Banana Splits discography
Encyclopedia
The Banana Splits
were a musical group of four animal characters; Fleegle, a beagle; Bingo, a gorilla; Drooper, a lion; and Snorky, an elephant; (played by actors in costumes), who starred in their own successful television series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
The Banana Splits' bubblegum pop
rock and roll
was provided by studio professionals, including Al Kooper
("You're the Lovin' End"), Barry White
("Doin' the Banana Split"), and Gene Pitney
("Two Ton Tessie") and Jimmy Radcliffe
provided his songs ("I'm Gonna Find A Cave", "Soul", "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", "Adam Had 'Em" and "The Show Must Go On") but did not contribute vocals to Splits recordings. The music director was music publisher Aaron Schroeder
who picked the songs created by his staff writers. The intended main theme song was to be the Ritchie Adams and Tony Powers song "We're The Banana Splits" but the television and advertising executives thought the "Tra La La Song", another Adams composition co-written with prolific songwriter and producer Mark Barkan
, was a catchier theme. According to an interview in DISCoveries magazine, Adams and Barkan sang "Wait Til Tomorrow," "We're The Banana Splits" and "The Tra La La Song". David Mook produced all of the released tracks (co-producing the single sides Long Live Love and Pretty Painted Carousel with Aaron Schroeder), credited as "A Past, Present and Future Production by David Mook for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc." (Mook also co-wrote the theme songs for Chuck Barris
' The Dating Game
and The Newlywed Game
.) Arranger Jack Eskew
also orchestrated some of the Splits' tunes. Three singles, "The Tra La La Song", "Wait Till Tomorrow", and "Long Live Love" were released by the Splits along with an album, We're the Banana Splits. Two 45RPM EP records with four songs each were available via an offer on the back of Kellogg's cereal boxes. Two of the three singles as well as both EPs were issued with picture sleeves.
A bootleg recording
of all the released Splits recordings was made and released on CD in 1995 on the Hollywood Library label. (This CD was mastered from vinyl sources at a slightly increased speed, with excessive noise-reduction, resulting in a noticeable echo effect, especially at the end of songs.) One song, "Wait Til Tomorrow", later appeared on a various artists bubblegum hits CD, sourced from the Hollywood Library bootleg. Most recently, an unauthorized vinyl pressing was issued in 2007 by Ripped Couch Records in the UK. This pressing has a different track listing from the original album, consisting of the first 16 tracks on the Hollywood Library bootleg CD (one track from the original album, "Soul" written by noted soul singer songwriter Jimmy Radcliffe, is missing from this version despite its being listed on the front cover). The audio was sourced from the Hollywood Library CD.
The Californian punk
band The Dickies
released a sped-up version of "The Tra La La Song" as the "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" which entered the UK
charts in 1979.
The Bob Marley and the Wailers song "Buffalo Soldier
", from the 1983 album Confrontation, features a very similar melody to "The Tra La La Song" in its chorus.
The Mr. T Experience recorded "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl" for a the 1993 Banana Splits Tribute album "Banana Pad Riot" on the Skull Duggery Label. Mr. T Experience also included "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", as a bonus track, on their 1997 Lookout Records re-issue of the 1989 release "Black Bugs Bleed Blue Blood" and as a hidden track on the "Our Bodies Our Selves release also from 1993.
"Banana Pad Riot" also featured recordings from punk bands The Vindictives ("Two Ton Tessie"), Boris The Sprinkler
("We're The Banana Splits"), and The Young Fresh Fellows ("Doin' The Banana Split").
Liz Phair
and Material Issue
recorded "The Tra La La Song" for the 1995 compilation album Saturday Morning
. Their version was based on the Decca Records single version, with a different arrangement than the version used on the TV series, also including an otherwise unheard additional verse.
Ralph's World
covered "The Tra La La Song" in 2001 on their album At the Bottom of the Sea.
In 2005, "I Enjoy Being A Boy" was covered by They Might Be Giants
for their first podcast
. The separate mp3
was released for free on their site.
