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{{refimprove|date=October 2014}}
'''The Buggs''' was the name of two short-lived soundalike bands of the mid-1960s inspired by [[The Beatles]] craze. One group had a single on Soma Records of Minnesota, and the other group (whose actual name was the Coachmen V) had a full album on Coronet Records.

==The band with the single==
In 1964, a single credited to The Buggs was released on [[Soma Records (U.S. label)|Soma Records]]. This group, actually a band called Andy & the Manhattans,<ref name=GarageHangover/> hailed from [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]], and the single was recorded at Amos Heilicher's Kay Bank Studios in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]].<ref name=RadioRumpusRoom/>

The single, "Buggs Vs. Beetles (I Want To Hold Your Hand)", is not a straight cover, but is instead a parody mocking the Beatles. The B-Side, "She Loves Me", ''is'' a straight cover of "She Loves You" despite the title change.

===Discography===
*''Soma 1413'' 45rpm single, with picture sleeve. A side: Buggs Vs. Beetles (I Want To Hold Your Hand); B side: She Loves Me (1964).

===Compilations===
*''Better Than The Beatles: 26 Tunes That Failed to Oust the Fab Four From The Charts'' (Knight (LP)) includes "Buggs vs. Beetles (I Want to Hold Your Hand)"<ref name=AllMusic/>

==The band with the album==
{{Refimprove section|date=June 2020}}
The album credited to the Buggs, ''The Beetle Beat'', was released in February 1964. It consisted of covers of Beatles songs ("[[I Want To Hold Your Hand]]", "[[She Loves You]]") with some originals, many written by Lor Crane & Joan Kingsbury ("Big Ben Hop (Sassy Sue)", "Liverpool Drag (Why Won't You Leave That Man?)", "[[Teddy Boy]] Stomp ("I'll Never Never Never Leave You)", "[[Mersey]] Mercy (You Got Me Bugged)", "Swingin' Thames (That's For Sure)", "London Town Swing (Why Can't You Love the Boy Who Loves You)", "East End (Since You Broke My Heart)", and a cover version of "[[Just One Look (Doris Troy song)|Just One Look]]" (as "[[Soho]] Mash").<ref name=Ritzen/>

[[File:Buggs album cover.jpg|thumb|right|Fraudulent assertions of English origins featured prominently on the album cover, while the harsh unidirectional lighting on a black-and-white image mimicked the cover of ''[[With the Beatles]]''. Models shown are not the band members.]]
Despite the cover displaying "The original [[Liverpool]] sound" and claiming to have been "Recorded in England", The Buggs hailed from [[New Jersey]] and the album was actually recorded in the New York/New Jersey area.

The Buggs were never a real band; rather, the album was recorded by a group named the Coachmen V from [[Bergen County, New Jersey]], under the impression that it would be released under that name. The album was produced by Goldie Goldman, who hired a songwriter to write the original tracks. Some rehearsing of the material was done in [[Nyack, New York]] at Scotty's Bar, after which the album was recorded. Band personnel included Bill Omolski on bass, [[Gary Wright]] (later to have a successful solo career with hits such as "[[Dream Weaver]]") on organ and vocals, Frank Zillitto (1942 - December 2017) on guitar, Steve Bogue on drums, and either Eddie Brick or Jimmy Carrol on lead vocals. Brick and Carrol both worked as lead vocalist for the Coachman V at different times, and it is not known which one sang on the Buggs album. Studio musician Trade Martin also played on album.

Band members were surprised (and unhappy) when they discovered that album had been released under a different band name, under false pretenses, and with models representing the band members. No royalties were ever paid, and The Buggs ceased to exist. In 1966, Coronet released ''Boots a Go-Go'' (Coronet, CX-212-A: 1966) repackaging the same ''Beetle Beat'' album from two years earlier, now with a go-go music storyline on the back cover and a picture of a go-go dancer on the front and back covers. According to the back cover, the Buggs' "go go sound" was "grown up rock 'n' roll" played at discotheques and on [[Hullabaloo (TV series)|''Hullaballoo'']]. Cleverly, no song titles were featured on the album's front or back cover so that unaware buyers would not know that this was exactly the same Buggs' music from their previous and, technically, only release. As a result, the record's label did not reference the "Boots a Go-Go" title as the original unsold ''Beetle Beat'' vinyl was simply repurposed inside.

