real name Ross Bagdasarian) and engineer David Hassinger. David Seville scored a huge hit in 1958 with Witch Doctor, which featured a sped-up high-pitched vocal technique. Seville later used the technique for The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late), which introduced Alvin & the Chipmunks as a fictional singing group. The song was a huge success reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 4.5 copies, making it the fastest selling single of all time.
When the Beatles claimed the fastest selling single title with I Want To Hold Your Hand, Seville travelled to England in 1964 to meet them. He spoke to the Fab Four about his idea of producing a Beatles chipmunks’ album and they were very supportive. The album was a huge success winning a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording- Special Or Novel Effects in 1965. Beatle fans either love or hate this album but it was the most successful of all the chipmunk albums selling millions of copies worldwide. It has been re-issued a number of times on vinyl, cassette and CD.
“…. This was a 60s “cash-in” record not aimed at little children, just for pre-teens. This was also the place where a lot of kids first found out about the Beatles, and what a way it was … dreadful jokes, high-pitched creepy rodents from television. This was reported to be Kurt Cobain’s favourite record of all time. I don’t know how to sympathize with that. Wacky, but a real time capsule.” (Kupa99, August 19th, 2007 rateyourmusic.com)
When Seville died in 1972, his son Ross Bagdasarian Jr. took over the ownership of Bagdasarian Productions. He reprised the David Seville character in a series of novelty albums starting with ‘Chipmunks Punk’ in 1980. In 2007 the movie ‘Alvin & the Chipmunks’ starring actor Jason Lee was released, combining live acting and computer animation.
Alvin & the Chipmunks was not the only album of high-pitched rodents singing Beatle songs. ‘A Hard Days Night’ by the Wyncote Squirrels featuring sped-up versions of Lennon-McCartney tunes also appeared in 1964. The album was originally issued as the Wyncote Chipmunks but when David Seville’s lawyers stepped in, they changed their name. Another album, ‘Beatle Mania! In The USA’ by the Liverpools is the same group played at normal speed. Both albums were issued on the Wyncote budget division of Cameo-Parkway Records and were distributed in drug, book and department stores. Both records use the same backing tracks and contain Lennon-McCartney songs and some Beatles-sounding songs by other composers. The writer’s credits on these songs include Mike Appell and Kal Mann who wrote many of the hits for Chubby Checker, when the Twist Craze was in full swing. I wonder how many unsuspecting people bought the Liverpools record thinking it was the Beatles? Interestingly, in 1967 Cameo-Parkway Records was sold to Allen Klein, a businessman who would have a fair bit to do with the Beatles a few years later.
“Do not be fooled by this album, it is anything but a Beatles album. It consists of terrible covers of only four Beatles songs and the remaining tracks are just aweful originals. If the Liverpoolers were trying to do a Beatles covers album, they should have gone all out and done all covers, rather than padding it out with worthless originals…This album was a cash-in on the Beatles success and nothing more. Avoid this album.” (Freshestcream, May 4th, 2012, rateyourmusic.com)
The Rutles self-titled album is the soundtrack of the mockumentary television film ‘All You Need Is Cash’. The album contains 14 tongue-in-cheek pastiches and parodies of Beatles songs and was released on Warner Bros Records in 1978. The cover art suggests the existence of other Rutles’ albums including ‘Tragical Mystery Tour’ and ‘Let It Rot’. Some of the send-ups on the album go very close to the original Beatles numbers including Ouch! (Help!), Goodtimes Roll (Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds), Love Life (All You Need Is Love), Cheese & Onions (A Day In The Life), Piggy In The Middle (I Am The Walrus) and Doubleback Alley (Penny Lane).
All the songs were written and produced by Neil Innes formerly of the Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band. The Beatles were fans of the Bonzos and featured them in their film Magical Mystery Tour. The Rutles were originally created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch on the British television comedy series ‘Rutland Weekend Television’. George Harrison made a guest appearance on the 1975 Boxing Day Special of the show and encouraged Idle and Innes to make a film that would parody the Beatles career and serve to deflate some of the myths surrounding the band. The film is a series of skits and gags that illustrates the Rutles story, following the chronology of the Beatles.