Throughout the '90's power pop band Autumn Teen Sound played "The Tra La La Song" live. They also recorded it, but is was never officially released. It appears on the bootleg "Beaten Up By Rock & Roll."
In 1988, "I'm Gonna Find A Cave
" was covered by Girl Trouble
for the Sub Pop 200
compilation
All Decca singles were released in mono mixes. "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)", "Long Live Love", and "Pretty Painted Carousel" were not included on the We're The Banana Splits album. Decca singles 32429 and 73256 were issued with picture sleeves; Decca 32391 was not—although foreign releases of the first single had picture sleeves.
Side One: The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Alternate Mix)/That's The Pretty Part Of You
Side Two: It's A Good Day For A Parade/The Very First Kid On My Block
Side One: Doin' The Banana Split (Alternate Mix)/I Enjoy Being A Boy (In Love With You)
Side Two: The Beautiful Calliopa/Let Me Remember You Smiling
"The Tra La La Song" and "Doin' The Banana Split" are the same takes included on the We're The Banana Splits album. However, as released here, they are presented in "twin-track" stereo mixes, with vocals in one channel and instruments in the other, not unlike some of the early Beatles stereo mixes. The stereo mixes of the other six songs are similar, but mixed less widely with both vocals and instruments closer to the center. These records were sold together as a Kellogg's cereal box offer, and were released through Hanna-Barbera's premium division. They came in a mailer including unique outer artwork, showing Fleegle holding the two discs. Both were issued in art sleeves featuring drawings of the characters; advertisements promoting these discs on the back of contemporary Kellogg's cereal boxes showed slightly different artwork, and had a copyright date of 1968 rather than 1969. In the prototype artwork for the second disc used in the cereal box ad, it is more clear that the Banana Buggy is driving atop the surface of a 45 RPM record.
Side One: We're The Banana Splits/I'm Gonna Find A Cave/This Spot/Doin' The Banana Split/Toy Piano Melody/Soul
Side Two: The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)/Wait Til Tomorrow/You're The Lovin' End/In New Orleans/Two Ton Tessie/Don't Go Away—Go-Go Girl
All songs on the album are true stereo mixes. There are two minor cover variations. The earliest pressings had a darker green color and had no copyright notice, which on some copies was added on a small yellow sticker. Later pressings are a lighter shade of green and have a copyright notice printed directly in the lower left corner of the front cover.
Counterfeit versions of the vinyl album appeared in the late 1990s. They carry a white promo Decca label, but have all other references to Decca Records removed, including the front cover logo. The songs also fade out slightly earlier than on the original album.
The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Album Version)/We’re The Banana Splits/I’m Gonna Find A Cave/This Spot/Doin’ The Banana Split/Wait Til Tomorrow/You’re The Lovin’ End/Toy Piano Melody/In New Orleans/Two-Ton Tessie/Long Live Love/Don’t Go Away—Go-Go Girl/It’s A Good Day For A Parade/Pretty Painted Carousel/I Enjoy Being A Boy (In Love With You)/The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Single Version)/Looking For The Beagles/Sharing Wishes/I’d Join The Foreign Legion/What More Can I Do?/Be The Captain/Humpty Dumpty/Thanks To The Man On The Moon/I Wanna Capture You/Indian Love Dance/You Satisfy/That’s The Pretty Part Of You/The Very First Kid On My Block/The Beautiful Calliopa/Let Me Remember You Smiling/Soul
This was an unauthorized CD reissue of the complete Banana Splits discography, including the We're The Banana Splits album, along with all other non-LP songs released as singles or EP tracks. Song titles in italics are not by The Banana Splits; they are from Here Come The Beagles, the soundtrack album from the Total TV cartoon series. All the Beagles tracks are in rechanneled stereo.
Banana Splits
The Banana Splits were four comedic animal characters who featured in a late 1960s children's variety show made for television. The costumed hosts of the show were Fleegle , Bingo , Drooper and Snork .The Banana Splits Adventure Hour was an hour-long, packaged television program that featured both...
were a musical group of four animal characters; Fleegle, a beagle; Bingo, a gorilla; Drooper, a lion; and Snorky, an elephant; (played by actors in costumes), who starred in their own successful television series The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.
