The Barbarians were an American garage band

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 of the 1960s with a few nationally charted hits. They had their biggest hit with the novelty single "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?".

History

The Barbarians were formed in 1964 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts by original members Victor Moulten, Bruce Benson, Ronnie Enos, and Jerry Causi. While their debut single, "Hey Little Bird" produced by Al Ham (on Joy Records) bombed, two of their next three singles (on Laurie

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...

) charted on Billboard

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

, (with "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" peaking at No. 55) and also made the Cash Box

Cash Box magazine

Cashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...

 charts. "Are You a Boy" was co-written by Doug Morris, who went on to head Universal Music Group.

They received their biggest break when featured on The T.A.M.I. Show

The T.A.M.I. Show

T.A.M.I. Show is a 1964 concert film, released by American International Pictures. It includes performances by numerous popular rock and roll and R&B musicians from the United States and England...

(performing "Hey Little Bird") alongside other artists such as The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

, The Supremes

The Supremes

The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...

, Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore is an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.- Biography :Gore was born in New York City, New York. She was raised in...

, Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

, James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 & The Famous Flames

The Famous Flames

The Famous Flames was an R&B vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd that recorded and performed with James Brown during the early years of his career...

, The Miracles

The Miracles

The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...

, and Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

.

They wore leather sandals and grew their hair longer than most of their contemporaries. One-armed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton used a prosthetic hook on his left arm, having at age 14 lost part of his arm in an explosion. Moulton was able to play drums using the prosthesis to hold a drum stick. Their minor hit, "Moulty" was a humorous and melodramatic autobiographical song chronicling the drummer's life and the loss of his hand. Moulton sings lead on the track, but the other Barbarians do not play on it. Instead, Moulton is backed by New York session musicians including members of Levon & The Hawks, later to be known as The Band

The Band

The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...

. Although it barely scraped the Billboard charts, "Moulty" would gain a cult following when it was included on Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye

Lenny Kaye is an American guitarist, composer and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group.- Early life :...

's Nuggets

Nuggets

- Music :* Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, a compilation of U.S. psychedelic rock released between 1965 and 1968...

compilation in 1972,

In 1965 Boston guitarist Geoffrey Morris replaced Ronnie Enos on lead guitar. It was Morris's arrangement of "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" that is heard on the single.

In 1967, Benson, Morris and Causi left The Barbarians to form Black Pearl

Black Pearl (band)

Black Pearl was a San-Francisco-based band that existed from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. They released two albums, Black Pearl and Black Pearl - Live! .- History :...

. The Barbarians disbanded in 1968, though not before a version of the group incorporating Denny Romans aka Demian Bell (from Maypole) as the lead guitarist and lead singer, with Walter Parks as Bass player. They combined martial arts and music by rigorously rehearsing nearly everyday at a Karate dojo

Dojo

A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...

 owned by Moulton's brother-in-law.

The Ramones' song "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?

Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?

"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" was the second single by American punk rock band the Ramones from their fifth studio album, End of the Century. It was released on May 16, 1980. This song and the album itself marked a complete change in the Ramones' sound...

" includes Moulton in its list of rock and roll figures and institutions.

Discography

45s

• "Hey Little Bird" / "You've Got to Understand": Joy J-290 (1964)
• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl" / "Take It Or Leave It": Laurie L-3308 (1965)
• "What the New Breed Say" / "Susie-Q": Laurie LR 3321 (1965)
• "Moulty" / "I'll Keep on Seeing You": Laurie 3326 (1966)

LPs

• Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl (1966): Laurie LLP-2033 (mono); SLP-2033 (stereo). Tracks: Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl / Moulty / Mr. Tambourine Man / House of the Rising Sun / Marie Elena / Bo Diddley / Memphis, Tennessee // What the New Breed Say / Take It Or Leave It / I'll Keep on Seeing You / Linguica / Susie Q / I've Got a Woman

National chart appearances

Billboard

• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl." Debuted on September 25, 1965, peaked at #55, stayed on charts 6 weeks
• "What the New Breed Say." Debuted on Bubbling Under charts on November 20, 1965, peaked at #102, stayed on Bubbling under charts 6 weeks. Did not proceed to Hot 100 Chart.
• "Moulty." Debuted on February 26, 1966, peaked at #90, stayed on charts 4 weeks.

Cash Box

• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl." Debuted on September 18, 1965, peaked at #62, and stayed on the charts for 7 weeks.
• "Moulty." Debuted on March 5, 1966, peaked at #97, stayed on charts 1 week.

External reference

• [ Allmusic entry]
• http://theband.hiof.no/albums/are_you_a_boy_or_are_you_a_girl.html -- Contains an excerpt from a 1998 interview with Victor Moulton where he confirms The Band's participation in the "Moulty" recording session.