I saw the trailer for the latest Jason Statham opus, The Meg 2 last week. Another trenchant and prophetic examination of the human spirit in the face of great odds. It also features good use of the following tune...
...a song that Ann & Nancy Wilson wrote about their record company, following a bogus story released to the press about them having an incestuous relationship. No such thing as bad PR.
Anyway, all this got me thinking about Barracudas. What a great name for a band, eh? Almost as good as The Piranhas. And as with Piranhas, there's more than one fish in the sea...
THE BARRACUDAS #1
Let's start in 1964 with an infectious slice of rock n roll written by Bobby Darin...
THE BARRACUDAS #2
1965. Cantwell, Missouri. Close your eyes and imagine you're on a fairground carousel... with a guy called Pete.
THE BARRACUDAS #3
All the way from Bunkie, Louisiana in 1965, it's "the greatest sound this side of Liverpool"... or so their publicist would have you believe. Lead singer John Haas was only 15 when the band recorded their only release, which may explain why he sounds a little Chipmunky. Part of the internet believes that the song was sped up prior to release, and it should sound like this instead.
THE BARRACUDA'S #4
1965 was obviously a big year for naming your band after toothsome sea creatures. These guys were also still in high school (but flunking punctuation) when they produced what youtube describes as an "outta control stomper"...
THE BARRACUDA'S #5
One year later, these guys from Maine also needed to go back to school and Realize how to use an apostrophe.
THE BARACUDAS #6
Spelling was more of a problem for this Californian group in 1966...
THE BARRACUDAS #7
Also in 1966, in Sandston, Virginia, another bunch of Barracudas popped their heads above the water long enough to release this nugget into the world...
THE BARRACUDAS #8
Here's something a little bit different - quirky French Barracudas doing the "Boo-Goo-Loo" in 1967...
THE BARRACUDAS #9
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, there was no sleep for these guys in 1967. Drummer Peter Criss would go on to achieve fame and fortune in Kiss.
LOS BARRACUDAS #10
Over to Ecuador in 1968 for a cover of the Los Bravos hit Black Is Black, converted to Spanish...
THE BARRACUDAS #11
"Power Pop Punk Surf Garage Rock" from London in the late 70s, though their lead singer was born in Canada. Briefly troubled the chart in 1980 with the wonderful baa-ba-ba-ba chorus of Summer Fun, though today I've chosen their debut single, I Want My Woody Back. A Woody, as Gluck explains in the song, is "a car that we take to the beach". Get your minds out of the gutter.
It does sound as if #3 was tampered with
ReplyDeleteThis guy would disagree with you...
Deletehttps://garagehangover.com/the-barracudas-of-baton-rouge/
Listened to a snippet from them all.No particular stand outs for me.A terrific job though to come up with 13 bands.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started this feature, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for once discogs got involved. I only listen to a snippet of them myself (unless I find one I really like), so I'm doubly impressed if anyone else can be bothered.
DeleteThey all sound to me exactly as any band who calls themselves the Barracudas should sound - I'm not quite sure why there's that particular sonic/fish species name association but it's in there! My vote has to go to the ba ba ra ra cu cu da da band with whom I'm most familiar, #11. I'm picturing them in a Morris Minor Travellor too, we always used to call them Woodies.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the wooden doors! I get it now!
DeleteThe vocal for #5 is so bad I wonder if the single has been pressed off-centre. The Argentinian rock one is terrible, as is the Ecuadorean cover. the woody one reminds of that godawful film and soundtrack Grease. It's #7 for me
ReplyDeleteHas to be #11 for me. I saw them live a few times back in what we used to call the day, they always put on a good show. And their album "Drop Out With The Barracudas" is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteRunners up are #6 and #7