The Banana Splits' bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
was provided by studio professionals, including Al Kooper
Al Kooper
Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
("You're the Lovin' End"), Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
("Doin' the Banana Split"), and Gene Pitney
Gene Pitney
Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...
("Two Ton Tessie") and Jimmy Radcliffe
Jimmy Radcliffe
James "Jimmy" Radcliffe was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer.-Biography:James Radcliffe was born in New York City...
provided his songs ("I'm Gonna Find A Cave", "Soul", "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", "Adam Had 'Em" and "The Show Must Go On") but did not contribute vocals to Splits recordings. The music director was music publisher Aaron Schroeder
Aaron Schroeder
Aaron Schroeder was an American songwriter and music publisher.-Biography:Born Aaron Harold Schroder , he graduated from the school now known as the Fiorello H...
who picked the songs created by his staff writers. The intended main theme song was to be the Ritchie Adams and Tony Powers song "We're The Banana Splits" but the television and advertising executives thought the "Tra La La Song", another Adams composition co-written with prolific songwriter and producer Mark Barkan
Mark Barkan
Mark Barkan is a songwriter and producer. He was also a musical director for the television show The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. This prolific songwriter has written numerous songs including Lesley Gore's Top 5 hit "She's a Fool," the often covered "Pretty Flamingo," which was a hit single for...
, was a catchier theme. According to an interview in DISCoveries magazine, Adams and Barkan sang "Wait Til Tomorrow," "We're The Banana Splits" and "The Tra La La Song". David Mook produced all of the released tracks (co-producing the single sides Long Live Love and Pretty Painted Carousel with Aaron Schroeder), credited as "A Past, Present and Future Production by David Mook for Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc." (Mook also co-wrote the theme songs for Chuck Barris
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris is an American game show producer, film director and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.-Early career:Barris was born in Oakland, New...
' The Dating Game
The Dating Game
The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
and The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
.) Arranger Jack Eskew
Jack Eskew
Jack Eskew is a musical arranger/orchestrator based in Los Angeles, California. He studied music at the University of Southern California before beginning his career by touring the United States with various bands....
also orchestrated some of the Splits' tunes. Three singles, "The Tra La La Song", "Wait Till Tomorrow", and "Long Live Love" were released by the Splits along with an album, We're the Banana Splits. Two 45RPM EP records with four songs each were available via an offer on the back of Kellogg's cereal boxes. Two of the three singles as well as both EPs were issued with picture sleeves.
A bootleg recording
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of all the released Splits recordings was made and released on CD in 1995 on the Hollywood Library label. (This CD was mastered from vinyl sources at a slightly increased speed, with excessive noise-reduction, resulting in a noticeable echo effect, especially at the end of songs.) One song, "Wait Til Tomorrow", later appeared on a various artists bubblegum hits CD, sourced from the Hollywood Library bootleg. Most recently, an unauthorized vinyl pressing was issued in 2007 by Ripped Couch Records in the UK. This pressing has a different track listing from the original album, consisting of the first 16 tracks on the Hollywood Library bootleg CD (one track from the original album, "Soul" written by noted soul singer songwriter Jimmy Radcliffe, is missing from this version despite its being listed on the front cover). The audio was sourced from the Hollywood Library CD.
The Californian punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
released a sped-up version of "The Tra La La Song" as the "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)" which entered the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
charts in 1979.
The Bob Marley and the Wailers song "Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier (song)
"Buffalo Soldier" is a reggae song written by Bob Marley and Noel G. "King Sport" Williams from Marley's final recording sessions in 1980. It did not appear on record until the 1983 posthumous release of Confrontation, when it became one of Marley's best-known songs.The title and lyrics refer to...
", from the 1983 album Confrontation, features a very similar melody to "The Tra La La Song" in its chorus.
The Mr. T Experience recorded "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl" for a the 1993 Banana Splits Tribute album "Banana Pad Riot" on the Skull Duggery Label. Mr. T Experience also included "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", as a bonus track, on their 1997 Lookout Records re-issue of the 1989 release "Black Bugs Bleed Blue Blood" and as a hidden track on the "Our Bodies Our Selves release also from 1993.
