''Daddy Who?... Daddy Cool'' is the 1971 debut album by Australian rock band Daddy Cool.

Release and promotion

Released in July, 1971 it was the first on

Robie Porter Robert George Porter (4 June 1941 – 16 December 2021) was an Australian country and pop-rock musician, producer and record label owner. Beginning in 1959, he performed under the stage name Rob E.G. and recorded lap steel guitar instrum ...

's Sparmac label. It was also the first Australian-recorded album to make No. 1 nationally and it stayed at #1 for seven weeks. Smashing all previous sales records, it achieved gold status within a month, and an unprecedented 60,000 copies sold in its initial release. It went on to become the first Australian LP to sell more than 100,000 copies. The album was originally issued in a textured cover and featured a cartoon rendering of band members by Melbourne artist Ian McCausland which became the group's logo. While Daddy Cool's guitarist,

Ross Hannaford Ross Andrew Hannaford (1 December 1950 – 8 March 2016) was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best kn ...

, was responsible for overall album cover design, McCausland created the band's graphics and much of their visual image. The original songs on the album were written by guitarist and vocalist Ross Wilson except "Bom Bom", which was co-written with Hannaford. The rest of the album contained 1950s R&B covers - The Rivals' "Guided Missiles", Etta James' "Good Rockin' Daddy",

Marvin & Johnny Marvin & Johnny were an American doo-wop duo which recorded in the 1950s. The duo comprised Marvin Phillips (born October 23, 1931) and Emory "Johnny" Perry (March 1, 1928 - January 6, 2011), who recorded the early doo-wop single, "Cherry Pie". ...

's " Cherry Pie", The Rays' " Daddy Cool" and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

's " School Days". ''Daddy Who?... Daddy Cool'' was also released in the US on the Warner/

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

label and the band toured in support of its release. Two singles were lifted from the album: " Eagle Rock" No. 1 on the Australian national singles chart and " Come Back Again" which reached No. 3. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

created their own charts in mid-1988. The album was re-issued in 1975 (with different sleeve under the title ''Daddy Who? Daddy Gold!'') on Wizard Records (also owned by Porter) and in 1982, with the original artwork but non-gatefold sleeve. The Australian release on Sparmac Records contains different tracks to the US version on Reprise which was released five months later. The Australian album includes the tracks "Good Rockin' Daddy" and "Cherry Pie" not found on the Reprise edition which features "Flip", "Lollipop" and "Just As Long As We're Together" instead.

Critical reception

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' critic Robert Christgau reacted negatively to the band's take on 1950s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

, writing in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981) that "imitating it isn't re-creating it—it's killing it." In October 2010, ''Daddy Who? Daddy Cool'' was listed at No. 14 in the book, '' 100 Best Australian Albums''.

Track listing

All songs written by Ross Wilson unless otherwise indicated. ;Australian release :;Side one # " Daddy Cool" (

Frank Slay Frank Conley Slay Jr. (July 8, 1930 – September 30, 2017) was an American songwriter, A&R director, record producer, and record label owner. He wrote with Bob Crewe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs includ ...

, Bob Crewe) - 2:31 # " School Days" (

) - 3:03 # "Come Back Again" - 4:51 # "At The Rockhouse" - 3:42 # "Guided Missile" (Alfred Gaitwood) - 3:02 # "Good Rockin' Daddy" ( Richard Berry, Joseph Bihari as "Joe Josea") - 2:21 :;Side two # " Eagle Rock" - 4:07 # "Zoop Bop Gold Cadillac" - 3:56 # "Blind Date" - 4:12 # "Bom Bom" (Ross Wilson,

) - 2:34 # " Cherry Pie" ( Joseph Bihari as "Joe Josea",

Marvin Phillips Marvin Phillips (born December 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the KW Titans of the National Basketball League of Canada. He most notably won the NBL Canada Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 201 ...

) - 3:40 ;US release :;Side one # " Daddy Cool" (

, Bob Crewe) - 2:31 # " School Days (Ring Goes The Bell)" (

) - 3:03 # "Come Back Again" - 4:51 # "At The Rockhouse" - 3:42 # "Guided Missile" (Alfred Gaitwood) - 3:02 # "Flip" (Carl Green) - 2:26 :;Side two # " Eagle Rock" - 4:07 # "Zoop Bop Gold Cadillac" - 3:55 # "Blind Date" - 4:12 # "Bom Bom" (Ross Wilson/

) - 2:34 # "

Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are ava ...

" ( Beverly Ross, Julius Dixon) - 1:36 # "Just As Long As We're Together" - 2:32

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

Daddy Cool members * Wayne Duncan - bass guitar, vocals *

- guitar, vocals * Ross Wilson - vocals, guitar, harmonica * Gary Young- drums, vocals Additional personnel *

– piano, steel guitar * Jeremy Noone – saxophone * Dave Brown – tenor saxophone, flute Additional credits * Robie Porter – producer * Roger Savage – engineer * Ross Hannaford – cover design * Ian McCausland – cover graphics

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1971 debut albums Daddy Cool (band) albums Warner Records albums Reprise Records albums Sparmac albums Albums produced by Robie Porter