Doodletown Pipers
Encyclopedia
The Doodletown Pipers were a 1960s and 1970s easy listening
vocal group founded by Ward Ellis, George Wilkins, Bernie Brillstein
and Jerry Weintraub
.
The Doodletown Pipers made numerous appearances on network television (including The Ed Sullivan Show
), and worked with such luminaries as Count Basie
, The Carpenters
, Perry Como
, Bing Crosby
, Bob Hope
, Frank Gorshin
, Alan King
, Mike Post
, Sarah Vaughan
, John Wayne
, and Rowan and Martin. Members of the group included "Mic" Bell, Mike Campbell, Jim Gilstrap
, Teresa Graves
, Augie Johnson, Tom McKenzie and Oren Waters.
The Doodletown Pipers are considered by some to be the epitome of bland, squeaky-clean, "white-bread
" popular music
. One critic describes their music paradoxically as "dull-as-lint" yet at the same time "weirdly but undeniably charming." [] On his television program, Roger Miller
referred to them as the "Poodletown Diapers".
with 30 members in the group. The group was then cut down to 20 members when they opened for George Burns
and Lainie Kazan
at the Nugget in Reno, Nevada
in June, 1966. The original members were Holly Mershon, Teresa Graves, Joy Jolley, Helen Sexton, Natalie Cirello, Jill McDonald, Kathy Cahill, Lynn Dolin, Pat Henderson, Karen Warren, and Linda A., Mike Campbell, "Little Ricky" Richard Doran, "Big Bob" Anderson, Gene Meyer, Tommy Webb, Russell Carson, Bill Lively, Marshall Ramirez, Emmitt Cash, and Bob Kenny. Some of the first replacements were Steve Sweetland, Jim Gilstrap, Augie Johnson, Ellie Mandel, Elaine Blakely, Lorna Wright, Pam Feener, Sharry Dore, Larry Puma, Kathy Wright, Jan Bunch, Patty "Chocolate" Banks, Samantha "Sammie" Williams, and Taffy Jones.
The group worked non-stop from 1966 through the late 1970s. They toured with Nancy Wilson
, who was an early supporter of the group. They also opened for, among others, Perry Como
, Jane Morgan
(whose husband, Jerry Weintraub, was one of the group's managers), Eddie Fisher
, Shelley Berman
, Phil Harris
, and Henry Mancini
. The Pipers also worked such venues as The Greek Theater, Madison Square Garden
, Avery Fisher Hall, The Sands, Sahara, Flamingo and Frontier Hotels in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada.
The DTPs had two television shows. The Smothers Brothers' 1967 Summer replacement show called Our Place co-starring Jack Burns
, Avery Schreiber
and Rowlf the Dog
(puppetered by Jim Henson
). It was produced by Ed Sullivan
. The second show was six (6) one-hour specials starring the DTPs with guest-stars such as Norm Crosby
. They were also semi-regulars on The Roger Miller Show on NBC. They were also regulars on The Carpenters
TV show Make Your Own Kind of Music. They did a tremendous amount of television appearing on The Jerry Lewis Show, The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show
, (6 times, once following a promotional video for The Beatles
' "Hello, Goodbye"). They appeared on specials including "Rodgers & Hart Today," the Emmy-award winning Sing Out Sweet Land with John Wayne, and numerous shows with Bing Crosby
and Perry Como
, among others.
While their early records had reasonable success, after they were signed by Bell Records as "The New Doodletown Pipers" by TV composer and record producer Mike Post
in 1971, their new records met with little success.
. Taffy Jones later became a regular on The Dean Martin Show as one of the four Ding-a-ling Sisters touring with Engelbert Humperdinck and Bob Hope, and made numerous appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and of course, appeared with Dean Martin at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Taffy also worked with Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Phyllis Diller, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Wayne Newton, Joey Bishop, Petula Clark, Don Ho, Juliet Prowse, Ginger Rogers, Bill Cosby, and Red Skelton, to name a few. Steve Sweetland became a very well known European and New York voice teacher. Tommy Webb spent years touring with Mac Davis
and Connie Stevens
. Lynn Dolin worked on "The Johhny Mann Show" and had a solo career in the Christian music field. Jim Gilstrap became a legendary studio singer/contractor and worked with Stevie Wonder
for years (his is the first voice you hear on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life
." "Little Ricky" Richard Doran toured with the National company of the Tony Award winning show George M!
