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Harpers Bizarre

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Musicians

The Resume

    (1967-1970)
    Born in Santa Cruz, California
    Members:
    Ted Templeman, vocals, drums, and guitar
    Dick Scoppettone, vocals, guitar, and bass
    Eddie James, guitar
    Dick Yount, bass guitar and vocals
    John Petersen, drums, percussion, and vocals
    Recorded the singles ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)’ (1967), ‘Come to the Sunshine’ (1967), ‘Anything Goes’ (1967), ‘Chattanooga Choo-Choo’ (1967), ‘Both Sides Now’ (1968), and ‘The Battle of New Orleans’ (1968)

Why they might be annoying:

    They were originally known as the Tikis.
    When producer Lenny Waronker approached them about recording ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song,’ they recorded it under a pseudonym to avoid alienating their existing fans.
    Their new name was a play on the fashion magazine ‘Harper’s Bazaar.’
    Their singles were all cover songs.
    They recorded the theme song for Rick Nelson’s short-lived TV series ‘Malibu U.’

Why they might not be annoying:

    Petersen had previously been a member of the Beau Brummels.
    The complex, multi-layered vocal harmonies on ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’ were arranged by Leon Russell.
    They managed to slip a drug reference (‘do another number down in Carolina’) into their version of ‘Chattanooga Choo-Choo,’ which topped the Billboard Easy Listening singles chart.
    Returning to San Francisco after a concert in Pasadena, they were passengers on a TWA flight that was hijacked (October 31, 1969), which Scoppettone later joked was ‘the best publicity we ever had, by a mile.’
    Templeman became a successful record producer and helped launch the careers of Nicolette Larson, the Doobie Brothers, and Van Halen.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 9 Votes: 11.11% Annoying