Song #196 - "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" - John Fred And His Playboy Band

Recorded - Summer 1967

Released as a single - October 1967

#1 for weeks of January 20 and 27, 1968. 

     Well, this is an interesting way to start off 1968. I've never heard of "Judy In Disguise" in my life, but on the surface, it appears to be a bubblegum novelty song. The same time period this first song was #1, Jimi Hendrix was recording "All Along The Watchtower". It just goes to show how divided pop music was becoming. I don't exactly have high hopes for "Judy...", but I'm hoping that I'll be pleasantly surprised.

     John Fred and his Playboy Band were based in Louisiana, and they actually put out their first material as early as 1958. The few songs I've managed to hear by them are all covers of blues songs such as John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'". Combine this apparent love of blues music with a garage rock atmosphere, and you have a pretty winning combination. But all good things must come to an end, and oh how they did.  

     1967 saw the garage rock genre begin to morph into two different styles. Some garage rockers added psychedelia to their music and others went for a more simple and singalong route. It was this latter style that became "Bubblegum". John Fred and his Playboy Band had certainly morphed into a bubblegum band by 1967, and when they released a song off their album Agnes English as a single, it reached a #1 pop hit the following year. 

     That song, "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)", has several of the bubblegum genre's most prominent cliches. There is a dancable chugging rhythm, a very repetitious and simple melody, and several sugary hooks. Every time the song reaches the end of a chorus and the line "With Glasses" is sung, it comes across as overly cutesy to me. Also, the melody gets really old after a while as well. If you're going to go for a simple melody, at least don't repeat it over and over again!

      I'm disappointed in "Judy In Disguise" overall as I was initially impressed during the first 20 seconds. The fact that John Fred actually wrote the song himself also impressed me. But then there was this strange "Trippy" section featuring strings and moaning vocals, and once the actual chorus started, I lost any hope that this would be a forgotten masterpiece. 

     John Fred's vocals sound a bit like early Van Morrison, which normally would be a good thing. However, you would never expect Van to sing a song that deals with oversized sunglasses. Also, what the heck is up with the song's slow and out of place ending? It sounds more like a non-sequiter than a proper conclusion to the song. Ending with a key change or adding extra harmonies would have been a stronger way to end, in my opinion. 

Final Verdict - "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" suffers from repetition, poor lyrics, and an overly sweet melody. I can't see why it was ever a hit, let alone a chart topper. It's not a terrible song, but it's not one I'd care to listen to regularly.

          Coming Up Next - "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers. 

Until Next Time, I'm Dr. Rock and I'd rather be listening to a much different "Judy song" by Crosby, Stills & Nash!