“The Sensational Batboys”

c. 2017 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(6-17)

“POW! WHAM! HOLY SMOKE! BLAM! AAARGH! BAP! UGH! ZOWIE!”

‘Batman Theme’ - the album, was apparently released in 1966. (Design, DLP-249) For this writer, only five years old at the time, the record would provide inspiration of a sort that outlasted the ABC-TV series, my childhood and the 20^th Century.

As a kid, listening to records on my own was a high privilege.

Whenever I could commandeer the family Slivertone ‘Hi-Fi’ for a personal session, my sense of accomplishment soared. But I quickly grew tired of the Disney songs that had been procured for my use. Surreptitiously, I would dip into my father’s vinyl stash. It was a moment of gained awareness that led me down the path toward distant adulthood.

The diversity of his records indicated an open mind on music and culture. He had recorded work by Little Richard, Fats Domino, Spike Jones, Woody Guthrie… even Andy Griffith. I soaked up each ration of sound with the eagerness of a youthful student. At school, teachers and friends would talk about pop songs of the day. When asked for my own favorites, some of these names would resound in response. I often got long stares and deep breaths in return. Heads would shake.

“Where did you come from?” was a question I heard over and over again.

I have no idea why or when the Batman relic entered our household collection. Though it seems likely that my father saw it in the bargain bin somewhere and thought it would provide a detour from the typical children’s fare in our record rack. I am not sure if my brother or sister paid much attention to the LP. But for me, it had a lasting impact. Along with Frankie Stein And His Ghouls ‘Monster Melodies’ which was a horror-themed collection, I gained much by listening and learning.

Frankie Stein had been another ‘novelty’ act, which ran a bit longer in duration. At least five albums and numerous 45s were released under this pseudonym. The music was timely and very upbeat. From an adult perspective, I treasured each track of garage-band goodness. A classic formula was in employed: guitar, bass, drums and saxophone. Some compositions were obvious clones of Beatles tunes. Hoots, growls, shrieks, chain-rattles and ominous thuds accompanied each song. It was faux-spooky and minimal, but worked. At the age of five, I snickered over being allowed to listen at all. Some five decades later, I smiled with nostalgic pride.

In that bygone era, it was a common practice to release such ‘knock-off’ albums that were inspired by popular groups, programs, movies, dances, fads and any sort of youthful rebellion. These vinyl platters often had little or no actual connection to the subject at hand. They offered instrumental tunes with fanciful titles. And group names artfully created out of thin air to disguise studio musicians who cranked out the product for a quick dollar. The music contained in these grooves could vary in quality, depending on the company responsible.

The ‘Batboys’ sounded like a capable group of musicians-for-hire, recruited to fulfill the concept. Yet their work captured the campy vibe of the television series with authenticity. Especially for young listeners.

Neal Hefti had provided the template, with a theme score that was iconic because of its simplicity. The song was covered by many groups and artists of the period – everyone from Nelson Riddle to Link Wray. Literally interpreted and re-interpreted by dozens of popular acts. The ‘Batboys’ version may have offered little more than a footnote to the craze inspired by Adam West and Burt Ward on television. But at the age of five, I was content to listen and enjoy.

The track listing read like titles from an episode of the series:

Batman Theme 2:00

Mighty Mayhem 1:59

Cheatin’ Charlie 3:26

Uppercut Blues 1:58

Fight Flight 3:09

The Villain Strikes 2:12

Out With The In Crowd 2:11

Behind The 8 Ball 2:13

Mars Visitor 2:20

It’s Murder! 2:27

Though childhood habits soon disappeared with my own march toward puberty, the Batman record retained its influence. This album had two important effects on my own listening habits as I grew older. First, I was inspired to seek out instrumental recordings by ‘real’ groups and performers. The Ventures, Shadows, Tornados, Marketts, Chantays, Duane Eddy, Link Wray and Davie Allan & The Arrows. A second inclination was to collect the sort of album which the ‘Sensational Batboys’ release represented. The kind of quick-money, ‘fad’ LPs that seemed most prevalent in 1960’s culture.

While many of these records were forgettable if entertaining, some, like the De-fender’s ‘Drag Beat’ achieved a sort of iconic obscurity. This group featured legendary studio hawk Tommy Tedesco, a guitarist of much renown. I used to read his monthly column in Guitar Player Magazine.

My New York friend and collector guru Paul Race, Jr. had been in a local group called ‘The Savoys.’ (They were famously so named for a Plymouth automobile.) Paul offered a great deal of insight and information on the genre, which crested just before the historic ‘British Invasion’ of popular music. Unlike other, more pretentious friends, he found nothing askew in my retained passion for the quirky Batman LP.

Many years after the album first entered my consciousness, I found blog posts and You Tube clips relating to the release. Only then did I realize that other souls had been equally touched by this odd relic.

Much like the ‘Bat Signal’ depicted in the original comic series, this vinyl artifact had sent out a beacon of Rock & Roll hope to listeners around the world. One which, for myself, had echoed since that primal day of discovery in 1966.

Links:

“Batman Theme” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjtMQ91l1vs

“Uppercut Blues” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAb9yDyvfPc

“Cheatin’ Charlie” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrNwCwOlujM

“The Villain Strikes” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYE49fTz110

W.O.J. Blog Post - http://wayoutjunk.blogspot.com/2007/03/batman-theme-by-bat-boys.html

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