Judy_in_Disguise_(with_Glasses)

Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)

Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)

1967 single by John Fred & His Playboy Band


"Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" is a song that was a hit for the Louisiana-based John Fred & His Playboy Band in late 1967. It was jointly composed by Fred and bandmate Andrew Bernard.

Quick Facts Single by John Fred & His Playboy Band, from the album Agnes English ...

Arrangements and content

The song features strings, brass, a sitar, piano, bass, guitar, drums, breathing sounds, and dissonant string sounds. Its title is a play on, and a mondegreen of, the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". (Fred had initially believed the lyrics to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" were "Lucy in disguise with diamonds" upon first hearing the song.)[2][3]

The other members of the Playboy Band did not like the unusual slow abrupt ending with Fred intoning the final line, "I guess I'll just take your glasses."[4]

Chart performance

In January 1968, the song reached #1 in the US and became a gold record. It also hit #1 in Germany,[5] Switzerland,[6] and Australia,[7] and #3 in both Canada[8] and the United Kingdom.[9]

More information Chart (1967–68), Peak position ...

Anthony Swete version

Quick Facts Song by Anthony Swete, from the album Anthony Swete ...

Anthony Swete recorded a version which was a hit in Argentina in 1968. It stayed on the charts for more than two months.

Background

Anthony Swete's version of "Judy in Disguise" was released as "Judy Disfrazada". Backed with "Doblame, Modelame" ("Bend Me, Shape Me"), written by Scott English and Larry Weiss, it was released on Groove GS-8005 in 1968.[35][36]

Chart

As shown by Cash Box in the March 16 issue, Swete's version debuted at no. 10 on the Argentina's Best Sellers chart.[37] It peaked at no. 5 on April 20.[38][39] It was still in the chart at no. 17 on May 25.[40] If there was any further chart action for the single in the following week, it couldn't be shown as Cash Box had replaced the Argentina's Best Sellers chart with the Brazil's Best Sellers (Rio de Janeiro) chart.[41] On June 8, the Argentina's Best Sellers chart was back. There was no further chart action shown for the single in the top 20 range.[42]

With Billboard, the chart progress of "Judy Disfrazada" showed a debut at no. 4 in the Buenos Aires Top Ten on the week of April 6, 1968.[43] There was another version of "Judy Disfrazada" by Bárbara y Dick in the same chart. It was at no. 7.[44] From April 13 to May 4, there was no Buenos Aires Top Ten category in Billboard Hits of the World section so further progress isn't shown.[45][46][47][48] The Argentina section was now included in the May 11 issue. There was no charting of Swete's single in the top ten range.[49]

Appearances

"Judy In Disguise" was included on Anthony Swete's self-titled album, released on Clan Celentano BF ES LP 7021 in 1970.[50]

Other versions

Gary Lewis and the Playboys recorded a version which was released on their Now! album, released on Liberty LST-7568 in 1968. Reviewed in the June 1 issue of Cash Box, "Judy in Disguise" and "Young Girl" were noted as the album's highlights.[51]

Punk band Frank Xerox and The Copy Cats a.k.a. The Speedometors recorded a version of "Judy in Disguise". It was backed with "Rock Show" and released on Arista ARIST 160 in 1980.[52][53]

See also


References

  1. Breihan, Tom (October 26, 2018). "The Number Ones: John Fred And His Playboy Band's "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 14, 2023. With "Judy In Disguise"...Fred came up with a dizzily silly novelty song that made fun of the Beatles' psychedelic surrealism...Instead, it's a big, stiff, bouncy R&B song with strings and horns...
  2. Kasser, Tom (July 2013). Lucy in the Mind of Lennon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974760-3.
  3. "Seven things you didn't know about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"". blog.oup.com. Oxford University Press. July 9, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  4. Bronson, Fred (1997). Billboard Book of Number One Songs. Billboard Books. ISBN 9780823076413.
  5. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par F" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "John FRED & HisPLAYBOY Band" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  6. "Indice per Interprete: F" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  7. "All Japan Pop 20 charts 1967-1970". UKMIX Forums. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  8. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  10. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  11. "Cash Box Top 100 1/27/68". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  12. "AMR Top Singles of 1968". www.top100singles.net.
  13. "Jaaroverzichten 1968". Ultratop. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  14. Canada, Library and Archives (July 17, 2013). "Image: RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  15. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1968". Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  16. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1968 - swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  17. "Top 100 Hits of 1968/Top 100 Songs of 1968". www.musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  18. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1968". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  19. Cash Box, June 1, 1968 - Page 58
  20. Billboard, April 13, 1968 - Page 55 Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD
  21. Billboard, April 20, 1968 - Page 51 Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD
  22. Billboard, April 27, 1968 - Page 53 Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD
  23. My Life's a Jigsaw, Wednesday 27 April 2011 - Frank Xerox And The Copy Cats - Judy In Disguise (1978)

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