The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)

In 1979 "The Tra La La Song" was made a Top 10 radio hit in the United Kingdom by the American punk band The Dickies, whose label marketed the tune as "Banana Splits."

"The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)" was written by N. B. Winkless, Jr. on a rickety piano in the living room of a house in Kenilworth, Illinois. Winkless had many years experience as a jingle writer at Leo Burnett Advertising Agency (Good Morning, Good Morning for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and the Snap, Crackle, Pop song for Rice Krispies, among dozens of others.) For contractual reasons, credit for the Tra-La-La goes to Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan; Barkan was one of the music directors for the show. Mark Barkan and Ritchie Adams to be the theme song for the children’s television program The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.[1]

Originally released in 1968 by Decca Records on the album titled We're the Banana Splits, the single release peaked at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 8, 1969.[2]

In 1995, Hollywood Library released the 1,000-copy limited-edition CD reissue We're the Banana Splits/Here Come the Beagles which, in addition to the original album version, includes an alternate version on the song.[3]

Cover versions

Cal Tjader covered the song in 1969 as "Tra La La Song", which appears on his album Plugs In.

American punk rock band The Dickies made the song a hit in the United Kingdom in 1979 with their cover version, marketed by A&M Records as "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)". The record reached #7 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] This cover version was later used in the 2010 film Kick-Ass.[5]

The 1983 Bob Marley song, Buffalo Soldier has a bridge (with the lyrics woy! yoy! yoy!) similar to the chorus of the Banana Splits' "The Tra-La-La Song". There has never been any litigation connected to the similarity.[6]

A cover of "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)", performed by Liz Phair with Material Issue, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.[1]

Children's music group Ralph's World covered the song on their 2002 album At the Bottom of the Sea.

References

  1. 1 2 CD liner notes: Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records
  2. ↑ The Billboard Hot 100 Chart Listing for Week Ending February 8, 1969, Billboard.com
  3. ↑ Discography - The Banana Splits & the Beagles - We're the Banana Splits/Here Come the Beagles, Billboard.com
  4. ↑ Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 7th Edition
  5. ↑ "Soundtracks: Kick Ass (2010)," Internet Movie Data Base, www.imdb.com/
  6. ↑ Adam Conner-Simons, "Picking Up What They're Laying Down," Gelf Magazine, July 24, 2007.
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