"Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" is a song written by Irving Taylor and performed by Edward Byrnes and

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

. The single was produced by

Karl Engemann Karl Engemann is an American record industry executive, producer, and entertainment industry personal manager. An A&R manager at Capitol Records, he managed The Osmonds and broadcaster Larry King. He continues to manage the careers of Shawn Kin ...

and arranged by Don Ralke, and was featured on Byrnes' 1959 album, ''Kookie Star of "77 Sunset Strip"''.

Background

It was based on Byrnes' character from the television show, ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

''. The song is mostly spoken, except when Kookie sings the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

section: "I've got smog in my noggin' ever since you made the scene...", and makes use of

Beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the under ...

slang. Connie continually interrupts him, asking him to lend her his comb. When he finally asks her, "What's with this comb caper, baby?...", she says she wants him to stop combing his hair and kiss her. Kookie likes the sound of that, ending up saying, "Baby, you're the ginchiest!".

Chart performance

It reached No. 4 on the U.S. pop chart, No. 27 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and No. 30 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1959, and ranked No. 37 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1959.

Other versions

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

released a version of the song on his 1960 album ''60 Years of "Music America Hates Best"''. *

We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It!!, often shortened to Fuzzbox, are a British alternative rock group. Formed in Birmingham in 1985, the all-female then quartet originally consisted of Vix (Vickie Perks), Magz (Maggie Dunne), Jo Dunne ...

released a version of the song on their 1986 album ''The Vindaloo Summer Special''. *The band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...

performed an a cappella version of the song with Byrnes on an episode of the sitcom '' Married... with Children''.

References

1959 songs 1959 singles Connie Stevens songs Songs written by Irving Taylor (songwriter) Spike Jones songs Warner Records singles {{1950s-single-stub