and co-starred in the movie "Harrad Summer." Patty "Chocolate" Banks was an original member of Graham Central Station
as well as Rose Royce
. Holly Mershon has continued to work as an actress, background singer, model and of all things, a professional clown, appearing recently in a festival in Barcelona, Spain with her partner. Mike Campbell is a well known jazz singer and voice teacher with CDs on Palo Alto, I.T.I., Audiophile and Celeste Records. He has opened for Sarah Vaughan
among others, and has appeared in Japan, Australia, Sweden, and all over the United States in jazz festivals, concerts and clinics. He heads the Vocal Department at the world renowned Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. Mic Bell was nominated for a Tony Award for his performed as "Joe" in the Broadway revival of Showboat
. Tom McKenzie later became a studio singer, as well as the lead singer of The Archies
singing group on the U.S. of Archie
Show, and certain episodes of the Groovie Goolies
cartoon series. Oren Waters has sung background vocals on numerous singles, albums and CDs, including those recorded by Michael Jackson
and Neil Diamond
.
Music directors included Ed Lojeski, who is now the music director at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village, CA, George Wilkins, who became a staff composer for Disney theme parks and music composer for the famous Teddy Ruxpin
toys, and Richard Bellis and John Beal
, who became successful TV and film composers.
entitled "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
":
The group were also mentioned in season 6 of the movie-lampooning TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000
, the episode (episode #620) in which Mike and the bots watch the 1967 Italian spy film Danger!! Death Ray
. Shortly after the opening credits end, the wordless-vocal theme song (that plays periodically throughout the film) continues over the action. As the song ends, robot Crow affects the voice a radio DJ, saying: "That was Bop-ba-dop-a-da-da by the Doodletown Pipers!"
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
vocal group founded by Ward Ellis, George Wilkins, Bernie Brillstein
Bernie Brillstein
Bernard J. "Bernie" Brillstein was an American film and television producer, executive producer and talent agent.-Life and career:...
and Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub
Jerry Weintraub is an American film producer and former chairman and CEO of United Artists. He now lives in Palm Desert, California.-Life and career:...
.
The Doodletown Pipers made numerous appearances on network television (including The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
), and worked with such luminaries as Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Frank Gorshin
Frank Gorshin
Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He was perhaps best known as an impressionist, with many guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show...
, Alan King
Alan King (comedian)
Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and...
, Mike Post
Mike Post
Mike Post is an American multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winning composer best known for scoring some of the most popular TV theme songs in the United States, for primetime series such as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, LA Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I., Hill Street Blues, among numerous...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, and Rowan and Martin. Members of the group included "Mic" Bell, Mike Campbell, Jim Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap
Jim Gilstrap is an American singer best known for his work as a session musician and his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.-Career:...
, Teresa Graves
Teresa Graves
Teresa Graves was an American actress and singer. As the star of Get Christie Love!, Graves is credited as being the first African American woman to star in her own hour long drama television series....
, Augie Johnson, Tom McKenzie and Oren Waters.
The Doodletown Pipers are considered by some to be the epitome of bland, squeaky-clean, "white-bread
White bread
White bread is made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ have been removed through a process known as milling. Milling gives white flour a longer shelf life by removing the bran which contains oil, allowing products made with it, like white bread, the ability to survive storage and...
" popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. One critic describes their music paradoxically as "dull-as-lint" yet at the same time "weirdly but undeniably charming." [] On his television program, Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
referred to them as the "Poodletown Diapers".
