Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
Encyclopedia
"Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" is a novelty song
written
by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler
and recorded
in 1966 by the Florida
based rock
band
, The Royal Guardsmen
. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida
, and was released as a single
on Laurie Records
. The single made number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
during the week of December 31, 1966, number 6 on the UK
chart
in February 1967 and number one in Australia for five weeks from February 1967.
The Royal Guardsmen went on to record several other Snoopy-themed songs, including two follow-ups to "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" – "The Return of The Red Baron" and "Snoopy's Christmas
" – together with other tunes such as "Snoopy for President".
Peanuts
by Charles Schulz, which featured a recurring storyline of Snoopy
imagining himself in the role of a World War I
airman fighting the Red Baron. The song was released only four weeks after the first comic strip featuring Snoopy fighting the Red Baron appeared. Schulz and United Features Syndicate sued the Royal Guardsmen for using the name Snoopy without permission or an advertising license. UFS won the suit, the penalty being that all publishing revenues from the song would go to them. Schulz did allow the group to write more Snoopy songs.
The song begins with a background commentary in German: Auchtung! Wir werden jetzt zusammen die Geschichte jenes Schweins-köpfigen Hunds Snoopy und des beliebten Roten Barons singen, In English: "Attention! We will now sing together the story of that pig-headed dog Snoopy and the beloved Red Baron" and features the sound of a German sergeant ("eins, zwei, drei, vier" after the first verse), and an American sergeant (after the second verse) counting off in 4s; a fighter plane; machine guns; and a plane in a tailspin (at the end of the last verse). The song (1.46-1.54) quotes the instrumental chords from The McCoys
' version of "Hang On Sloopy
". In the original recording of "Snoopy", the lyrics "Hang on Snoopy, Snoopy hang on" were sung at this point. This led to some initial speculation that the Guardsmen were the McCoys under a different name. Prior to release, these lyrics were removed to prevent copyright issues.
The song was featured as a cover version on a children's album of the same name in the early 70's by The Peter Pan Pop Band & Singers. http://www.discogs.com/Peter-Pan-Pop-Band-Singers-Snoopy-Vs-The-Red-Baron/release/1046295
The original Canadian single was retitled "Squeaky Vs. The Black Knight" to avoid legal issues but the change was met with immediate protest demonstrations.
In the Australian airplay version, the word "bloody" was censored.
In 1973, a group called The Hotshots reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
with their cover version
of the song, performed in a ska
style.
In the 1967, the Italian singer Giorgio Gaber
recorded the Italian version of this song, "Snoopy contro il Barone Rosso".
The song inspired the title of Kim Newman
's novel The Bloody Red Baron
(1995).
" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs
, and later became the producer of singer-songwriter Lobo
. Holler's other big writing success – a notably marked contrast of styles to "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" – was the tribute song "Abraham, Martin & John", a 1968 hit for Dion
.
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler
Dick Holler
Dick Holler is a songwriter, pianist and performer. He is best known as the writer of the folk-pop standard "Abraham, Martin and John" which has been recorded by numerous artists including Dion, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Andy Williams, Marvin Gaye.-Early life :He moved with his...
and recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
in 1966 by the Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
based 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...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, The Royal Guardsmen
The Royal Guardsmen
The Royal Guardsmen are an American rock band, best known for their 1966 hit single "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron".-Snoopy vs. the Red Baron:...
. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on Laurie Records
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
. The single made number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
during the week of December 31, 1966, number 6 on the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in February 1967 and number one in Australia for five weeks from February 1967.
The Royal Guardsmen went on to record several other Snoopy-themed songs, including two follow-ups to "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" – "The Return of The Red Baron" and "Snoopy's Christmas
Snoopy's Christmas
"Snoopy's Christmas" is a song performed by The Royal Guardsmen in 1967. It continues to be played as a holiday favorite on most "oldie" radio stations, however is also often played on radio stations playing a Hit Music format as well as Adult Contemporary format stations...
" – together with other tunes such as "Snoopy for President".
