I’ve been thinking about bubblegum pop this week, ever since I discovered my old contribution to “Bubblegum Is The Naked Truth” posted to Kim Cooper’s Bubblegum University site. It’s not the greatest thing I ever wrote, but at least my name is spelled right. Thanks for the link, Kim! Here’s a link to the article:
British Bubblegum: the Works of Tony Macaulay, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway | Bubblegum University
I also just discovered a great Blogspot site devoted to cartoon rock, which has allowed me to fill some gaps in my collection, and to replace some badly worn vinyl with cleaner digital copies. (Kids do tend to be rough on records.) All the usual suspects are on display: Archies, Sugar Bears, Banana Splits, Cattanooga Cats, etc. It’s even got the Groovy Ghoulies and Hardy Boys (cartoon version).
It reminded me of one of my personal favorites in this catagory, an obscure group called The Klowns. They were somewhat anomalous to the genre — for one one thing, they were real human beings (albeit with face paint). Instead of a Saturday morning series, they had one failed prime-time special/pilot. But in one respect, they fit snugly with their animated peers: they enjoyed the services of Jeff Barry as producer.
Barry’s gum cred needs hardly be enumerated here. He was a guiding force behind both the Monkees and the Archies, and before that, he and his partner Ellie Greenwich wrote some of the most beloved tunes in Phil Spector’s canon. As a founding architect of the Brill Building sound, his credits appear on many of the great pop hits of the early sixties, as well as early records by Neil Diamond.
But when offer your talents for hire, you take work where you find it. In 1970, Barry contracted himself out to Ringling Brothers, who were floating a half dozen attractive singing boys and girls in clown costumes (one of which was a young Barry Bostwick). They were a typical mainstream foist of the period — another clueless attempt to leverage the economic power of the upstart “youth movement.” In this case, “clown” is an obvious stand-in for “hippie,” but the group still comes off more like Up With People than the Jefferson Airplane.
Needless to say, even the power of the two Barry’s couldn’t keep this project from sinking like the proverbial stone. Now The Klowns languish in the collections of oddball fans like myself. The record sounds like classic bubblegum, only without the garage band pretense. Tracks like “Yellow Sunglasses” and “River Cruisin’” still jangle like the best of the Archies, while “Lady Love,” “A Whole Lotta Love” and “Love Is The Answer” aim straight for the middle of the road.
But two songs in particular really elevate this collection, the surreal “Good News” and “Honey Bunny Day.” These two almost defy description; they need to be heard to be appreciated. All I can say is that they both have pleasant light-country arrangements, and either one would make an excellent breakfast cereal commercial. It is songs like these that elevate “filler” to a high art.
Don’t take my word for it: download “The Klowns”
Hi, Derrick. My friend Laura Pinto linked me to this post. Excellent stuff, new to my ears! Thanks very much. I really enjoyed your article on Bubblegum University. You taught me a lot about one of my favorites, Edison Lighthouse. I first heard “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” on a K-Tel album in 1970 called “20 Explosive Hits.”(every now and then a K-Tel compilation would be good enough to gel as an album, and this is a prime example). “Love Grows” is so memorable and infectious that I still can’t get it out of my head 35 years later. And everytime I hear it played on the radio, I say out loud, “EDISON LIGHTHOUSE!!” Thank you very much, and I appreciate the kind words about my blog. I’m glad you like it. Take care.
daddykin
Whew! Glad SOMEONE commented on this record before it dropped beneath the fold!
This album may be a little MOR for some gum fans, but it needs to be heard!
And by the way, DK — I love your site, but I cannot offer you any kudos, since your comments are set to Blogger members only! For the record:
Hardy Boys: I’m all about ‘em.
Groovie Goolies: Not so much.
Man, this album has that weird hippie/bubblegum vibe going through it. I love Jeff Barry. Thanks for sharing!
Wow on a whim I figured I’d do some research on The Klowns. Yesterday when I was at a record store I found a sealed copy of the lp for $5.00. I thought it looked weird but I looked at the back jacket and saw it was produced by Jeff Barry so I bought it and for $5.00 and sealed it was worth the risk. Do you all know who the other memembers are?
yes hippies for everyone mwahahahahaha
Hi
Stuart & Dave(Taylor) here original members of Edison lighthouse and still gigging and still playing “Love grows” and it still sounds great.
You can bet I’ll be there if you guys ever make it to Phoenix!
Hi, just bought the Klowns today, in my recordstore, Mickes, in Stockholm.
Not only as a recordcollector but also as circusfan, I piced it up for the good price of 1 dollar 20 cent.
I also reacted on producer Jeff Barry but wanted to know more about the group.
Thats how I camre to this interesting blogg-site.
Thank you and many gretings from Stockholm, Sweden.
Tobbe.
Greetings Tobbe, and congratulations on your purchase!
I believe I paid 3 US dollars for my copy.