Fun Facts:
In 1961, Barry Mann recorded "Who Put the Bomp," a song he wrote with his wife Cynthia Weil. Mann is more well-known as a composer for films, having written the music for songs such as "Somewhere Out There." Who was that Mann?
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight" was derived from a song called "Mbube" (Zulu for "lion") which was written and recorded by Solomon Linda and The Evening Birds in 1939. In The Tokens' 1961 version, the chorus "Wimoweh" is a mishearing of the original song's lyric "uyimbube" (meaning "you're a lion").
"In the Still of the Nite" was recorded by The Five Satins in the basement of a church in their hometown of New Haven, Connecticut while Fred Parris was on leave from the Army.
"Monster Mash" is arguably the most successful novelty song of all time. On October 20, 1962, the original release hit #1 in the U.S. The song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on August 29, 1970, peaking at #91, and then again on May 5, 1972, when it went all the way to #10. Besides 4 Ever Young, other artists who have covered "Monster Mash" include The Beach Boys, The Misfits, Mannheim Steamroller, and Sha-Na-Na.
"Blue Moon" was originally written by Rodgers and Hart in 1934, but the famous doo-wop version by The Marcels became an international number-one hit in 1961.
The Beach Boys' iconic 1965 release "Barbara Ann" was actually a cover of the Regents' doo-wop version released in 1961. Although the Beach Boys can be heard laughing at their mistakes, the flubs were left in to add to the fun and casual feeling of the song.