Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have discovered a spot in virtually each artistic medium on the market, from the unique caricature to TV specials, motion pictures, and Broadway musicals. So it’s not too stunning that they’ve not directly wormed their manner onto the Top 100 as properly.
In late 1966, “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” was all the rage. The solely cause it didn’t attain primary on the charts was as a result of the Monkees occurred to launch their monster hit “I’m a Believer” round the identical time. It took 4 Monkees to defeat one beagle in a shawl.
So how did this all come about, anyway? The tune was written by Dick Holler, higher recognized for the extra sober hit “Abraham, Martin, and John,” and music producer Phil Gernhard. But it was introduced on to the world’s eardrums courtesy of a band referred to as the Royal Guardsmen. Despite the identify, which they got here up with to money in on the British Invasion, they had been six children — 5 in highschool, one in faculty — from central Florida.
The Guardsmen discovered success the old style manner: in response to a 2006 interview with vocalist and guitarist Barry Winslow, they “performed proms and little dances and somewhat teen membership,” finally working their as much as opening for different acts. That’s when Gerhard approached them.
Now, in response to Winslow, Gerhard solely confirmed them the lyrics to “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” and advised them to go to city with it. That makes it sound like the Guardsmen had been the ones to provide you with the melody and orchestration, but the band itself has no writers’ credit on the tune. Another supply states that the tune was a reworked model of Dick Holler’s “The Red Baron,” which he wrote years earlier however had no success with.
Maybe anyone misspoke or misremembered. That can occur when relating occasions so a few years after the truth.
In any case, the Guardsmen hated their preliminary tackle the tune however despatched it to Gerhard anyway. Gerhard liked it, and a success was born.
And how did Charles M. Schulz, Snoopy’s creator, react to all this? Apparently, he was cool sufficient with it to attract the album cowl for the Guardsmen’s second album, Snoopy and His Friends. But no person on the music aspect of issues had bothered to ask permission to make use of his characters forward of time, and whereas they had been all understanding the authorized kinks, the Guardsmen recorded a copyright-friendly model of the tune, “Squeaky vs. the Black Knight.” This model was launched in Canada however rapidly forgotten as soon as Schulz’s crew gave their blessing.
The relaxation of the Guardsmen’s first album (additionally named Snoopy vs. the Red Baron) is generally covers of profoundly ’60s hits like “Alley Oop” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” Apparently, it’s because nobody was anticipating “Snoopy” to be such a success, so the label, Laurie Records, needed to scramble to search out sufficient materials to fill out an entire album.
Like with many novelty hits, this one was adopted by a label-enforced lack of creativity. The Royal Guardsmen’s different albums had been all suspiciously Snoopy-centric, that includes ditties like “The Return of the Red Baron,” “It’s Sopwith Camel Time,” and even “Snoopy’s Christmas,” which I personally take heed to many, many occasions each December.
Then got here “Snoopy for President,” which is cute, however truthfully, they sound drained. You can form of inform the joke had worn skinny. Once the group missed out on the probability to document “Abraham, Martin, and John,” which grew to become an enormous hit for Dion, they received fed up, and that was principally it for them, career-wise.
In 2006, 40 years after the unique tune’s launch, the Royal Guardsmen launched another Snoopy tune, which I remorse to tell you was referred to as “Snoopy vs. Osama.” It’s about as oblivious as you’re considering and much more severe than the earlier songs. It even drags hapless Charlie Brown into issues (which appears a bit out of character since poor ol’ Charlie was by no means invited to hitch in Snoopy’s wealthy fantasy life, however I believe complaining about continuity in a novelty tune is getting a bit choosy).
In the Winslow interview, each he and the interviewer check with the album this tune seems on as “unusual,” which is nearly as good a option to put it as any.
From the identical interview, as of 2006, 5 of the band’s six unique members had been nonetheless alive and nonetheless often reunited to carry out. If nothing else, it’s good to know that, not like so many different bands, they had been in a position to keep a cordial relationship throughout and after fame.
As a giant fan of kitschy ’60s pop AND a lifelong Peanuts fan, I genuinely take pleasure in the Royal Guardsmen’s discography. Songs impressed by comics are unusual sufficient that they’re at all times enjoyable to speak about, even after they’re not so nice. Fortunately, “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” is 2 minutes and forty seconds of good old style enjoyable!
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