Herman's Hermits are an English pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester and fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. At the pinnacle of their popularity in 1965, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the US Billboard chart, and reached number one with the singles "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am". Their other international hits include "I'm Into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Silhouettes", "Wonderful World", "A Must to Avoid", "There's a Kind of Hush", "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving", "Something's Happening" and "My Sentimental Friend", all of which were produced by Mickie Most. They also appeared in four films, two of which were vehicles for the band.
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He was the lead singer "Herman" in the 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits.
Rak Records is a British record label, founded by record producer Mickie Most in 1969. Rak was home to artists such as Herman's Hermits, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Kenny, Hot Chocolate, Smokie, Arrows, Span, Racey and Kim Wilde. Rak Records were distributed via a licensing deal with EMI Records, which bought the company and its master recordings from Most in 1983. Most kept the company name and his RAK Studios, which still exists in St. John's Wood along with Rak Publishing. The latter company represents artists such as Joan Jett, Ben Taylor and KK. In 1986, Most defected the label from EMI to PRT Records which handled the last releases until February 1988. Owing to the records not being hits, the label folded. However, 26 years later in late 2014, Rak Records was revived as a label for new artists releasing both downloads and 7-inch vinyl in the form of a singles club. The Cadbury Sisters, Trojanhorse, and Beautiful Boy were the new signings. They recorded their own original songs as the A-sides, and covered a classic Rak artists cover as the B-side. The Cadbury Sisters covered Steve Harley's 1975 classic "Make Me Smile ", Trojan Horse did Cozy Powell's "Dance With The Devil", and Beautiful Boy did "Kids In America". As PRT Records is no longer in existence, the label is now distributed by Gearbox Records using the original sailing yacht paper label and the records packaged in the original royal blue paper sleeves.
Kenny Young was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark Lindsay, Reparata and the Delrons, Clodagh Rodgers, Quincy Jones, and Fox, among others. His most successful and famous songs as a writer include the Grammy Hall of Fame song "Under the Boardwalk", and the Grammy Award winning song, "Ai No Corrida". From the late 1960s, he lived in the UK.
"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory. It was the first song he wrote for the album. Bowie recorded the song as a demo before giving it to singer Peter Noone, lead singer of Herman's Hermits, who decided to release it as his debut solo single. Featuring Bowie on piano, Noone's recording was produced by Mickie Most and featured structural and lyrical differences from Bowie's later version. Released by RAK Records in April 1971 under the title "Oh! You Pretty Thing", the single peaked at number 12 in the UK, becoming Bowie's biggest success as a songwriter since his own single "Space Oddity" two years earlier.
Music for Pleasure and Classics for Pleasure (CFP) were British record labels that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music respectively. Albums were subsequently released under the MFP label in Australia (MFP-A) and South Africa.
"Sea Cruise" is a song written and sung by Huey "Piano" Smith and His Clowns. This recording was included on the 1971 Ace Records compilation Huey "Piano" Smith's Rock & Roll Revival!
Herman's Hermits is the debut album of the band Herman's Hermits, first issued in 1965. As was typical of the time, the album's contents were different on the UK and US releases. UK albums tended not to include singles. The US edition of the album is sometimes called Introducing Herman's Hermits – a title used on the back cover and the record label but not on the front cover.
Herman's Hermits on Tour is the second album released in the US and Canada by MGM Records for the band Herman's Hermits. It was released in 1965. The cover drawing was by Jim Spanfeller and the design was credited to Michael Malatak.
Blaze is the sixth album released by MGM Records in the US and Canada by the band Herman's Hermits. The album was released in October 1967. Blaze was not released in the UK at the time. EMI/Columbia, the group's UK label, did press the LP, but for export sales only.
Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter is the name of the fourth UK and seventh US album released by the band Herman's Hermits. It was first released in the UK in August, 1968 and in the US in September, 1968. The album was also the soundtrack to the film of the same name, also released in 1968.
"I'm into Something Good" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin (lyrics) and Carole King (music) and made famous by Herman's Hermits. The song was originally recorded by Cookies member Earl-Jean on Colpix Records in 1964. It entered the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 charts in the US on 4 July 1964 and spent 8 weeks there, reaching a high of number 42 on 15 August 1964, and number 38 Billboard.
The Most of the Animals is the title of a number of different compilation albums by the British blues rock group the Animals. Although track listing varies, all feature only songs from 1964 and 1965. The title is derived from the name of their then producer Mickie Most.
The Very Best of Herman's Hermits is the name of a greatest hits album released in the U.K. by EMI Records' budget label Music For Pleasure for Herman's Hermits in 1984. The album's final track on Side 2, the cover version of David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things" is not Herman's Hermits but Peter Noone solo from 1971. EMI licensed the song for this LP from RAK Records. The cover uses the same photograph as earlier MFP compilation The Most of Herman's Hermits.
Hold On! is a 1966 American musical film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Peter Noone, Shelley Fabares, Herbert Anderson, and Sue Ane Langdon. The film features performances by Herman's Hermits and stars the band as fictionalized versions of themselves. The soundtrack was released as an album, also called Hold On!.
"Just a Little Bit Better" is a song written by Kenny Young and released as a single under his name in October 1964.
"Listen People" is a song written by Graham Gouldman and performed by Herman's Hermits. The song was produced by Mickie Most. It was featured on their 1966 album, Volume 2: The Best of Herman's Hermits. It reached #1 in Canada, #3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Australian charts, and #7 on both the New Zealand and Swedish charts in 1966. The song was also released in the United Kingdom as the B-side to their 1966 single, "You Won't Be Leaving".
"Years May Come, Years May Go" is a song written by André Popp and Jack Fishman and performed by Herman's Hermits. It reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 31 on the Kent Music Report in 1970.
Into Something Good: The Mickie Most Years 1964–1972 is a 4-CD box set by British pop group Herman's Hermits, released 2008 on EMI.
The Best of Herman's Hermits: The 50th Anniversary Anthology is a 2-CD set by British group Herman's Hermits, released in 2015 on Bear Family Records. The set was produced and compiled by Grammy-nominated producer Ron Furmanek and includes the band's greatest hits along with demos, stereo mixes and session outtakes.
