Barnes & Barnes
Encyclopedia
Barnes & Barnes, fictional twin brothers Art Barnes and Artie Barnes (Bill Mumy
and Robert Haimer
, respectively), are a comedy rock
duo based in "Lumania", a fictional mythological civilization
(similar to Lemuria
or Atlantis
). Most of their music is standard rock
or pop
with heavy comedic
elements. They are best known for their 1978 song "Fish Heads
."
, they would shoot short films with a Super 8
motion picture camera, dubbed "Art Films". The two began calling each other "Art" in joking reference to these films.
They formed the band Barnes & Barnes in 1970. Their surname Barnes was taken from a Bill Cosby
comedy routine called "Revenge
", in which a character called Junior Barnes throws a snowball
at Cosby as a child. Originally, both Haimer and Mumy were named "Art Barnes", but Haimer's alter ego was publicly renamed "Artie" in 1979 to differentiate between them.
They first received airplay on The Dr. Demento Show
in 1978 with their songs "Boogie Woogie Amputee" and "Fish Heads
". The latter recording was released as a single on their own Lumania Records in 1979 and remains their best-known song, as well as the most requested song in the history of The Dr. Demento Show. They produced a video for the song, which was broadcast frequently as a novelty item on MTV
. The song was often misattributed to The Chipmunks
for its processed high-pitched chorus:
In 1978, Damaskas and Barnes & Barnes recorded "A Day in the Life of Green Acres," a song that combined the music of The Beatles
"A Day in the Life
" with the lyrics to the theme song of the television show Green Acres
. It was inspired by Little Roger and the Goosebumps
' similar intertwining of Led Zeppelin
's "Stairway to Heaven
" and the theme to Gilligan's Island
.
Actor Bill Paxton
appears in the videos for "Fish Heads", "Soak It Up", and "Love Tap".
In 2005, Barnes & Barnes were inducted into the Comedy Music Hall of Fame.
.
, and one album for Crispin Glover
.
Bill Mumy
Charles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor....
and Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He performed in the two-man band Barnes & Barnes as his stage persona Artie Barnes, alongside actor and musician Bill Mumy. Haimer became friends with Mumy in 1965 at his schools Halloween carnival day. Recently, Haimer has sold...
, respectively), are a comedy rock
Comedy rock
Comedy rock is rock music mixed with comedy, often satire and parody.-History:Early USA examples include Stan Freberg, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and The Platters, and Sheb Wooley whose "Purple People Eater" reached No...
duo based in "Lumania", a fictional mythological civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
(similar to Lemuria
Lemuria (continent)
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics...
or Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
). Most of their music is standard rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
or pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
with heavy comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
elements. They are best known for their 1978 song "Fish Heads
Fish Heads (song)
"Fish Heads" is a novelty song by comedy rock duo Barnes and Barnes, featured on their 1980 album Voobaha. It has often been played on the Dr...
."
History
Robert Haimer and Bill Mumy were childhood friends who occasionally performed together on their musical instruments. Following the ending of Mumy's role on the TV series Lost in SpaceLost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
, they would shoot short films with a Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
motion picture camera, dubbed "Art Films". The two began calling each other "Art" in joking reference to these films.
They formed the band Barnes & Barnes in 1970. Their surname Barnes was taken from a Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
comedy routine called "Revenge
Revenge (Bill Cosby album)
Revenge is the sixth album by comedian Bill Cosby. It was recorded live at Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, Nevada by Warner Bros. Records.-Background:...
", in which a character called Junior Barnes throws a snowball
Snowball
A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is often used to engage in games, such as snowball fights. Snowball fights are usually light-hearted and involve throwing snowballs at...
at Cosby as a child. Originally, both Haimer and Mumy were named "Art Barnes", but Haimer's alter ego was publicly renamed "Artie" in 1979 to differentiate between them.
They first received airplay on The Dr. Demento Show
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
in 1978 with their songs "Boogie Woogie Amputee" and "Fish Heads
Fish Heads (song)
"Fish Heads" is a novelty song by comedy rock duo Barnes and Barnes, featured on their 1980 album Voobaha. It has often been played on the Dr...