Their influence may have been limited, but [[Devo]]'s [[Mark Mothersbaugh]] said that ''Beetle Beat'' was his first album purchase, thinking it was a Beatles album. Mothersbaugh said, "One track pissed me off so much it eventually inspired the nasty Devo song, 'U Got Me Bugged'."<ref name=Smith/> In 2009, reissue label Master Classics brought ''Beetle Beat'' to [[iTunes Store]] and other online music services, including [[Spotify]].

===Discography===
*''The Beetle Beat'' (1964, Coronet Records (UK/US), CX-212 ([[Gramophone record|LP]])<ref name=Plante/><ref name=Jason/>

*''Coral 62398'' 45rpm single, "You Got Me Bugged"/"Sassy Sue", The Pacers, 1964. Also featured on "The Beetle Beat" album.

===Compilations===
*''At The Hop'' (Coronet LP, CX-244: 1964) and ''Starring Frankie Valli'' (on Coronet's Premier label PS-9052: 1964) contain a few Buggs songs from ''Beetle Beat'';<ref name=Jason/>
* ''Discotheque'' (Coronet LP, CX-252: 1964) featured five songs from Beetle Beat. Also released in a stereophonic version, with label number CXS-252, as well as in Germany, with a band name of The Crossbrakers ([[Vogue Schallplatten]], ZS 10030 PR: Year unknown).
*''Starring the Young Rascals'' (Coronet LP, CX-283: 1966) featured two existing Buggs' songs from Beetle Beat under new titles.
*''Boots a Go-Go'' (Coronet LP, CX-212-A: 1966) repackaged the same ''Beetle Beat'' album as a go-go album.
* ''The English Sound'' (Premier LP, PS-9016: 1967) featured five Buggs songs for all of Side B, this time crediting them as The Submarine Spitfires.

==References==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name=GarageHangover>{{cite web |url=https://garagehangover.com/andy_and_the_manhattans/ |title=Andy and the Manhattans |accessdate=2019-09-13}}</ref>

<ref name=RadioRumpusRoom>{{cite web |url=http://www.radiorumpusroom.com/pages/040502_playlist.html |title=Radio Rumpus Room playlist of April 5, 2002 |accessdate=2006-03-20 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521140324/http://www.radiorumpusroom.com/pages/040502_playlist.html |archivedate=May 21, 2008 }}</ref>

<ref name=AllMusic>{{Allmusic|album|mw0001281666|Better Than The Beatles}}</ref>

<ref name=Smith>Smith, Kevin C. (2013) ''Recombo DNA: The Story of Devo''. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corporation / Jawbone Press.</ref>

<ref name=Plante>{{cite web |url=http://forbiddeneye.com/labels/coronet.html |title=Coronet Records Discography |author=Robert Plante |work=Forbidden Eye Design |accessdate=October 14, 2014}} {{better source|reason=just some guy's website|date=October 2014}}</ref>

<ref name=Jason>{{cite web |url=http://scarstuff.blogspot.com/2006/02/buggs-beetle-beat-coronet-cx-212-1964.html |title=The Buggs "The Beetle Beat" (Coronet, CX-212, 1964) |author=Jason |date=February 19, 2006 |work=Scar Stuff |accessdate=October 14, 2014}} {{better source|reason=just some guy's blog; I don't even know his last name|date=October 2014}}</ref>

<ref name=Ritzen>{{cite web |url=http://thriftstoremusic.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-buggs-beetle-beat.html |title=(the) Buggs - The Beetle Beat |author=Shepard Ritzen |date=February 26, 2015 |work=Thrift Store Music |accessdate=June 14, 2020}} {{better source|reason=Shepard Ritzen is an enthusiast rather than a professional (he's an advertising account executive) and the ref is just his blog and isn't independently fact-checked (we presume). On the other hand, he has an extensive corpus of work and is a committed enthusiast, seems serious, clearly has the source material in front of him, and as professional person with a reputation to protect it's unlikely he'd lie about this stuff on purpose under his own name for lulz.|date=June 2020}}</ref>

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buggs, The}}
[[Category:Musical groups from Nebraska]]
[[Category:Musical groups from New Jersey]]
[[Category:The_Beatles_tribute_bands]]

The Buggs - Revision history

imported>Onel5969: Disambiguating links to Just One Look (link changed to Just One Look (Doris Troy song)) using DisamAssist.