Innes wrote, composed and produced the music to produce sound-alike songs and assembled a band which included himself, John Halsey, Ollie Halsall, Andy Brown and Ricky Fataar. Innes took lead vocals on the songs that resembled Lennon’s, Halsall sang on most of the McCartney-esque tunes, Fataar sang the Harrison songs and Halsey sang a Ringo-type tune. George Harrison was involved in the project from the start and said,
“The Rutles sort of liberated me from the Beatles in a way. It was the only thing I saw of those Beatles television shows they made. It was actually the best, funniest and most scathing, but at the same time, it was done with the most love.”
Ringo liked the happier scenes in the film but felt the scenes mimicking the sadder times hit a bit too close to home. Paul was very non-committal and always answered, “No comment”, when asked about the film but later changed his mind because his wife Linda thought it was funny. John loved the film and soundtrack album so much he refused to return the copies he was sent for approval. John thought, however that Get Up And Go was too close to the Beatles’ Get Back and told Innes to be careful not to be sued by ATV Music, the owners of the Beatles catalogue at the time. The song was subsequently removed from the soundtrack LP. However, following the release of the album, ATV Music sued Innes for copyright infringement. An out of court settlement was made and ATV got 50% of the royalties of the 14 songs on the album.
Beatlesongs!! is a compilation album containing novelty songs and parodies of the music of the Beatles. The LA-based re-issue label Rhino released the vinyl LP in 1982. The liner notes describe the album as “… the first anthology of Beatles’ novelties, and provides an interesting cross-sectional look at the phenomenon and should be approached not for timeless musical value but for its amusement potential.” But no one was amused when it was discovered that the artwork on the cover featured a caricature of Mark Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon. The album depicted a group of Beatle fans at a Beatle convention and Chapman is seen at the far left of the cover holding the end of the banner. Cashbox magazine described it as “the sickest cover design concept seen in quite a while.”
The cover artwork was by well-known commercial artist William Stout and it caused such a public outcry that Rhino was forced to recall all copies of the album and re-issue it with a new cover. All existing covers were pasted over with a sticker, which is reminiscent of the controversial 1966 Beatles album ‘Yesterday & Today’ (better known as the ‘Butcher’ cover). Rhino issued a press statement stating that the company was initially not aware of the depiction of Chapman, until it was brought to their attention later. Stout refused to alter the artwork and the cover was issued in its original form. The artist issued a statement explaining that the inclusion of Chapman in the portrait was “a warning to Beatle fans not to become too obsessed.” A pretty lame excuse really.
The music on the album takes a few listens before you fully appreciate what is being offered. The 12 tracks cover the complete range of Beatle novelties. The more interesting ones include the previously mentioned My Boyfriend’s Got A Beatle Haircut, a teenage lament by a very young sounding Donna Lynn. Bill Buchanan and Howard Greenfield (Neil Sedaka lyricist) collaborated on The Invasion using the “break in” technique. This technique, was very popular with DJs in the 60s, it combines a commentary with excerpts from various songs, to tell a story. Another noteworthy track is one by famous producer/composer Jack Nitzscke who combines three Beatle riffs with his own composition, Needles & Pins to produce an excellent instrumental Beatle novelty. And comedian Alan Sherman (of Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah fame), could not resist but apply his brand of humour to have a friendly dig at the Mop Tops.
Despite all the controversy surrounding the cover artwork, the original cover seems to be the most common and is readily available online.
One of the most unusual Beatle novelties is ‘Beatle Barkers’ by the Woofers & Tweeters Ensemble. The LP was issued by the budget Telmak label in 1983. The album is made up entirely of Beatles songs barked by dogs and is the brainchild of former Aussie pop star Gene Pierson, who collaborated with studio engineer Roy Nicolson to produce this highly unusual record. The album may have upset a few Beatles fans when it was released, but their complaints were over-shadowed by the large number of people who loved the concept. A good marketing campaign also helped create interest and the album sold 800,000 units, making it one of the most successful budget LPs ever released.
