The Playmates were an American late 1950s vocal group led by the pianist Chic Hetti (born Carl Cicchetti, 26 February 1930), drummer Donny Conn (born Donald Claps, 29 March 1930 – September 2, 2015), and Morey Carr (31 July 1932 – 1987), all from Waterbury, Connecticut, United States.[1]
The Playmates—Donald Claps (a.k.a. Donny Conn), drummer and lyricist; Carl Cicchetti (a.k.a. Chic Hetti), pianist music composer; and Morey Cohen (a.k.a. Morey Carr), lead vocalist—were an instrumental and vocal trio, from Waterbury, Connecticut, and, in the early 1950s, at the University of Connecticut.[1] After graduation in 1952, they began touring small lounges and night clubs in the United States and Canada, originally as "the Nitwits", later as the Playmates.[1]
Signed to Roulette Records in 1958 as the label's first vocal group,[2] and anticipating a Calypso craze, the group recorded an album called Playmates Visit the West Indies. They then released two notable Top 40 singles — "Jo-Ann" and "Don't Go Home" — before having a number 4 hit (July 9, 1958) with the tempo-changing novelty song "Beep Beep",[1] which became a regular feature for Dr. Demento.
The "Beep Beep" song was on the Billboard Top 40 chart for twelve weeks. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[3] Concurrently with the popularity of "Beep Beep", American Motors Corporation (AMC) was setting production and sales records for the Rambler models.[4] Because of a directive by the BBC at the time that songs did not include brand names in their lyrics, a version of "Beep Beep" was recorded for the European market, replacing the Cadillac and Nash Rambler with the generic terms limousine and bubble car.
The group followed up with a chart listing single in 1959 with "What Is Love" and then again in 1960 with "Wait For Me".[5] After four albums for Roulette, the novelty group — known for its between-song comedy and banter as much for its repertoire[1] — broke up in 1965. Morey Carr died from lung cancer in 1987.[6] Donald Claps died in Malibu, California, on September 2, 2015, at the age of 85.
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=centre | US Pop | align=centre | CAN CHUM [7] | |||
| 1956 | "Nickelodeon Rag" | — | — | Rainbow | "I Have Only Myself to Blame" | |
| 1957 | "Pretty Woman" | — | — | Roulette | "Barefoot Girl" | Calypso With the Playmates |
| "Darling It's Wonderful" | — | 12 | "Island Girl" | At Play With the Playmates | ||
| "Jo-Ann" | 19 | 6 | "You Can't Stop Me From Dreaming" | |||
| 1958 | "Let's Be Lovers" | 87 | 38 | "Give Me Another Chance" (#49CAN) | ||
| "Don't Go Home" | 22 | 8 | "Can't You Get It Through Your Head" | At Play With the Playmates | ||
| "The Day I Died" | 81 | — | "While the Record Goes Around" | |||
| "Beep Beep" | 4 | 2 | "Your Love" | |||
| 1959 | "Star Love" | 75 | — | "The Thing-a-ma-jig" | ||
| "What Is Love?" | 15 | 15 | "I Am" | Wait for Me and Other Outstanding Hits | ||
| "First Love" | — | — | "A Ciu-è" | |||
| "On the Beach" | — | — | "The Song Everybody's Singing" | |||
| 1960 | "Second Chance" | — | — | "These Things I Offer You" | ||
| "Parade of Pretty Girls" | — | — | "Our Wedding Day" | |||
| "Wait for Me" | 37 | 19 | "Eyes of an Angel" | |||
| 1961 | "Little Miss Stuck-Up" | 70 | 47 | "Real Life" | ||
| "Tell Me What She Said" | — | — | "Cowboys Never Cry" | |||
| "Wimoweh" | — | — | "One Little Kiss" | |||
| 1962 | "A Rose and a Star" | — | — | "Bachelor Flat" | ||
| "Keep Your Hands in Your Pockets" | 88 | — | "The Cop on the Beat" | |||
| "What a Funny Way to Show It" | — | — | "Petticoats Fly" | |||
| 1963 | ""A" My Name Is Alice" | — | — | ABC-Paramount | "Just a Little Bit" | |
| "She Never Looked Better" | — | — | "But Not Through Tears" | |||
| "I Cross My Fingers" | — | — | "I'll Never Get Over You" | |||
| 1964 | "The Only Guy Left on the Corner" | — | — | "The Guy Behind the Wheel" | ||
| "Fiddler on the Roof" | — | — | Colpix | "A Piece of the Sky" | ||
| 1965 | "One by One the Roses Died (Motive D'Amore)" | — | — | "Spanish Perfume (And a Yellow Rose)" | ||
| "The Ballad of Stanley the Lifeguard" | — | — | Congress | "Should I Ask Someone Else to Tell Her" | ||
| 1971 | "Dayeynu (That Would Be Enough for Me)" | — | — | Bell | "Foundation of Love" | |
| At Play with the Playmates | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | The Playmates |
| Released: | 1958 |
| Recorded: | 1958 |
| Genre: | Novelty |
| Label: | Roulette |
| Producer: | Hugo Peretti |
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