THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

What Do Barry White and Frank Zappa Have to Do with “Doin the Banana Split”?

The Banana Splits — “Doin’ the Banana Split”

Here is “an absolutely batsh*t slab of heavy, funky soul [by the Banana Splits!] . . . [I]t is without a doubt a killer, and would probably be sought after if the name on the label wasn’t the Banana Splits. Dig it.” (Larry) “Doin it, Doin it, Doin it, Doin the Banana Split, y’all! Outtasight and groovy, man! LOL! Yeah!” (robertvelez8485) And the song was written by Barry White!!!

Barry White “did not perform it, and much of the lead vocal work for the music was done by Ricky Lancelotti, who was uncredited. [It] actually made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 96 on February 8, 1969.”

Rick Lancelotti? United Mutations tells us:

In the late 1960s, Rick Lancelot sang in a band called Wolfgang. . . . He also sang in a band called Sky Oats. They performed the title song of the movie Pacific Vibrations (1970). . . . Ricky Lancenlotti recorded with Frank Zappa in 1973. Results of this can be found on “Over-Nite Sensation”, “The Lost Episodes” and “Lather”. from the liner notes to Wonderful Wino, The Lost Episodes version: “The version of this song is especially notable for the presence of one of the most powerful and distinctive singers to perform with any Zappa band, the late Ricky Lancelotti. Said Frank: “He auditioned for the band, passed, went home and got ripped, and broke his arm. I said ‘Rick, you’re not going to make the tour.’ He used to carry a .45. He had a cassette in which he imitated 100 cartoon voices in 60 seconds. I thought he was really talented. He wanted to get work as a cartoon voice guy, but never did. O.D.’d. An old New Jersey tough guy.” At a particularly memorable 1972 Hollywood Palladium MOI concert (of which Zappa held fond recollections of Lancelotti singing ‘Smog Sucker”, the lion-maned vocalist favored the crowd with ferocious scat-singing whenever FZ was inspired to beckon him from the wings. Frank would open and close his hand in a gesture symbolizing a talking mouth, and Lancelotti would magically appear on stage and begin bellowing.

Donna Loguidice Barker adds:

My dad’s sister is Ricky’s mom. We all were born in New Jersey, but moved to California in the early sixties. Ricky did much more than just sing with Frank Zappa. Back in the early 70’s there was a show called the Banana Splits. Ricky had a contract with Hanna Barbara and did all the lead vocals for the show.

As to the Banana Splits, here’s Jason Ankeny:

To a preteen generation . . . the Banana Splits marked the apotheosis of such staples of late-’60s culture as psychedelia, pop art, and, of course, music. Like Archies and Josei & the Pussycats, the band was essentially nothing more than a marketing front for a collective of faceless studio musicians; unlike their peers, however, in their own unique way the Banana Splits represented the acid culture’s subtle encroachment into mainstream children’s entertainment. By employing the kinds of camera techniques, surreal set designs, and hallucinatory images more commonly associated with the era’s underground filmmaking, their television series brought the lessons of the Summer of Love to Saturday mornings . . . .

The Banana Splits were the brainchild of Joseph Barbera, one half of the famed Hanna-Barbera animation team behind such characters as the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and Scooby Doo. In 1967 Barbera was approached by Lee Rich of the Leo Burnett Agency . . . to create a program designed as a showcase for Kellogg’s . . . . Barbera . . . suggested that instead of animated characters, its hosts might be costumed performers resembling giant puppets. . . . [R]hythm guitarist Drooper was a lion, lead guitarist Fleegle was a dog, keyboardist Snorky was an elephant, and drummer Bingo was a monkey. . . .

In total, some 23 bubblegum tunes were produced for the show . . . . [T]he series’ theme, “The Tra-La-La Song,” even reached the Billboard Top 100 singles chart. In addition, Kellogg’s issued an eight-song double EP pack, available only through the company for two cereal box tops and 50 cents. The Banana Splits was a ratings blockbuster during the 1968–1969 television season, drawing an incredible 65 percent share of the Saturday morning audience. The second season, however, proved disastrous: while the Hanna-Barbera production staff filmed all new episodes, they did so without changing the backgrounds or any of the set designs, prompting young viewers to mistakenly believe that the new segments were actually reruns. Consequently, ratings plummeted, and The Banana Splits was unceremoniously axed in 1970.

Here’s another performance by the Banana Splits with the Sour Grapes!

See my website at bracefortheobscure60srock.com.