The Hanna-Barbera cartoon company had long incorporated an outlet for records featuring it's much loved animated characters, but when it decided to try its hand at working with flesh-and-blood artists the results were as mind-boggling as any Snagglepuss monologue. Launched in 1965 and based in Hollywood, the HBR label reflected the rich musical variety of the day - and then some. The blue and white logo (pink for promos) adorned a bewildering assortment of styles with pop, garage, soul, R'n'B, hot rod, folk and psychedelia rubbing shoulders with the novelties and bespoke rock'n'roll provided by its fictional roster. Though hits were scarce, the passing of time has left many of these records highly sought-after and some are regarded as classics of their respective genres. A lot of the others just rock . Here, we try to make sense of that giddy rush of 45s (the albums being another story altogether!) and celebrate a label that was most definitely crazier than the average. (Click on images to enlarge)

THE CREATIONS IV

Dance In The Sand / Little Girl

HBR 440, 1965

Kicking off our story, this beach-based take on "Dancing In The Streets" sounded out the clarion call to teenagers across the land that Hanna-Barbera were now in the rock'n'roll business. Featured in an episode of the Flintstones, this was the work of studio cats including one Larry Goldberg, the man entrusted to run the label's rock output. Also likely to be involved from the start was well connected teen-about-town Danny Hutton. THE BOMPERS

Do The Bomp / Early Bird

HBR 441, 1965

A swingin' ode to a non-existent dance craze written by hot rod aces Carol Connors and Roger Christian and sung by brothers Don and Warren Massey, their cousins Tom Diediker and Dennis Hibshman and high school friend Tim Schaff, all of San Fernando Valley. The Massey lads' mother ran Georgia Massey's School of Song and Dance in LA, where she coached the likes of Connie Stevens, Bobby Sherman, the Osmonds and the Lettermen. SHORTY ROGERS & THE GIANTS

Theme From Johnny Quest / Vacation

HBR 442, 1965

Rogers was a major figure in the West Coast jazz scene during the '40s and '50s, but quit the live circuit for a varied and successful studio career. TV themes such as this one were one of his specialities. BILLY BOSSMAN

Up The Road / Up The Road (Instr)

HBR 443, 1965

ROGER & LYNN

Summer Kind Of Song / Baby, Move In

HBR 444, 1965

Male duo singing wistful folky pop very much in the Peter & Gordon style. THE BATS

Nothing At All / Big Bright Eyes

HBR 445, 1965

Actually a Danny Hutton studio creation, "Big Bright Eyes" would later be spruced up to become his second HBR single. THE GUILLOTEENS

I Don't Believe / Hey You

HBR 446, 1965

The Guilloteens were working with Phil Spector when their impatient manager signed them to HBR while Spector was away on business. "We went from Wall Of Sound to Huckleberry Hound" lamented guitarist Lewis Paul. The band took this knock on the chin and painted that drawling dawg on their bass drum. Classy and brooding, "I Don't Believe" retains stylistic remnants of those Spector sessions, while "Hey You" is a Kinks-style rocker. DANNY HUTTON

Roses And Rainbows / Monster Shindig

HBR 447, 1965

Hutton graduated from Disney gofer to artist, songwriter and token hipster at HBR. As their only real in-house artist he felt all the benefits of being affiliated to the world's third largest cartoon company, getting a cameo in the Flintstones, the obligatory Vox endorsement deal and the chance to rub shoulders with such musical luminaries as Squiddly Diddly on various spin-off LPs. Breezy pop that took Danny to #73 on Billboard. THE CORKY WILKIE BAND

Little By Little / Something Swinging

HBR 448, 1965

Wilkie was a member of the Dartells, who washed up at HBR after their brief moment of fame at Dot Records. Apart from this solo single it seems he found work with Goldberg's studio crew and his name pops up as a co-writer on a couple of in-house B-sides. PEBBLES & BAMM BAMM

Open Up Your Heart /

The Lord Is Counting On You

HBR 449, 1965

Equal parts cute and just plain spooky, Pebbles & Bamm Bamm sang this version of Stuart Hamblen's country gospel tune on the "No Biz Like Show Biz" episode of the Flintstones. JEAN KING

Something Happens To Me /

The Nicest Things Happen

HBR 450, 1965

Sumptuous Royalettes-style soul two-sider from Chicago-born lark better known as one third of Shindig! regulars the Blossoms. THE GUILLOTEENS

