Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans' funky, modern update of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the Disney feature Song of the South landed the group in the Top Ten in 1962. The Phil Spector-produced group, comprised of Robert Sheen and two-thirds of the Blossoms, scored two more hits the following year with songs Spector co-wrote: "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts?" and "Not Too Young to Get Married." All three hits are included on the group's sole album, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, a 12-song platter consisting of a number of high-quality girl group recordings and a few odd departures like the rock & roll instrumental "Dr. Kaplan's Office" and an inexplicable cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." Curiously, Sheen (aka Bob B. Soxx) is the nominal head of the group, but is hardly in evidence except on the bluesy "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" and "Dear (Here Comes My Baby)," the latter of which highlights his vocal resemblance to Clyde McPhatter. "Baby (I Love You)" became a hit for the Ronettes in 1963, and the cover of "The White Cliffs of Dover" is either album filler, a rehash of the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" formula, or both. Listeners with a pointed interest in girl groups shouldn't be discouraged by the group's name, since Sheen/"Soxx" is mostly inaudible and Spector's production and songwriting contributions dominate. ~ Greg Adams