The Little Black Egg
| "The Little Black Egg" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Nightcrawlers | |
| Released | 1965 |
| Genre | Folk rock, Bubblegum pop, Garage rock |
| Length | 2:45[1] |
| Label | Lee Records[2] |
"The Little Black Egg" is a song first performed by Daytona Beach, Florida garage band The Nightcrawlers in 1965.[1] It reached number 85 on the Billboard charts in 1967,[3] and has been since covered by multiple artists including The Lemonheads, Tarnation and The Cars. It was The Nightcrawlers' only hit.[4]
Original recording
Allmusic review Matthew Greenwald describes the song as a "slightly bizarre nursery rhyme", with lyrics about a rotten bird's egg.[1] The song was originally recorded in 1965 by sound engineer Lee Hazen and released on Hazen's record label Lee Records;[2] the 1965 release became a regional hit in The Nightcrawlers' home state of Florida and in the Midwest.[1] The song was re-released on Kapp Records in 1966[2] and charted nationally (reaching number 85 on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart) the following year.[3]
Other versions
Ohio punk band The Pagans recorded the song in the late 1970s. In 1981, during recording sessions for Shake It Up, members of The Cars recorded a version featuring Ric Ocasek on lead vocals.[5] The song was later stripped of Ocasek's vocals and re-sung by fashion model Bebe Buell, whom Ocasek had befriended.[5] The version with Buell's vocals was included on her 1981 EP Covers Girl;[6] the Cars' version was released on 1995's Just What I Needed anthology.[7]
Other recordings of "The Little Black Egg" include a 1991 version by The Primitives, released on their Galore album;[8] a 1993 version by The Lemonheads, released on their Into Your Arms CD single;[9] a 1966 version by The Music Explosion featuring lead singer Jamie Lyons, available on their Anthology CD;[10] and a 1997 version by the Paula Frazer-led country band Tarnation, released on their Mirador album.[11] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the Tarnation version of "The Little Black Egg" as a highlight of Mirador.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d Greenwald, Matthew. "The Nightcrawlers: The Little Black Egg". allmusic. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c Poe, Randy (September 1, 2006). Skydog: the Duane Allman story. Backbeat Books. p. 20. ISBN 0-87930-891-5.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (June 1, 2004). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Record Research Inc. p. 511. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Jancik, Wayne (1998). The Billboard book of one-hit wonders. Billboard Books. p. 223. ISBN 0-8230-7622-9.
- ^ a b Milano, Brett (1995). Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. The Cars. Rhino Records. pp. 16–17.
- ^ Buell, Bebe; Bockris, Victor (July 19, 2002). Rebel Heart: An American Rock 'n' Roll Journey. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 368. ISBN 0-312-30155-3.
- ^ Prato, Greg. "The Cars: Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology". allmusic. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "The Primitives: Galore". allmusic. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. "The Lemonheads: Into Your Arms (CD Single)". allmusic. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
- ^ "The Music Explosion: Anthology (Sundazed)". allmusic. Retrieved September 06, 2012.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Tarnation: Mirador". allmusic. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