For My Own /

Don't Let The Rain Get You Down

HBR 451, 1965

When Elvis wasn't listening to "the Beatles and the Beards" legend has it that this trio were his favourite group. Though their first outing failed to garner national chart action it earned them some choice TV appearances and a #1 hit in their native Memphis. Their second single was another strong pairing, but momentum was waning and leader Lewis Paul quit the group not long after its release. LOUIS PRIMA & GIA MAIONE

See That You're Born An Italian /

Wonderland By Night

HBR 452, 1965

Though he was out of favour with the major labels, Prima was still a huge draw in Vegas and would lend his voice to King Louie in Disney's "Jungle Book" the following year. DANNY HUTTON

Big Bright Eyes / Monster Shindig Pt. 2

HBR 453, 1965

Ambitious, talented and on first name terms with L.A. rock royalty from Brian Wilson down, it was obvious that Hutton saw his future away from one shot novelties and Precious Pupp albums and he had left for MGM by the time this single was released. More sprightly pop, the topside a revamp of Hutton's 45 as the Bats, while on the flip the title track from Super Snooper's cartoon tie-in album gets an update. THE FIVE AMERICANS

I See The Light / The Outcasts

HBR 454, 1965

Well turned out and featuring talented in-band songwriters, this quintet had everything going for them, except perhaps being from Oklahoma rather than England. After local success on the family-run Abnak label HBR stepped in with a licensing deal for several singles and an LP. Already breaking out in the South, with HBR's help "I See The Light" barnstormed its way up to #26 on Billboard and classic status. CHARLES CHRISTY

Cherry Pie / Will I Find Her

HBR 455, 1965

A cover of Marvin & Johnny's "Cherry Pie" which was a hit for Skip & Flip in 1960. LES BAXTER

Little Girl Lonely / Michelle

HBR 456, 1965

As if to add to the repertoire anarchy, lounge god Baxter pops up with a Beatles cover. His Balladeers (featured here) would beget the truly groovy Forum who recorded for Mira the following year. THE DARTELLS

Clap Your Hands / Where Do We Stand?

HBR 457, 1965

"Hot Pastrami" must have felt like a lifetime ago for the Dartells when they unleashed these catchy but slightly passé sides upon the world and they broke up soon after. "Clap Your Hands" was a cover of the Beau Marks hit. GERRI DIAMOND

Give Up On Love / Mama, You Forgot

HBR 458, 1965

Strong pop/soul double-decker in the Brenda Lee meets Jackie DeShannon mode. Big production, thumping beat, catchy hooks - the works. Not only that, the lass was a looker. THE POP-UPS

Candy Rock / Lurking

HBR 459, 1966

Lively pop instrumentals by Larry Goldberg and the gang. "Candy Rock" is based on "Iko Iko". THE CHAINS

Carol's Got A Cobra /

I Hate To See You Crying

HBR 460, 1966

Carol Connors and Roger Christian pop up again still talking cars and in tremendous form here. GEORGE CHAMBERS

The Ribbon / These Things You'll Never Know

HBR 461, 1966

ART GRAYSON

When I Get Home / Be Ever Mine

HBR 462, 1966

Southern soul sides waxed in Nashville for Hermitage, a production company operated by fabled DJ Hoss Allen. JEAN KING

Watermelon Man / The In-Crowd

HBR 463, 1966

Both sides taken from her live-in-the-studio HBR long-player "Sings For The In-Crowd". Jean's pals Jan & Dean are among those supplying the live ambience. ANNE CHRISTINE

Kitty Up Go / I'd Fight The World

HBR 464, 1966

DeWAYNE & THE BELDETTAS

Tennessee Stud / I'll Walk Along

HBR 465, 1966

On the first of their two HBR singles the Beldettas serve up a frenetic cover of Jimmy Driftwood's country standard backed with some bouncy, presumably self-written pop. GLORIA TRACY

I've Never Known / Out In The Street

HBR 466, 1966

Nice Nancy Sinatra-lite girl pop. "I've Never Known" is a number from the Beau Brummels' first LP, while Pat and Lolly Vegas (later of Redbone) wrote the bottom deck. LOUIS PRIMA

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter / Civilization

HBR 467, 1966

THE FIVE AMERICANS

Evol - Not Love / Don't Blame Me

HBR 468, 1966

A falling out between the band's management and a major Texas radio station didn't help this single in their home base and nationally "Evol" failed to match the success of its predecessor. In truth, the Americans could and would produce far better efforts than the two paired here. MURRAY'S MONKEYS

