- 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 (born31 July 1932 , Waterbury,Connecticut ).Career
Signed to
Morris Levy 'sRoulette 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-changingnovelty record "Beep, Beep" [ [http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiBEEPBEEP.html Lyrics Sniff.numachi.com] ] - that became a regular spin forDr. 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 theBBC that songs do not includebrand names in itslyrics , a version of "Beep Beep" was recorded for theEurope an market replacing theCadillac andNash Rambler with the generic termslimousine andbubble 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
album s for Roulette, the group — which was known for its between-songcomedy and banter as it was for its repertoire — broke up in 1964. Conn moved toCalifornia 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
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