[78-L] Dickey Doo & the Don'ts

[David Lennick]

When I was 13 or so and starting to buy records at places like Fred Roden's, I 
auditioned (and didn't buy..shmuck!) Ne Ne Na Na Na Na Nu Nu done by JONATHAN 
WINTERS. Winters didn't mean anything to me at that time and of course I've 
never seen it since. Anybody out there have a copy?

dl

Taylor Bowie wrote:
> When I was about five or six I thought that  Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu was 
> pretty cool...but it was the other side of the 45 that I really liked: 
> "Flip Top Box."
> 
> Thanks for the history about the "group" who made these records.
> 
> Taylor
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 8:20 AM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Dickey Doo & the Don'ts
> 
> 
>> http://www.answers.com/topic/dickey-doo-the-dont-s
>> Dickey Doo & the Dont's started out as a joke with a purpose. Gerry 
>> Granahan, a
>> producer, songwriter, and performer needed an alias under which he could
>> release his newest record without getting into legal trouble with another
>> record label to which he was already under contract and the alias turned 
>> into a
>> successful recording act. Granahan, born in Pittston, PA, was a musician 
>> and
>> singer who'd handled demos for Hill & Range aimed at Elvis Presley. Signed 
>> to
>> Sunbeam Records in 1957, he had a hit in mid-1958 with "No Chemise 
>> Please," a
>> novelty song that got to number 23 on the Billboard chart. His next four
>> singles stiffed, but then he found himself with a song that seemed like a
>> certain hit, "Click Clack," and a label -- Swan Records of Philadelphia --  
>> that
>> wanted to release it; moreover, with Swan behind it, the label's silent
>> partner, Dick Clark, would give it a boost on the local version of his 
>> daily
>> music showcase, American Bandstand, thus ensuring it had every chance to 
>> become
>> a hit. Granahan's different contractual relationships, with Sunbeam and an
>> earlier contract with Atlantic, however, made it risky for him to release
>> anything with Swan, at least under his own name. Thus were born Dickey Doo 
>> &
>> the Dont's, a mythical act whose name would be attached to the song "Click
>> Clack." Swan partner Tony Mammarella suggested the name Dickey Doo & the 
>> Dont's
>> as an "in" joke that obliquely referred to Clark's secret involvement with
>> Swan. The song broke out gradually and rose to number 28 during a
>> three-and-a-half-month run. With a hit behind him, Granahan now faced 
>> another
>> problem: coming up with a group to appear as Dickey Doo & the Dont's. He
>> recruited a quartet -- Harvey Davis (bass), Al Ways (sax), Ray Gangi 
>> (guitar),
>> and Dave Alldred (drums) -- to back him as Dickey Doo & the Dont's; 
>> Granahan
>> was referred to on their recordings as Richard A. Doo. The quintet proved
>> extremely popular in concert and charted more singles, including "Nee Nee 
>> Na Na
>> Na Na Nu Nu," "Leave Me Alone," and "Teardrops Will Fall," over the next 
>> year
>> and a half. By the 1960s, the group had left Swan and moved to the United
>> Artists label, where they cut two albums and remained under contract until
>> 1965. Granahan continued his extensive activities as a producer during 
>> this
>> period, working with the music of the Angels and Patty Duke, among others.
>> Dickey Doo & the Dont's have never been compiled on one CD, but their 
>> music is
>> spread among several compilations devoted to Swan Records and early '60s
>> oldies. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
>>
>> (Seems to suggest that it's only Granahan, with Alldred coming on board 
>> when an
>> actual performing group was needed.)
>>
>> dl
>>
>> Stephen Davies wrote:
>>> Yes, folks,
>>>         it's nonsense / novelty, but there still has to be a right 
>>> answer.
>>>         My Quality copy of "Click-Clack" (1958) lists Dickey Doo as
>>> co-author, however BMI lists "Dicky Doo".  Which spelling is correct?
>>> (I've even heard of a "Richard A Doo" in connection with the group.)
>>>         It is commonly understood that this is a pseudonym for Gerry
>>> Granahan, who was working for the Swan label covertly.  However, BMI
>>> doesn't reveal the author's identity.  It appears to infer that Dickey is
>>> both Gerry Granahan AND Dave Alldred, the rock and roll drummer, because
>>> they list Dicky Doo as co-author on several of Alldred's tunes prior to
>>> his connection with Granahan.  (Here's a database that could stand some
>>> more transparency.)
>>>
>>>         See the label:
>>>                 http://bigband-smallband.blogspot.com/#554436820518916381
>>>         See the BMI entry for Dickey Doo:
>>>                 http://tinyurl.com/mhupy7
>>>
>>>         The "Lee" and "Grant" (generals?) who are co-credited on
>>> "Click-clack" should be Aaron Schroeder and Jerry J Grant, respectively.
>>>
>>> - Stephen D
>>> in Calgary
>>>