"Banana Pad Riot" also featured recordings from punk bands The Vindictives ("Two Ton Tessie"), Boris The Sprinkler
Boris the Sprinkler
Boris the Sprinkler was a pop-punk band that formed in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1992, known for their zaniness and abnormality. Their aesthetic seemed to borrow from Devo and The Dickies. They display a sci-fi bizarro style reminiscent of Buckaroo Banzai....
("We're The Banana Splits"), and The Young Fresh Fellows ("Doin' The Banana Split").
Liz Phair
Liz Phair
Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
and Material Issue
Material Issue
Material Issue was a 1980-1990s power pop trio from Chicago. The band's trademark was pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak, where a number of song titles using girls' first names.-History:...
recorded "The Tra La La Song" for the 1995 compilation album Saturday Morning
Saturday Morning
-Album credits:*All tracks produced by Ralph Sall for Bulletproof Recording Company Inc.*Executive Producer/Concept: Ralph Sall for Bulletproof Recording Company Inc.*Engineered by Peter McCabe and Larry Fergusson....
. Their version was based on the Decca Records single version, with a different arrangement than the version used on the TV series, also including an otherwise unheard additional verse.
Ralph's World
Ralph's World
Ralph's World is a children's music group created by Ralph Covert. Covert, previously of Chicago-based indie-rock group The Bad Examples, uses high rock and roll energy with kid-friendly lyrics....
covered "The Tra La La Song" in 2001 on their album At the Bottom of the Sea.
In 2005, "I Enjoy Being A Boy" was covered by They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
for their first podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. The separate mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
was released for free on their site.
Throughout the '90's power pop band Autumn Teen Sound played "The Tra La La Song" live. They also recorded it, but is was never officially released. It appears on the bootleg "Beaten Up By Rock & Roll."
In 1988, "I'm Gonna Find A Cave
I'm Gonna Find A Cave
"I'm Gonna Find A Cave" is a song written in 1965 by Jimmy Radcliffe and Buddy Scott .First recorded in 1966 by soul singer Charlie Starr on a United Artist Records single followed in the same year by an early Psychobilly version by Billy Lee Riley on Crescendo Records .Other version of the song in...
" was covered by Girl Trouble
Girl Trouble
Girl Trouble are a punk rock band from Washington, USA, formed in 1983, when three musicians from Tacoma, WA and one from Spokane, WA joined forces.-History:...
for the Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop 200
Sub Pop 200 is a compilation released in the early days of the Seattle grunge scene . It features songs from Tad, The Fluid, Nirvana, Steven Jesse Bernstein, Mudhoney, The Walkabouts, Terry Lee Hale, Soundgarden, Green River, Fastbacks, Blood Circus, Swallow, Chemistry Set, Girl Trouble, The...
compilation
45 RPM Singles
- "Wait Til Tomorrow"/"We're The Banana Splits" (1968) Decca 32391
- "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)" (Single Version)/"Toy Piano Melody" (1968) Decca 32429
- "Long Live Love"/"Pretty Painted Carousel" (1969) Decca 73256
All Decca singles were released in mono mixes. "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)", "Long Live Love", and "Pretty Painted Carousel" were not included on the We're The Banana Splits album. Decca singles 32429 and 73256 were issued with picture sleeves; Decca 32391 was not—although foreign releases of the first single had picture sleeves.
