Beans in My Ears

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"Beans in My Ears"
Single by The Serendipity Singers
B-side "Sailin' Away"
Released 1964
Genre Folk
Length2:10
Label Philips
Songwriter(s) Len Chandler
The Serendipity Singers singles chronology
"Down Where the Winds Blow (Chilly Winds)"
(1964)
"Beans in My Ears"
(1964)
"Don't Let the Rain Come Down"
(1965)

"Beans in My Ears" is a song written by Len Chandler that was a hit single in 1964 when covered by The Serendipity Singers.

Contents

Background

The song was written and sung by protest singer and contributing editor to folk-centric Broadside Magazine , Len Chandler. After it became a hit for the Serendipity Singers in 1964, doctors protested that many children were actually putting beans in their ears so it was banned in some places such as Pittsburgh and Boston. [1] [2] Numerous public health boards reportedly blacklisted the song as well, according to Chandler. [3] "Some television shows asked us to do something different," said Bryan Sennett of the Serendipity Singers. "Understandably so--it was dangerous. Obviously, (the song) was a statement about adults not listening to children." [4] Pittsburgh radio station KDKA's program manager Jack Williams imposed the ban due to the number of listener complaints and doctor reports about children putting objects in their ears in the three weeks following the song's release on the station. [5]

Chart history

In the US, "Beans in My Ears" reached number 30 on the Hot 100 in June 1964.

Chart (1964)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [6] 30
U.S. Billboard Middle-Road Singles [7] 5

Cover versions

References

  1. Len Chandler comes to town, Rocky Mountain News, February 26, 1993
  2. G. Brown (2004), Colorado Rocks!: A Half-Century of Music in Colorado, Pruett, ISBN   9780871089304
  3. Sing Out! Vol. 15 (#2) 1965, p. 45.
  4. Brown, G. Colorado Rocks: A Half-Century of Music in Colorado. Boulder, CO.: Pruett Publishing, 2004.
  5. "KDKA Bans Novelty Disk". Billboard, June 6, 1964, p. 36.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 751.
  7. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 219.