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Moments of Sitcom Rock I am one happy camper gang. I just got me a Banana Splits lunchbox! The Splits are my biggest influence… musically and visually. Look at this metal tin! They are all on it, Drooper the lion with his shiny Voxx Phantom guitar, Fleagle the drooling dog, Snorky the elephant and Bingo, the monkey on drums. This prized nugget is going up on the shelf in the music library along side my die cast Monkees mobile and “Lynard Skynard plane crash” floaty pen.
Thinking about the Splits got me thinking about all those other fab rock and roll TV moments of yesterday. Today there are some, The Simpsons comes to mind and occasionally something twisted like The Flaming Lips playing the Peach Pit on 90210 occurs but nothing like TV of yesterday. So join me as I show you some of my fave moments of "Sitcom Rock."
THE MUNSTERS
Far out Munster
The Munsters agree to rent out their house to touring rock group The Standells. When they return, they find a way-out beatnik party in progress and Herman gets in the spirit and tries out some impromptu beat poetry (The Standells, in a pre-"Dirty Water" phase, perform "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Do The Ringo").
THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW
How Not To Manage A Rock Group
In a special episode of this somewhat-forgotten series about the trials of two pairs of middle-agers and with their married offspring, the older set have a go at managing wild primitive rockers Sky Saxon and The Seeds! The Seeds are a rock band called "The Warts" in this episode written by 40-something squares that thought they were hip to ’60’s teen dialogue. The band appears throughout the episode. They play "Pushin’ Too Hard" in a living room as Sky Saxon bangs on a tambourine.
THE FLINTSTONES
Shinrock-a-Go-Go
It is the Beau Brummels in a Stone Age version of SHINDIG. The Beau Brummels are referred to, in FLINTSTONES lingo, as the Beau Brummelstones and play their hit "Laugh.Laugh" while Fred inadvertently invents a new dance craze, "The Flintstone Flop."
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW/MAYBERRY R.F.D.
Opie’s Group
Rumor has it that this was Ron Howard’s real band. The band performs a cool instrumental in the living room at a teen party. Opie and the gang from Mayberry shake some action. Groovy camera work too.
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND
Don’t Bug the Mosquitos
The Wellingtons are the same band that performed the theme song to GILLIGAN’S ISLAND in the opening credits of the color episodes. They appear throughout this episode as "The Mosquitos" (Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving), and receive billing as Les Brown Jr. and the Wellingtons. The Castaways (Gilligan and clan, not the group that performed "Liar Liar”!) also form their own bands, and rock the island. Ginger, Mary Ann, and Mrs. Howell form the Honey Bees, and perform "I Need You".
BATMAN
Hizzoner The Penguin
Paul Revere & The Raiders perform a version of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" named "Vote For Penguin". The band appears twice in a short scene at Penguin’s campaign headquarters: Once playing for a belly dancer, and once backing Penguin and two Go-Go Girls. This episode also contains the great line delivered by the Penguin to his election crew. Plenty of girls and bands and slogans and lots of hoopla, but remember, no politics. Issues confuse people. -Penguin to his election crew. No truer words have been spoken.
MANNIX
Warning: Live Blueberries!
The Buffalo Springfield performs in two separate nightclub scenes. Their music is accompanied by dialogue. Mannix a sitcom? Ok, I tried to sneak this one in but two performances! C’mon you gotta love "Bluebird" and "For What It’s Worth". It clearly is worth it, plus it has some kitsch retro dialogue.
BEWITCHED
Serena Stops The Show
Boyce & Hart guest as "howling hippies" and write a song for Elizabeth Montgomery, who as Serena, performs (rather horribly) "Blow You A Kiss (In The Wind). Boyce and Hart later perform the song on what appears to be a cloud. (The band Redd Kross would later do a killer glammed up version of this tune on their album Teen Babes From Monsanto.)
Now that was a gas! Lets do it again. In between our rock and roll sitcom epsiondes, let’s all turn on to Green Acres... Now that show has the greatest filler music… dig that crazy fuzzed guitar, anyway… Tell you what, come on by in few for a Saturday Morning party. I’ll pull out The Wombles and Lancelot Link. Set up a Pop Tart Buffet and bowls of Sugar Smacks. Whatcha say? It will be better than a Kroft Supershow.
Article by Casetta
Thanks to 60sgaragebands.com for
providing much of the information.
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