Gene Pierson (real name Giancario Salvestrin) was born in Italy in 1946, but grew up in Australia. In December 1965, he moved to New Zealand to avoid conscription. In New Zealand, Eldred Stubbing who ran Zodiac Records spotted him singing in an Auckland nightclub and signed him to the label. Pierson scored a string of Top 40 hits in New Zealand before returning to Australia in 1970. Back in Sydney, he signed to Festival Records and recorded Reach Out, a psychedelic makeover of the Four Tops song, reaching No. 12 on the Sydney Top 40. When the discs’ progress up the charts was halted by the 1970 Record Ban, Pierson formed Chart Records, which released a number of successful singles including Autumn’s Yellow River and Dave Allenby’s She Works In A Woman’s Way.
By the late 70s Pierson had moved into artist management and in the early 80s he worked in record production running his own label, Laser Records. He would also put together compilation albums for budget record companies like Telmak, K-Tel and Majestic, which included such ‘gems’ as ’20 Tear Jerkers’, ‘Goofy Greats’ and ‘Hits Of The Sizzling 60s’, to name just a few. Pierson worked with Roy Nicolson who in the late 70s and early 80s, was a synth programmer and player in some of the UK’s biggest studios. Nicolson had an early version of a sampler called an Emulator 1, which he liked to experiment with. A sampler is an electronic musical instrument, which uses sound recordings to compose music. The Emulator 1 came preloaded with various samples, one of which was a dog. When Nicolson demonstrated the dog barking samples to Pierson, he asked could he do a Beatles song, to which he replied, “Yes.” After completing one song, Pierson asked him to do an album.
Pierson arranged for a German company to provide the backing tracks, but the barking was not as easy as they expected. Any held note proved difficult so a dog impersonator was brought in. Nicolson recalls, “I can’t remember his name, but we set him up in front of the mic and the first time he barked I jumped because I thought there was a dog in the studio. He sounded more like a dog than a dog.” After a few tracks were completed, Nicolson felt that the dogs became a bit monotonous, so he added a few more farmyard animals including a cat, sheep, goats and chickens. When the record was completed it was sold to Telmak Records and marketed by Demtel. Pierson and Nicolson refused to put their name to it, but when it was discovered that the US label Passport Records had pirated the tapes and released it under the name, ‘Beatles Live From The Pound’, lawyers were hired to sort the situation out. Reflecting on the Beatle Barkers album, Pierson said,
“It was all done in great fun and it became bigger than we imagined it. We tried to keep away from it, but it keeps drawing us in here and there. The years have rolled by, it has matured, it’s standing on its own, people can laugh or they can cry.”
Both men moved on with Nicolson continuing his production and writing in his studio in Redfern, Sydney, while Pierson began releasing comedy records with ‘Australia Laughs’, which included Vince Sorrenti and Rodney Rude. In the 90s he established the Indigenous Label releasing Aboriginal music, before merging it with the Lifestyle Music Group, which specialised in light jazz, lounge and ambient music. In the early 2000s the astute businessman opened East Bedarra Island Retreat (10 kms off the coast from Mission Beach) and Misty Mountains Nature Retreat at Mt Bellenden Ker, 20 kms south of Cairns. In 2019, he and his wife Sharon appeared in the Netflix series ‘Instant Hotel’.
Finally we come to ‘Beatlemaniacs!!! – The World Of Beatles Novelty Records’. The 24-track CD, released by UK re-issue specialists, Ace Records in 2006, includes a 28-page booklet packed with informative notes and photos on all of the artists included on the album. It is the ultimate package of Beatle novelty songs ever compiled. This message on the back of the CD case provides a good insight into what the CD is all about,
“Beatlemania’s incredible impact on the world is displayed to wonderful effect in this crazy fest of rare tribute and novelty 45s dedicated to the Fab Four at
the height of their fame.”
The album really opened my eyes to the extent of Beatles discs that were produced and gave me a good insight into a facet of the Beatle phenonomen, which is often overlooked. The songs range from very annoying ditties to imagination tributes. Something that struck me about this collection was the number of outstanding artists who made Beatle novelty records. A good example is Texan-born Sonny Curtis who is best known for writing the classic I Fought The Law. Curtis was a teenage friend of Buddy Holly and played lead guitar on Holly’s earliest rockabilly records. He then moved on to pursue a solo career that never really took off. Following Holly’s tragic death, Curtis was asked to join the Crickets. He recorded with the band and continued as a solo artist.
