We're the Banana Splits

Who didn’t want to be a Banana Split? Well, the writing team behind the TV series’ four-piece, and their songs, was pretty far-reaching – they called on Barry White, Al Kooper, and Gene Pitney at various points through the We’re the Banana Splits album. As far as “albums from the TV series” go, it’s a treat, the sound of Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snork perfectly pitched within the bubblegum pop universe; sweet songs of deep simplicity. The Ramones might have covered some bubblegum classics, but the Dickies might have bested them with their brilliantly dumb 1978 punk cover of “We’re The Banana Splits,” a hit in the UK and yet another signal that the space between punk and bubblegum was smaller than most’d think. It all makes you wish their rival group, the all-girl Sour Grapes Bunch, had recorded an album too.