Development
The Doodletown Pipers' first appearance was on The Red Skelton ShowThe Red Skelton Show
The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as...
with 30 members in the group. The group was then cut down to 20 members when they opened for George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan
Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer.-Personal life:Kazan was born Lanie Levine in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of a Russian Ashkenazi Jewish father who worked as a bookie and a Turkish Sephardic Jewish mother, Carole, whom Kazan has described as "neurotic, fragile and...
at the Nugget in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
in June, 1966. The original members were Holly Mershon, Teresa Graves, Joy Jolley, Helen Sexton, Natalie Cirello, Jill McDonald, Kathy Cahill, Lynn Dolin, Pat Henderson, Karen Warren, and Linda A., Mike Campbell, "Little Ricky" Richard Doran, "Big Bob" Anderson, Gene Meyer, Tommy Webb, Russell Carson, Bill Lively, Marshall Ramirez, Emmitt Cash, and Bob Kenny. Some of the first replacements were Steve Sweetland, Jim Gilstrap, Augie Johnson, Ellie Mandel, Elaine Blakely, Lorna Wright, Pam Feener, Sharry Dore, Larry Puma, Kathy Wright, Jan Bunch, Patty "Chocolate" Banks, Samantha "Sammie" Williams, and Taffy Jones.
The group worked non-stop from 1966 through the late 1970s. They toured with Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, who was an early supporter of the group. They also opened for, among others, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan is an American popular singer, specializing in traditional pop music. Her first broad fame came in Europe....
(whose husband, Jerry Weintraub, was one of the group's managers), Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (singer)
Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
, Shelley Berman
Shelley Berman
Sheldon "Shelley" Berman is an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, lecturer, and poet.- Early life :Berman was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Irene and Nathan Berman.- Career :...
, Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
, and Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
. The Pipers also worked such venues as The Greek Theater, Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, Avery Fisher Hall, The Sands, Sahara, Flamingo and Frontier Hotels in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada.
The DTPs had two television shows. The Smothers Brothers' 1967 Summer replacement show called Our Place co-starring Jack Burns
Jack Burns
Jack Burns is an American comedian and voice actor.-Biography:In 1959, he began his career as a comedy team with George Carlin when both were working for radio station KXOL in Fort Worth, Texas...
, Avery Schreiber
Avery Schreiber
Avery Lawrence Schreiber was an American comedian and actor. He was a veteran of stage, TV, and film.-Biography:...
and Rowlf the Dog
Rowlf the Dog
Rowlf the Dog is a Muppet character, a scruffy brown dog of indeterminate breed with a rounded black nose and long floppy ears. He was created by Jim Henson....
(puppetered by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
). It was produced by Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
. The second show was six (6) one-hour specials starring the DTPs with guest-stars such as Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby
Norm Crosby is an American comedian sometimes associated with the Borscht Belt who often appeared on television in the 1970s. He is best known for his use of malapropisms and is often called The Master of Malaprop. He was born in Boston.-Career:Crosby went solo as a standup comedian, adopting a...
. They were also semi-regulars on The Roger Miller Show on NBC. They were also regulars on The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
TV show Make Your Own Kind of Music. They did a tremendous amount of television appearing on The Jerry Lewis Show, The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, and The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, (6 times, once following a promotional video for The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Hello, Goodbye"). They appeared on specials including "Rodgers & Hart Today," the Emmy-award winning Sing Out Sweet Land with John Wayne, and numerous shows with Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, among others.
While their early records had reasonable success, after they were signed by Bell Records as "The New Doodletown Pipers" by TV composer and record producer Mike Post
Mike Post
Mike Post is an American multi-Grammy and Emmy Award winning composer best known for scoring some of the most popular TV theme songs in the United States, for primetime series such as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, LA Law, Quantum Leap, Magnum, P.I., Hill Street Blues, among numerous...
in 1971, their new records met with little success.
Post-Pipers
Some of the members continued their careers after they left the DTPs. Teresa Graves became a regular on Laugh-In and later starred on Get Christie Love!Get Christie Love!
Get Christie Love! is a 1974 made-for-television film starring Teresa Graves as an undercover female police detective who is determined to overthrow a drug ring. This film is based on Dorothy Uhnak's crime-thriller novel, The Ledger...
. Taffy Jones later became a regular on The Dean Martin Show as one of the four Ding-a-ling Sisters touring with Engelbert Humperdinck and Bob Hope, and made numerous appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and of course, appeared with Dean Martin at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Taffy also worked with Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Phyllis Diller, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Wayne Newton, Joey Bishop, Petula Clark, Don Ho, Juliet Prowse, Ginger Rogers, Bill Cosby, and Red Skelton, to name a few. Steve Sweetland became a very well known European and New York voice teacher. Tommy Webb spent years touring with Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...
and Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
. Lynn Dolin worked on "The Johhny Mann Show" and had a solo career in the Christian music field. Jim Gilstrap became a legendary studio singer/contractor and worked with Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
for years (his is the first voice you hear on "You Are the Sunshine of My Life
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 pop single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his first number one on the easy listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. This song was...
