Beep Beep (song)

"Beep Beep" is a novelty song by The Playmates, released in 1958 by Roulette Records (catalog number 4115) as the B-side to "Your Love".[1]

For other similarly-titled songs, see Beep, beep (disambiguation) § Music.

"Beep Beep"
One of side-A labels of original 1958 US single
Single by The Playmates
A-side"Your Love"
Released1958 (1958)
GenreNovelty
LabelRoulette
Songwriter(s)
  • C. Cicchetti
  • D. Claps
The Playmates[1] singles chronology
"While the Record Goes Around"
(1958)		 "Beep Beep"
(1958)		 "Star Love"
(1959)

Production

"Beep Beep" was written by C. Cicchetti and D. Claps.[2]

The song is built around accelerando: the tempo of the song gradually increases commensurate with the increasing speed of the drivers.[3] In his book The Guide to United States Popular Culture, Ray B. Browne lists "Beep Beep" as an example of "motoring music […] in the chase mode".[4] It is a tortoise-and-the-hare story, substituting the drivers of two unequal cars: a Nash Rambler and Cadillac, respectively.[1]

Because of a contemporary BBC directive that prohibited songs with brand names in their lyrics, a UK version of "Beep Beep" was recorded for the European market, replacing the Cadillac and Nash Rambler with the generic terms limousine and bubble car.[5]

Reception

"Beep Beep" began charting with Billboard on November 3, 1958; it charted for 15 weeks, peaking at number four.[6] After the single sold one million copies (the Playmates' only), it was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2] At the height of the song's popularity, The Playmates appeared on the December 3, 1958 episode of The Milton Berle Show.[7][8]

In December 1958, Time credited the popularity "Beep Beep" with helping Nash Motors break records. In November 1958, the company doubled its previous year's production record with 26,782 cars; Ramblers accounted for 9.2% of October 1958's automobile sales in the United States; and though "total U.S. exports slid 16% in 1958, Rambler's climbed 10.3%."[9] The "Beep Beep" song was also popular with the workers building Ramblers on AMC's assembly lines in Kenosha, Wisconsin.[10]

In 1994, a "near-mint commercial copy" of the single was valued at US$8 (equivalent to $13.8 in 2019).[6]

References
  1. Warner, Jay (2006) [1992]. "The 1950s". American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. pp. 278–279. ISBN 0-634-09978-7. LCCN 2006922018.
  2. Murrells, Joseph (1978) [1974]. "1958". The Book of Golden Discs: The Records That Sold a Million. London: Barrie and Jenkins. p. 106. ISBN 0-214-20480-4.
  3. Pica, Rae (2008). "Elements of Movement". Physical Education for Young Children: Movement ABCs for the Little Ones. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7360-7149-9.
  4. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. December 1, 1958. p. 5. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (1994). "Artist Section". Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993 (seventh ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 465. ISBN 0-89820-104-7.
  6. Rolontz, Bob (December 1, 1958). "Music as Written". Billboard. 70 (48): 7. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  7. "Milton Berle and the Texaco Star Theatre". Thomas Film Classics. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  8. Alexander, Roy; Fuerbringer, Otto, eds. (December 8, 1958). "Rambler in High Gear". Time. Vol. LXXII no. 23. James A. Linen. pp. 95–96. ISSN 0040-781X. OCLC 1311479.
  9. Giles, Diane (May 21, 2013). "Little Nash Rambler". That's Entertainment. Kenosha News. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
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