The Playmates

The Playmates—Donald Claps (a.k.a. Donny Conn), drummer and lyricist; Carl Cicchetti (a.k.a. Chic Hetti), pianist music composer; and Morey Cohen (a.k.a. Morey Carr), lead vocalist—were an instrumental and vocal trio, from Waterbury, Connecticut, and, in the early 1950s, at the University of Connecticut.[1] After graduation in 1952, they began touring small lounges and night clubs in the United States and Canada, originally as "the Nitwits", later as the Playmates.[1]

Signed to Roulette Records in 1958 as the label's first vocal group,[2] and anticipating a Calypso craze, the group recorded an album called Playmates Visit the West Indies. They then released two notable Top 40 singles — "Jo-Ann" and "Don't Go Home" — before having a number 4 hit (July 9, 1958) with the tempo-changing novelty song "Beep Beep",[1] which became a regular feature for Dr. Demento.

The "Beep Beep" song was on the Billboard Top 40 chart for twelve weeks. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[3] Concurrently with the popularity of "Beep Beep", American Motors Corporation (AMC) was setting production and sales records for the Rambler models.[4] Because of a directive by the BBC at the time that songs did not include brand names in their lyrics, a version of "Beep Beep" was recorded for the European market, replacing the Cadillac and Nash Rambler with the generic terms limousine and bubble car.

The group followed up with a chart listing single in 1959 with "What Is Love" and then again in 1960 with "Wait For Me".[5] After four albums for Roulette, the novelty group — known for its between-song comedy and banter as much for its repertoire[1] — broke up in 1965. Morey Carr died from lung cancer in 1987.[6] Donald Claps died in Malibu, California, on September 2, 2015, at the age of 85.

• The Playmates discography at Discogs