Baby Talk (Jan and Dean song)
"Baby Talk" is a 1959 song by Jan and Dean which was a Top 10 hit for them on Dore Records. Jan Berry worked on the song with friends and Dore Records staffers Lou Adler and Herb Alpert.[1] Alpert recalled recording the song in Jan's garage.[2] The song spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at No. 10,[3] while reaching No. 28 on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides.[4] While not usually considered part of the "surf pop" genre, it contains many elements of what would become the signature sound of southern California in the early '60s such as the close vocal harmonies combined with falsetto sounds.
| "Baby Talk" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Jan and Dean | ||||
| from the album The Jan & Dean Sound | ||||
| B-side | "Jeanette Get Your Hair Done" | |||
| Released | May 1959 | |||
| Recorded | 1959 | |||
| Genre | Doo-wop, California Sound | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | Dore | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Melvin Schwartz | |||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler, Herb Alpert | |||
| Jan and Dean singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Original pressings of the single were mislabeled as by "Jan & Arnie"; this was later corrected.
The song was originally released as a single in 1959 by The Laurels on Spring Records, though their version failed to chart.[5]
In 1962, Jan & Dean released a sequel to the song, entitled "She's Still Talking Baby Talk".
References
- "Jan and Dean". History-of-rock.com. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
- Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 20 - Forty Miles of Bad Road: Some of the best from rock 'n' roll's dark ages. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- Hot 100 - Jan & Dean Baby Talk Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Jan & Dean Baby Talk Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- Leszczak, Bob (2014). Who Did It First?: Great Pop Cover Songs and Their Original Artists, Rowman & Littlefield. p. 16. Retrieved February 11, 2018.