The Playmates

The Playmates were a 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); and Morey Carr (born 31 July 1932, Waterbury, Connecticut).

Career

Signed to Morris Levy's Roulette Records in 1958, they released two notable singles — "Jo-Ann" and "Don't Go Home" — before having a surprise #4 hit (July 9, 1958) with the tempo-changing novelty record "Beep, Beep" [ [http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBEEPBEEP.html Lyrics Sniff.numachi.com] ] - that became a regular spin for Dr. Demento.

The "Beep, Beep" song was on the Billboard Top 40 chart for twelve weeks. Concurrently with this song, American Motors (AMC) was setting production and sales records for the Rambler models. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864549,00.html? Time Magazine "Rambler in High Gear" December 8, 1958] retrieved on June 20, 2007] Because of a directive by the BBC that songs do not include brand names in its 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.

They followed up with a chart listing single in 1959 with "What Is Love" and then again in 1960 with "Wait For Me". [ [http://www.rockmusiclist.com/rock_plo.htm Rubin's Rock N Roll Discography Index] ]

After four albums for Roulette, the group — which was known for its between-song comedy and banter as it was for its repertoire — broke up in 1964. Conn moved to California where he wrote and performed comedy for years before becoming a successful [http://speakersrus.com/booking-directory/speakers/donny-conn-20071213120/ corporate and event speaker-for-hire] . He is also the founder of [http://conventionconnection.net Convention Connection] where he books other motivational speakers and corporate entertainment for meetings and special events.

References