Background
"Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" was inspired by the comic stripComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
by Charles Schulz, which featured a recurring storyline of Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
imagining himself in the role of a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
airman fighting the Red Baron. The song was released only four weeks after the first comic strip featuring Snoopy fighting the Red Baron appeared. Schulz and United Features Syndicate sued the Royal Guardsmen for using the name Snoopy without permission or an advertising license. UFS won the suit, the penalty being that all publishing revenues from the song would go to them. Schulz did allow the group to write more Snoopy songs.
The song begins with a background commentary in German: Auchtung! Wir werden jetzt zusammen die Geschichte jenes Schweins-köpfigen Hunds Snoopy und des beliebten Roten Barons singen, In English: "Attention! We will now sing together the story of that pig-headed dog Snoopy and the beloved Red Baron" and features the sound of a German sergeant ("eins, zwei, drei, vier" after the first verse), and an American sergeant (after the second verse) counting off in 4s; a fighter plane; machine guns; and a plane in a tailspin (at the end of the last verse). The song (1.46-1.54) quotes the instrumental chords from The McCoys
The McCoys
The McCoys were a rock group that started in Union City, Indiana, in 1962.-Career:The original members, all from Union City, were guitarist Richard Zehringer , his brother Randy on drums, and bassist Dennis Kelly. This first line-up was known as The Rick Z Combo, and later known as Rick and the...
' version of "Hang On Sloopy
Hang on Sloopy
"Hang on Sloopy" is a song by the pop group The McCoys which was #1 in America in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of Ohio and The Ohio State University...
". In the original recording of "Snoopy", the lyrics "Hang on Snoopy, Snoopy hang on" were sung at this point. This led to some initial speculation that the Guardsmen were the McCoys under a different name. Prior to release, these lyrics were removed to prevent copyright issues.
Other Releases and Cover Versions
A rare promotional record (only 1000 were pressed, labelled "Omnimedia") for the advertising arm of Charles Fuller Productions included the removed lyrics "Hang on Sloopy". It is a two-sided 7" that plays at 33-1/3 RPM.The song was featured as a cover version on a children's album of the same name in the early 70's by The Peter Pan Pop Band & Singers. http://www.discogs.com/Peter-Pan-Pop-Band-Singers-Snoopy-Vs-The-Red-Baron/release/1046295
The original Canadian single was retitled "Squeaky Vs. The Black Knight" to avoid legal issues but the change was met with immediate protest demonstrations.
In the Australian airplay version, the word "bloody" was censored.
In 1973, a group called The Hotshots reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
with their cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song, performed in a ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
style.
In the 1967, the Italian singer Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber
Giorgio Gaber, byname of Giorgio Gaberscik , was an Italian singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He was also an accomplished guitar player and author of one of the first rock songs in Italian...
recorded the Italian version of this song, "Snoopy contro il Barone Rosso".
The song inspired the title of Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
's novel The Bloody Red Baron
The Bloody Red Baron
The Bloody Red Baron is a 1995 novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the Anno Dracula series and takes place thirty years after the former.-Plot:...
(1995).
Phil Gernhard's Other Songs
Phil Gernhard, the joint composer of "Snoopy", had previously produced the original version of "StayStay (Maurice Williams song)
"Stay" is a doo-wop song recorded by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs. The song was written by Williams in 1953 when he was 15 years old. He had been trying to convince his date not to go home at 10 o'clock as she was supposed to...
" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs
The Zodiacs
Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop/R&B vocal group, active during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally The Charms, the band changed its name to The Gladiolas in 1957 and The Excellos in 1958, before finally settling on "The Zodiacs" in 1959.-Early history:Maurice...
, and later became the producer of singer-songwriter Lobo
Lobo (musician)
Roland Kent LaVoie, better known by the stage name Lobo , is an American singer-songwriter who was successful in the early 1970s, scoring several U.S...
. Holler's other big writing success – a notably marked contrast of styles to "Snoopy Vs The Red Baron" – was the tribute song "Abraham, Martin & John", a 1968 hit for Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
.