45 Extended Play Records
- Kellogg's Presents The Banana Splits Sing'n Play The Tra-La-La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (1969) Hanna-Barbera Premium Division #34578 (with picture sleeve)
Side One: The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Alternate Mix)/That's The Pretty Part Of You
Side Two: It's A Good Day For A Parade/The Very First Kid On My Block
- Kellogg's Presents The Banana Splits Sing'n Play Doin' the Banana Split (1969) Hanna-Barbera Premium Division #34579 (with picture sleeve)
Side One: Doin' The Banana Split (Alternate Mix)/I Enjoy Being A Boy (In Love With You)
Side Two: The Beautiful Calliopa/Let Me Remember You Smiling
"The Tra La La Song" and "Doin' The Banana Split" are the same takes included on the We're The Banana Splits album. However, as released here, they are presented in "twin-track" stereo mixes, with vocals in one channel and instruments in the other, not unlike some of the early Beatles stereo mixes. The stereo mixes of the other six songs are similar, but mixed less widely with both vocals and instruments closer to the center. These records were sold together as a Kellogg's cereal box offer, and were released through Hanna-Barbera's premium division. They came in a mailer including unique outer artwork, showing Fleegle holding the two discs. Both were issued in art sleeves featuring drawings of the characters; advertisements promoting these discs on the back of contemporary Kellogg's cereal boxes showed slightly different artwork, and had a copyright date of 1968 rather than 1969. In the prototype artwork for the second disc used in the cereal box ad, it is more clear that the Banana Buggy is driving atop the surface of a 45 RPM record.
Album
- We're The Banana Splits (1968) Decca DL-75075
Side One: We're The Banana Splits/I'm Gonna Find A Cave/This Spot/Doin' The Banana Split/Toy Piano Melody/Soul
Side Two: The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)/Wait Til Tomorrow/You're The Lovin' End/In New Orleans/Two Ton Tessie/Don't Go Away—Go-Go Girl
All songs on the album are true stereo mixes. There are two minor cover variations. The earliest pressings had a darker green color and had no copyright notice, which on some copies was added on a small yellow sticker. Later pressings are a lighter shade of green and have a copyright notice printed directly in the lower left corner of the front cover.
Counterfeit versions of the vinyl album appeared in the late 1990s. They carry a white promo Decca label, but have all other references to Decca Records removed, including the front cover logo. The songs also fade out slightly earlier than on the original album.
Compact Discs
- We're The Banana Splits/Here Come The Beagles (1995) Hollywood Library HL-75075
The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Album Version)/We’re The Banana Splits/I’m Gonna Find A Cave/This Spot/Doin’ The Banana Split/Wait Til Tomorrow/You’re The Lovin’ End/Toy Piano Melody/In New Orleans/Two-Ton Tessie/Long Live Love/Don’t Go Away—Go-Go Girl/It’s A Good Day For A Parade/Pretty Painted Carousel/I Enjoy Being A Boy (In Love With You)/The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (Single Version)/Looking For The Beagles/Sharing Wishes/I’d Join The Foreign Legion/What More Can I Do?/Be The Captain/Humpty Dumpty/Thanks To The Man On The Moon/I Wanna Capture You/Indian Love Dance/You Satisfy/That’s The Pretty Part Of You/The Very First Kid On My Block/The Beautiful Calliopa/Let Me Remember You Smiling/Soul
This was an unauthorized CD reissue of the complete Banana Splits discography, including the We're The Banana Splits album, along with all other non-LP songs released as singles or EP tracks. Song titles in italics are not by The Banana Splits; they are from Here Come The Beagles, the soundtrack album from the Total TV cartoon series. All the Beagles tracks are in rechanneled stereo.
Songs featured in the television series but not released on records
- Doin' The Banana Split (Alternate Vocal) (Show #2, first broadcast 9/14/1968)
- The Show Must Go On (Show #2, first broadcast 9/14/1968)
- I'd Be A Millionaire (Show #6, first broadcast 10/12/1968)
- Adam Had 'Em (Show #9, first broadcast 11/2/1968)
- The Beautiful Calliopa (Alternate Version) (Show #11, first broadcast 11/16/1968)
- A Place For The Music To Come Out (Show #13, first broadcast 11/30/1968)
- You Had Your Chance (Show #15, first broadcast 12/14/1968)
- Pretty part of you
- Wait 'til tomorrow
- You're the lovin' end
- This Spot
Songs released on records but not used in the television series
- In New Orleans
- Don't Go Away—Go-Go Girl
- Let Me Remember You Smiling
- Long Live Love
- Pretty Painted Carousel