Bread and Butter
by The Newbeats

Album: Bread & Butter / Big Beat Sounds (1964)
Charted: 15 2
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Songfacts®:

  • "Bread and Butter" is the greatest success and longest-lasting legacy of The Newbeats. Contrary to popular opinion, they were not "one-hit wonders"; they also had three other Top 40 charting singles in the Billboard Hot 100: "Everything's Alright" (#16, 1964), "Break Away (From That Boy)" (#40, 1965) and "Run, Baby Run (Back Into My Arms)" (#12, 1965).
  • The Newbeats were a Pop trio from the Southern US, namely Larry Henley (singer / songwriter), and brothers Dean and Mark Mathis (instrumentals, backing vocals). Larry Henley is much better known for a later song he co-wrote that Bette Midler made famous: "The Wind Beneath My Wings."
  • Jay Turnbow and Larry Parks wrote this song. Turnbow was in a band called the Ivy Jives, and Parks was a drummer who toured with Roy Orbison. The pair wrote some songs together and submitted them to the music publishing company Acuff-Rose, which placed "Bread and Butter" with The Newbeats. The pair also co-wrote (along with Bob Finnicum), a few other Newbeats songs, including "(The Bees Are For The Birds) The Birds Are For The Bees" and "Hey-O-Daddy-O."
  • This bouncy little tune has since been covered by a few other groups, remaining a novelty hit in Dr. Demento-type circles. Devo (of "Whip It" fame) recorded it for the soundtrack of the movie 9-1/2 Weeks.
  • The phrase "bread and butter" comes from an old folk superstition. It's variously used as a kind of "knock on wood" charm to ward off bad luck between two people.

Comments: 6

  • Brooke from MinnesotaBeen a fav since I was very young.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm
    Larry Henley, falsetto lead singer with the Newbeats on their hits "Bread And Butter" (#2-1964), "Run, Baby, Run" (#12-1965) and "Everything's Alright" (#16-1964), died Thursday (December 18, 2014) in Nashville. The Arp, Texas native was 77 and had been suffering from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases. Larry joined with Dean & Mark (Mathis) who had a hit with their version of "Tell Him No" (42) in 1959 to form the trio, which charted ten times themselves. Larry later became a well-respected songwriter, best known for Bette Midler's hit, "Wind Beneath My Wings" (#1-1989). He also co-wrote Tanya Tucker's crossover country hit, "Lizzie And The Rainman," (#37 Pop, #1 Country) from 1975. Larry was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.
    May he R.I.P.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 30th 1964, the Newbeats performed "Bread and Butter" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
    At the time the song was at #3 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; seventeen days earlier on September 13th, 1964 it peaked at #2 {for 2 weeks}...
    {See the next post below}...
    R.I.P. Jimmy O’Neil, Shindig’s host, {1940 – 2013}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 20th 1965, the Newbeats performed "Bread and Butter" on the ABC-TV program 'Where The Action Is'...
    One year earlier on August 9th, 1965 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #56; and on September 13th, 1964 it peaked at #2 (for 2 weeks) and spent 12 weeks on the Top 100 (and for 7 of those 12 weeks it was on the Top 10)...
    The first week is was at #2, the #1 record was "The House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals and for its second week it was "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison in the top spot...
    And on September 14th, 1964 it reached #1 (for 1 week) on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart; and the song it replaced at #1 was "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals (pay back is sweet!!!).
  • Robin from Bossier City, LaMark is my father-in-law. The guys are all still kicking as of 017/16/2014! LOL Dean loves in Oakdale, LA, Mark and Larry live in Nashville.
  • Bob from Schenectady, NyI honestly thought this song was laced with clever euphemisms. The food mentioned could easily be referring to various sexual positions. Once you consider that it's difficult to look back.
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