". The latter recording was released as a single on their own Lumania Records in 1979 and remains their best-known song, as well as the most requested song in the history of The Dr. Demento Show. They produced a video for the song, which was broadcast frequently as a novelty item on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The song was often misattributed to The Chipmunks
The Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
for its processed high-pitched chorus:
- Fish heads, fish heads
- Roly-poly fish heads
- Fish heads, fish heads
- Eat them up, yum!
In 1978, Damaskas and Barnes & Barnes recorded "A Day in the Life of Green Acres," a song that combined the music of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
"A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" is a song by The Beatles, the final track on the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Credited to Lennon–McCartney, the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions...
" with the lyrics to the theme song of the television show Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
. It was inspired by Little Roger and the Goosebumps
Little Roger and the Goosebumps
Little Roger and the Goosebumps is a pop/rock band from San Francisco active during the 1970s and early 1980s and resurrected in 2006. It has been led throughout its history by Roger Clark and Dick Bright, with various sidemen....
' similar intertwining of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
's "Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
" and the theme to Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
.
Actor Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
appears in the videos for "Fish Heads", "Soak It Up", and "Love Tap".
In 2005, Barnes & Barnes were inducted into the Comedy Music Hall of Fame.
Discography
With the exception of Soak It Up and Yeah: The Essential Barnes & Barnes, all of their original albums were released on Rhino Records. All of their rereleases were on CD, with bonus tracks, on Oglio RecordsOglio Records
Oglio Records is an American record company started in 1993 by Carl Caprioglio. They are well-known for issuing compilations of rare 1980's modern rock and New Wave songs, many of which were previously unreleased on CD...
.
- VoobahaVoobahaVoobaha is the debut album by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was originally released in 1980 by Rhino Records, reissued in 1996 by Oglio Records and reissued again in 2006 by Collector's Choice...
(1980) - SpazchowSpazchowSpazchow is the sophomore offering of novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was originally released in 1981 by Rhino Records, and rereleased in 1997 by Oglio Records. Its title means "born to suffer at the hands of women and make music" in the duo's artificial language of Lumanian...
(1981) - I Had Sex with E.T.I Had Sex with E.T.I Had Sex With E.T. is the popular name given to Barnes & Barnes' untitled first EP. It was released in 1982 on their own Lumania Records , and has not yet been re-released in its entirety....
(1982) - Fish Heads: Barnes & Barnes' Greatest Hits (1982)
- Soak It UpSoak It UpSoak It Up is the third EP released by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was released in August 1983 by Boulevard Records, and re-released in 2005 on Oglio Records. This EP was recorded as part of a project Haimer and Mumy called "Code of Honor", a collection of songs written and recorded...
(1983) - Amazing Adult FantasyAmazing Adult Fantasy (album)Amazing Adult Fantasy is the fifth album released by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was originally released in 1984 by Rhino Records, and rereleased in 2005 by Oglio Records. After the failure of their previous effort, the Soak It Up EP, Barnes & Barnes were dropped from Boulevard Records,...
(1984) - Sicks (1986)
- Zabagabee: The Best of Barnes & BarnesZabagabee: The Best of Barnes & BarnesZabagabee: The Best of Barnes & Barnes is the fifth album released by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes....
(1987) - Loozanteen (1991)
- The Dinosaur Album (1993)
- Yeah: The Essential Barnes & Barnes (2000)
- Kodovoner (2005)
- Opbopachop (2009)
Produced work
Barnes and Barnes have produced two albums for Wild Man FischerWild Man Fischer
Larry Wayne Fischer , better known as Wild Man Fischer, was an American songwriter in the outsider genre. He was notable for being responsible for Rhino Records' first release, Go To Rhino Records...
, and one album for Crispin Glover
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor, director and screenwriter, recording artist, publisher, and author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, unfriendly recluse Rubin Farr in Rubin and Ed, the...
.