Lou Adler produced A Beatle I Want To Be, and used some of LAs best session musicians including Glen Campbell (guitar) and Hal Blaine (drums). A couple of months later, Adler took Curtis back into the studio to record the instrumental LP, ‘Sonny Curtis Plays Beatle Hits Flamenco Guitar Style’.
One of the best tracks on the CD is Please, Please Me by Link Wray & the Raymen. Widely acknowledged as the ‘Godfather Of Grunge’, Link Wray first came to prominence in 1958 with the instrumental hit, Rumble. Rumble was banned in New York and Boston fearing it would incite violence. (‘Rumble’ was slang for a gang fight). Wray was the first guitarist to explore the boundaries of the electric guitar and popularized the power chord, facilitating the emergence of punk and heavy rock. Jimmy Page, Iggy Pop and Neil Young all cite Wray as an early influence and Pete Townsend once said, “If it hadn’t been for Link Wray and ‘Rumble’, I never would have picked up a guitar.” His killer rendition of Please, Please Me, recorded in April 1964 and scheduled for release in the summer of 1965 was, for some unknown reason, withdrawn.
“…only Link could fashion an exciting instrumental out of such an unlikely song.” (Rob Finnin, Beatlemaniacs CD booklet notes)
Another interesting track is Nilsson’s clever reworking of You Can’t Do That, recorded in June 1967, two weeks after the release of ‘Sgt Pepper’. It incorporates 15 references to other Beatles’ songs and was included on Nilsson’s debut RCA album, ‘Pandemonium Shadow Show’. The LP was a critical, but not a commercial success but the Beatles press officer, Derek Taylor was really impressed with the album and brought it to the attention of the Beatles. At the press launch for Apple Records in 1968, both John and Paul named Nilsson as one of their favourite artists. Nilsson went on to form strong friendships with Ringo and John. He and Lennon made headlines in March 1974 when the drunken pair were thrown out of the Troubadour Club in LA for heckling, during John’s “lost weekend” period.
Nilsson penned hits for the Monkees (Cuddly Toy), Three Dog Night and Johnny Farnham (One) and the Turtles (The Story Of Rock And Roll). But despite being a superb songwriter, his biggest hits were with songs written by other people – Everybody’s Talkin’ by Fred Neal and Without You by Pete Ham and Tom Evans. The 2006 documentary, ‘Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him) delves into his very interesting life story.
As fascinating as it has been exploring the wide range of Beatle novelty records in existence, when it is all said and done, I’d much rather listen to the Beatles themselves. It would be interesting to find out what the Beatles thought of the many novelty songs made about them, or if they even heard them. It’s amazing how many novelty songs one band from Liverpool generated. I’m also amazed when I realize that the music of a group I first heard as a 10-year-old, I still enjoy listening to 58 years later.
Beatles Novelty Discography:
Beatlemania – A Tribute To The Beatles EP The Rajahs Sunday Mirror SM-002 1964
I’m Telling You Now, I Want To Hold Your hand, I Saw Her Standing There/Lucille, Roll Over Beethoven, Can You Keep A Secret.
The World Of Beeplemania EP – Bob King Crawford Talent City TB 030 1964
For The Beeple By The Beeple (A Peaceful Study In Disharmony), The Unbeatleable Beeple (Secrets Of What’s Wrong With Parents)/ The Beeple Fan (A Screaming Success), Fairly Heads & Nursly Glimes (Wild Accounts Statements).
The Bearded Beetle/The Beetle Bashers Beat The Beetle Bashers W&G WG-S-1895 1964
Don’t Bug The Beatles/ If You Were In My Shoes Kevin Shegog W&G WG-S-1895 1964
The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits LP– Alvin, Simon & Theodore with David Seville Liberty 1218 1964
All My Loving, Dom You Want To Know A Secret, She Loves You, From Me To You, Love Me Do, Twist And Shout/ A Hard Days Night, P.S. I Love You, I Saw Her Standing There, can’t Buy Me Love, Please Please Me, I Want To Hold You Hand,
A Hard Day’s Night LP – The Wyncote Squirrels, Wyncote W-9037 1964
A Hard Days Night, All My Loving, Never Mind, And I Love Her, Did You Ever Get My Letter/ She Loves You, I Should Have Known Better, Be My Girl, Hey Quiet Down, Whenever I’m Feeling Low.
