LOST TREASURES

THE HARDY BOYS

“Here Come The Hardy Boys”

By Peter Marston

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Here Come the Hardy Boys is yet another late ’60s cartoon show bubblegum album, developed by the originator himself, Don Kirschner. The project does stray from the archetype in some ways, however. For one thing, the band, although assembled for the project, was more or less a stand-alone group, rather than merely a front for studio musicians. For another, the animated characters in the television show correspond directly to the real-life members of the band, although appropriate stage names were required. The album itself is well above average and a solid addition to any bubblegum collection.

As noted above, the starting point here is Don Kirschner. Seeking to duplicate the success of the Archies, Kirschner and the animation studio Filmation decided to resurrect the Hardy Boys concept as a Saturday morning cartoon, this time re-envisioning the brothers as frontmen for a touring rock band who, incidentally have a knack for solving local mysteries. In fact, except for the band conceit, the premise is very similar to the much more successful Scooby Doo (coincidentally, both shows premiered in 1969). However, it was precisely the band conceit that Kirschner hoped to exploit on the pop charts. The band was put together by Dunwich Records and included singer Jeff Taylor and guitarist Reed Kailing as Joe and Frank Hardy, along with keyboardist Devon English (aka Wanda), drummer Rob Crowder (aka Pete) and saxophonist Norbert Solystiak (aka Chubby). Taylor and Kailing had played together in the Milwaukee-based band the Messengers, one of the first bands to sign with Motown’s Rare Earth label (a subsidiary label devoted to white acts).

The album opens with a near-title track, “Here Come the Hardys.” It’s a punchy, catchy, horn-laced piece of bubblegum, featuring lamely cheerful lyrics (“Oh boy, here come the Hardys/Oh boy, we’re havin’ a party!”) and some interesting chord changes here and there. “Those Country Girls” has a slightly rougher edge, but is still extremely chewy. The bridge sections feature especially strong vocal arrangements. “One Time in a Million” is a lovely ballad, reminiscent of the Merry-Go-Round. “That’s That” is perhaps the best (and most catchy) song on the album—every bit as good as the hits of the 1910 Fruitgum Company and the Ohio Express. “(Oh I Want You to) Be My Baby” is the requisite Bo-Diddly number (seems every bubblegum album has one) and, while the verses are entirely predictable, the chorus has a strong hook. “Sink or Swim” is another highlight, extremely catchy and silly and even features some Hendrix-ish chords (that tour with the Monkees was not for nothing, I suppose). “Namby Pamby” begins like a clone of “Yummy Yummy” (as one would likely expect, given the title) but ultimately breaks into an outstanding bridge that sounds like a supercharged Partridge Family. “My Little Sweet Pea” is inoffensive, but other than a rather tasty wah-wah guitar run, is the most disposable track on the album. “Sha La La” sounds to these ears like Jeannie C. Riley fronting the Banana Splits doing a faux calypso number, if that can possibly be conceived. The album closes with “Love and Let Live,” a gently swinging ballad that mostly sets aside the bubblegum charms for MOR cheesiness (though a vocal section in the middle of the song does evoke the Turtles fairly well).

One single was released from the album: “Love and Let Live” b/w “Sink or Swim.” Neither the single nor the album hit the charts, but nonetheless a second album, Wheels, was released in 1970. After his stint in the Hardy Boys, Kailing went on to play with the Grass Roots and Badfinger (at the very end of their career). He also portrayed Paul McCartney in one of the Broadway line-ups of Beatlemania. Crowder went on to session work with the Bee Gees, and Marvin Gaye, among others.

Here Come the Hardy Boys has never been reissued on CD or in the legit digital domain and I think it is fair to guess that it never will be. The LP is readily available on second-market sites, usually pricing at $10 or less and is also frequently posted on various music blogs.  If you

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  Peter has a new project in 2015 under the name MARSTON.   They will have a track on the upcoming “Power Pop Planet – Volume 5” compilation due in June, 2015.

You check it out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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LINKS:

WIKIPEDIA:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hardy_Boys

Blog Post:  http://www.isthmus.com/music/vinyl-cave/vinyl-cave-here-come-the-hardy-boys-and-wheels-by-the-hardy-boys/

Reid Kailing: http://www.reedkailing.com/about-reed.php

Interview w/ Joe Hardy/Jeff Taylor:  http://popcultureaddict.com/interviews/jefftaylor/

VIDEOS:

The Hardy Boys Cartoon Introduction:

“NAMBY PAMBY”

“THOSE COUNTRY GIRLS”