Ah, summertime is upon us. School is out. Playgrounds, parks, backyards and alleys are filled with the mirth and laughter of kids running around free and uninhibited for the next three months.
And of these many sounds of the summer, there is one universal sound that can get kids scampering from all corners of their neighborhood in a single moment of frenetic frenzy: the ding-a-ling sounds of the Ice Cream Man. For me, it was the clamoring sounds of the Mr. Softee truck. So many choices. Tough decisions.
But you could never go wrong with selecting that classic scrumptiously cool treat: The Popsicle. That familiar logo was the sign of a high quality treat that came in so many delicious flavors.
And who better to sing the praises of such a frozen delicacy than the Laurel & Hardy of rock & roll: Jan & Dean. The Dynamic Duo of summertime fun had come across some tough times in 1966 with Jan Berry’s car accident. Their record company, Liberty Records, unceremoniously dropped them from the label, but not before they cobbled together some previously released Jan & Dean tracks from their older Liberty albums and singles to put together two final Jan & Dean albums. The final Jan & Dean album for Liberty would also produce their last hit single: “Popsicle.”
Originally titled “Popsicle Truck,” this track came from Jan & Dean’s Drag City album released in 1964. The song was to be released on what would turn out to be the duo’s last album on Liberty Records in 1966. The record executives wanted to release Jan & Dean’s version of The Beatles “Norwegian Wood” as a follow-up single. Dean pleaded with them not to do it. His reasoning was that didn’t The Beatles just sell a million units of that very same song on their Rubber Soul album? (in a very special aside, Paul McCartney was once quoted as saying that Jan & Dean’s version of “Yesterday” was one of the best he ever heard).
Jan was still in the hospital so Dean was now the spokesman. Jan & Dean were no longer on the label so technically the “suits” could do whatever they wanted to do. They did however let Dean pick out the flip side of the single. Dean picked the song “Popsicle.” Guess which one became the hit? Dean could not however keep the art director from putting a picture of his own daughter on Jan & Dean’s album cover.
“Popsicle” was released as a single 44 years ago , June 4, 1966. The 45 was a return to Jan & Dean’s early doo-wop days and the song featured a banjo solo. The single just missed cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Singles charts stopping at #21. It would be Jan & Dean’s final hit single. An album was released with the single, and featured the same title: Popsicle. The album’s failure to make the charts was no surprise as Liberty Records folded shortly after it’s release.
Jan & Dean’s “Popsicle” still brims with some of our greatest summertime memories when the ringing sound of the Popsicle Truck meant neat-treats were right around the corner. So have a Popsicle today, and as Jan & Dean would say: “If you want to keep cool it does the trick/And it comes on a stick.”