Beatle Mania? – In The USA LP– The Liverpools Wyncote W 9001 1964
She Loves You, Be My Girl, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Hey Quiet Down, Did You Ever Get My Letter/ I Saw Her Standing There, Never Mind, Please Please Me, Chuck’s Monster, Whenever I’m Feeling Low.
The Rutles Self-titled LP Warner Bros. Records HS 3151 1978
Hold My Hand, Number One, With A Girl Like You, I Must be In Love. OUCH!, Living In Hope, Love Life, Nevertheless/ Good Times Roll, Doubleback Alley, Cheese And Onions, Another Day, Piggy In The Middle, Let’s Be Natural.
Beatlesongs!! – The Best Of The Beatles Novelty Songs LP – Rhino RNLP 803, 1982
The Invasion (Buchanan & Greenfield), Hold My Hand (The Rutles), We Love You Beatles (The Carefrees), My Boyfriend’s Got A Beatle haircut (Donna Lynn), Letter From Elaina (Casey Kasem), Beatlemania (Jack Nitzsche)/ Beatle rap (The Qworymen), L S Bumble Bee (Peter Cook & Dudley Moore), I’m The Meany (Wild Man Fisher), Pop Hates The Beatles (Alan Sherman), Letter To The Beatles (The Four Preps), The Beetle (Gary Usher).
Beatle Barkers The Woofers & Tweeters Ensemble LP Telmax TMAK 091 1983
I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Love Me Do, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, We Can Work It Out, I Saw Her Standing There, I Feel Fine/ Can’t Buy Me Love, All My Loving, Day Tripper, She Loves You, Hard Days Night, Paperback Writer.
Beatlemaniacs –The World Of Beatles Novelty Records CD, Ace CDCHD 1075 2006
John, Paul, George & Ringo (The Bulldogs), I’ll Let You Hold My Hand (The Bootles), Like Ringo (Dick Lord), We Love The Beatles (Beatlemania) (The Vernons Girls), Beatle Crazy (Bill Clifton), A Beatle I Want To Be (Sonny Curtis), The Beatles Are In Town (The Fondettes), My Beatle Haircut (The Twiliters), A Letter To The Beatles (The Four Preps), You Can’t Do That (Nilsson), Please Please Me (Take 1) (Link Wray), Only Seventeen (The Beattle-ettes), John, You Went Too Far This Time (Rainbo), I Dreamed I Was A Beatle (Murray Kellum), The Beatle Bounce (Bobby Comstock & the Counts), What’s Wrong With Ringo? (The Bon Bons), Saint Paul (Terry Knight), Beatles, Please Come Back (Gigi Parker & the Lonelies), Stamp Out The Beatles (The Hi-Riders), Beatlemania (Donnie ray & the Definants), We Love You Beatles (The Carefrees), Beatle Fever (Brett & Terry), I Want To Be A Beatle (Bobby Wilding), The Ballad Of Paul (The Mystery Tour).
Sources:
Glenn A. Baker – Liner notes – The Rajahs – Australia’s Beatles, Festival L 19186 Vol 14, 1989
Ken Barnes – Liner notes – Beatlesongs, Rhino RNLP 803, 1982
giancariosalvestrin.com.au – Talk about Beatle Barkers
Graeme Brown – Sunshine Secrets, Moonlight 2019
Bob Finnis – Beatlemaniacs –The World Of Beatles Novelty Records CD, Ace 2006
Jon Hayton & Leon Isackson – Behind The Rock, Time-Life 1990
Zbig Nowara – information via email July 18th, 2021
Poparchivesblog.blogspot.au – Barry Ferber & the Bearded Beetle, June 21st, 2005
Rateyourmusic – Album reviews: Beatle Mania In The USA, Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits
Wikipedia.org.au – Beatle Barkers, Beatlesongs, Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits,
Gene Pierson, The Rutles, Kevin Shegog.
Readers may also be interested in this
booklet, which lists all the recordings by
Australian artists of covers of Beatles songs, including their solo work.
Available from
Email: moonlightau@gmail.com.
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