." "Little Ricky" Richard Doran toured with the National company of the Tony Award winning show George M!
George M!
George M! is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were, of course, by George M...
and co-starred in the movie "Harrad Summer." Patty "Chocolate" Banks was an original member of Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
as well as Rose Royce
Rose Royce
Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B band. The group is best known for several hit singles including "Car Wash," "I Wanna Get Next to You," "Wishing on a Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "I'm Going Down".-Career:...
. Holly Mershon has continued to work as an actress, background singer, model and of all things, a professional clown, appearing recently in a festival in Barcelona, Spain with her partner. Mike Campbell is a well known jazz singer and voice teacher with CDs on Palo Alto, I.T.I., Audiophile and Celeste Records. He has opened for Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
among others, and has appeared in Japan, Australia, Sweden, and all over the United States in jazz festivals, concerts and clinics. He heads the Vocal Department at the world renowned Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. Mic Bell was nominated for a Tony Award for his performed as "Joe" in the Broadway revival of Showboat
Showboat
A showboat, or show boat, was a form of theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers . A showboat was basically a barge that resembled a long, flat-roofed house, and in order to move down the river, it was pushed by a small tugboat...
. Tom McKenzie later became a studio singer, as well as the lead singer of The Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
singing group on the U.S. of Archie
U.S. of Archie
The U.S. of Archie was a Saturday morning cartoon show on CBS from September 7, 1974 to September 1976. A spinoff of the popular Archie comic books and television show, it featured Archie, Jughead, and the other Riverdale High student regulars re-enacting famous scenes throughout American history,...
Show, and certain episodes of the Groovie Goolies
Groovie Goolies
Groovie Goolies is an American animated television show that had its original run on network television between 1970 and 1972. Produced by Filmation, Groovie Goolies was a spinoff of Sabrina the Teenage Witch...
cartoon series. Oren Waters has sung background vocals on numerous singles, albums and CDs, including those recorded by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
.
Music directors included Ed Lojeski, who is now the music director at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Westlake Village, CA, George Wilkins, who became a staff composer for Disney theme parks and music composer for the famous Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy Ruxpin is a children's toy talking bear. The bear would move his mouth and eyes while 'reading' stories which were played on an audio tape cassette deck built into his back. It was created by Ken Forsse with later assistance by Larry Larsen and John Davies. Later versions would use a digital...
toys, and Richard Bellis and John Beal
John Beal (composer)
John Beal is an American film composer working in Hollywood, California, and is notable for composing the music for numerous hit television series, such as Vega$ and Eight is Enough, as an orchestral conductor, composer of movie trailer music, and for his work with the Hollywood Symphony...
, who became successful TV and film composers.
Popular culture
The group received a publicity boost when they were mentioned in a 1997 episode of The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
entitled "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer '", also known as The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer, is the ninth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired January 5, 1997...
":
- HomerHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
: "We don't have anything in common. Look at these records: Jim NaborsJim NaborsJames Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
, Glen CampbellGlen CampbellGlen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, the Doodletown Pipers. Now look at her records! They stink!"
The group were also mentioned in season 6 of the movie-lampooning TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, the episode (episode #620) in which Mike and the bots watch the 1967 Italian spy film Danger!! Death Ray
Danger!! Death Ray
Danger!! Death Ray is an 1967 Italian Eurospy secret agent spy film. It was released at a time when the James Bond films, and spy films in general, were very popular internationally. Its original Italian title was Il Raggio infernale, which translates as "The Infernal Beam", and it was also...
. Shortly after the opening credits end, the wordless-vocal theme song (that plays periodically throughout the film) continues over the action. As the song ends, robot Crow affects the voice a radio DJ, saying: "That was Bop-ba-dop-a-da-da by the Doodletown Pipers!"
Discography
- Singalong '67 (Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, 1967) - Here Come the Doodletown Pipers (Epic Records, 19??)
- Love Themes: Hit Songs for Those in Love (19??)
External links
- Bio at tv.com
- [ Allmusic review of Love Themes: Hit Songs for Those in Love]