Barnes & Barnes are an American musical duo, formed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1970. Though commonly associated with

novelty music A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...

and

comedy rock Comedy rock is rock music that is comedic in nature. Oftentimes it is mixed with satire or irony.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul'' (Backbeat Books, 3rd Edition. ...

, their music has also incorporated elements of new wave,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

. The duo formed in 1970 by high school classmates

Bill Mumy Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, and musician and a figure in the science-fiction community/comic book fandom. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor, which included television appeara ...

and

Robert Haimer Robert Haimer (born March 2, 1954) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Haimer performs in the two-man band Barnes & Barnes as his stage persona Artie Barnes, alongside actor and musician Bill Mumy. Barnes & Barnes are best known for ...

, originally as a private home recording project. By 1978, Barnes & Barnes had gained public recognition with the radio debut of their novelty song "

Fish Heads Fish heads, either separated or still attached to the rest of the fish, are sometimes used in culinary dishes, or boiled for fish stock. Anatomy The head of a fish includes the snout, from the eye to the forward most point of the upper jaw, t ...

," on the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

nationally syndicated '' Dr. Demento Show''. When recording or performing as Barnes & Barnes, Mumy and Haimer adopt the personae of Art Barnes and Artie Barnes, respectively; twin brothers from the fictional civilization of Lumania, existing in an alternate dimension complete with its own language and customs.

History

Robert Haimer and Bill Mumy were childhood friends who occasionally performed together on their musical instruments. Following the ending of Mumy's role on the TV series ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'', they shot short films with a

Super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction fi ...

motion picture camera, dubbed "Art Films". The two began calling each other "Art" in joking reference to these films. They formed the band Barnes & Barnes in 1970. They started when they were about 16 with a two track recorder, making goofy tracks, never meant to be shared. Their surname ''Barnes'' was taken from a

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...

comedy routine called "

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

", in which a character called Junior Barnes throws a slushball at Cosby as a child. Originally, both Haimer and Mumy were named "Art Barnes", but Haimer's alter ego was publicly renamed "Artie" in 1979 to differentiate between them. They first received airplay on '' The Dr. Demento Show'' in 1978. Haimer was a fan of the show and convinced Mumy to "pick a couple of songs and do them right" to send in, the results being their songs "Boogie Woogie Amputee" and "

" which they re-did on a

Teac TEAC may refer to: * TEAC Corporation () is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. TEAC was created by the merger of the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company, founded in 1953, and the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, founded in 1956. Overview ...

four track machine. The latter recording was released as a single on their own Lumania Records in 1979 and remains their best-known song, as well as the most requested song in the history of ''The Dr. Demento Show''. In 1978, Damaskas and Barnes & Barnes recorded "A Day in the Life of Green Acres," a song that combined the music of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

" A Day in the Life" with the lyrics to the theme song of the television show ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadcast on ...

''. It was inspired by

Little Roger and the Goosebumps Little Roger and the Goosebumps is a pop/rock band from San Francisco active during the 1970s and early 1980s and resurrected in 2006. It has been led throughout its history by Roger Clark and Dick Bright, with various sidemen. The band is best k ...

' similar intertwining of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

" and the theme to ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

''.

Discography

With the exception of ''Soak It Up'' and ''Yeah: The Essential Barnes & Barnes'', all of their initial albums were released on

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

. All of their '90s rereleases were on CD, with bonus tracks, on

Oglio Records Oglio Records is an American record company started in 1993 by Carl Caprioglio. The label issues compilations of rare 1980s modern rock and new wave songs, many previously unreleased on CD. In addition to releasing new material by artists such ...

. * '' Voobaha'' (1978) * ''

Spazchow Spazchow is the title of the second album of American comedy rock group Barnes & Barnes, originally released in 1981 by Rhino Records and re-released in 1997 by Oglio Records. Origins The title means "born to suffer at the hands of women and mak ...

'' (1981) * ''Barnes & Barnes'' (EP; 1982) * ''

: Barnes & Barnes' Greatest Hits'' (compilation EP; 1982) * '' Soak It Up'' (EP; 1983) * ''Code of Honor'' (intended for release 1983; material included in ''Kodovoner'' in 2005) * '' Amazing Adult Fantasy'' (1984) * '' Sicks'' (1986) * '' Zabagabee: The Best of Barnes & Barnes'' (compilation; 1987) * ''Hictabur'' (intended for release 1988, released 2016) * '' Loozanteen'' (1991) * ''The Dinosaur Album'' (1993) * ''Yeah: The Essential Barnes & Barnes'' (compilation; 2000) * ''Kodovoner'' (2005) * ''Opbopachop'' (2009) * ''Holidaze in Lumania'' (2018) * ''Creepy Scary'' (2019) * ''Pancake Dream'' (2021) * ''Haimoom'' (2022)

Produced work

Barnes and Barnes have produced two albums for

Wild Man Fischer Lawrence Wayne "Wild Man" Fischer (November 6, 1944 – June 16, 2011) was an American street performer known for offering erratic, a cappella performances of "new kinds of songs" for a dime on the beaches and the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. ...

and one album for

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors'' ...

References

''emmytvlegends.org - Bill Mumy discusses the Barnes and Barnes song Fish Heads''

External links

Official website (offline, from Internet Archive)

Bill Mumy's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes and Barnes Rock music groups from California American comedy musical groups Comedy rock musical groups American novelty song performers