Gipsy / I'll Be Here

HBR 469, 1966

Obviously it made sound commercial sense to lease British masters in 1966 and this was the first of several that the label pinned its hopes on. This was hit songwriter (and speechwriter) Mitch Murray with his group the Monkeys, not a lone Monkey as the HBR label print has it! THE LAURIE JOHNSON ORCHESTRA

Theme From The Avengers /

Minor Bossa Nova

HBR 470, 1966

More swinging English sounds - Johnson's theme for Steed and Mrs Peel. BOBBY LOVELESS

Baby No More / Night Owl

HBR 471, 1966

DALE & GRACE

Let Them Talk / I'd Rather Be Free

HBR 472, 1966

The swamp pop duo, who hit with "I'm Leaving It All Up To You" in 1963, were still plugging away in '66, but by then Dale had himself a different Grace! CHARLES CHRISTY & THE CRYSTALS

In The Arms Of A Girl / Young And Beautiful

HBR 473, 1966

Though Chisty does his best James Dean on the colour picture sleeve (an honour usually reserved for the likes of Hutton, the Guilloteens and Five Americans), this is a pretty tepid piece of malt shop doo-wop. BILLY STORM

Please Don't Mention Her Name /

The Warmest Love

HBR 474, 1966

With his Mathis-meets-McPhatter voice and looks to rival Sam Cooke, the pompadoured former Valiant had all the makings of a star, yet was never able to successfully follow-up "I've Come Of Age", his Top 30 hit of 1959. BOB & KIT

Autumn Too Long / You've Gotta Stop

HBR 475, 1966

Male/female duo with two appealing folky pop sides. SCATMAN CROTHERS

What's A Nice Kid Like You Doing In A Place Like This? / Golly Zonk! (It's Scat Man)

HBR 476, 1966

Airing in March '66 on ABC, "The New Alice In Wonderland" was an animated special featuring Sammy Davis Jr among its stellar voiceover cast. When Davis couldn't be secured for the soundtrack LP, veteran actor, musician and general all-rounder Crothers took his place as the Cheshire Cat on the only track to see release on a 45. The funkier flip, written by Goldberg and crew, wasn't from "Alice". THE DIMENSIONS

Penny / She's Boss

HBR 477, 1966

Leased from Jerry Dennon's Panorama label in Seattle, this is first rate Northwest rock typical of the region's raucous style. THE PACKERS

Pink Chiffon / Boondocks

HBR 478, 1966

Two groovy Ramsey Lewis-inspired instrumentals, as was "Hole In The Wall", the Packers' hit record of 1965. The combo were named after tenor saxophonist and former Mar-Key, Charles "Packy" Axton - the son of Estelle Axton, founder of Stax Records - and existed under the production umbrella of DJ/entrepreneur extraordinaire Magnificent Montague, here using his wife's name, Rose Thaddeus, as a songwriting alias. THE PLUNKERS

Night Time Love / Hippy Lippy Goosey

HBR 479, 1966

One of the rarest HBR singles, catchy beat on the top side and a Stonesy blues mess on the flip. THE EPICS

Blue Turns To Grey / Goes To Show

HBR 480, 1966

Another scarce one, the A-side is the Jagger/Richard song and the flip was written by Phil Sloan and Steve Barri. The band was from London, England. EARL GAINS

The Best Of Luck To You /

It's Worth Anything

HBR 481, 1966

Alabama-born Gains (more commonly spelled Gaines) reached the R&B Top 30 with "The Best Of Luck To You", almost cracking Billboard's Pop chart too. Like Art Grayson, his recordings were leased from Hoss Allen's Hermitage stable. THE TIDAL WAVES

Farmer John / She Left Me All Alone

HBR 482, 1966

Though the modus operandi of the average HBR talent scout is unknown, they sure searched far and wide in search of a hit. This was the first fruit of a licensing deal with Detroit's S.V.R. label that saw several Motor City discs get the blue and white treatment. Don & Dewey's "Farmer John" is rendered in the "Louie Louie" style given to it by the Premiers, while the Waves go all butter-wouldn't-melt on the sensitive flip. THE FIVE AMERICANS

Good Times / The Losing Game

HBR 483, 1966

The Americans show their versatility with a hollerin' rocker backed with a delicate ballad but their best was yet to come. When their deal with HBR ended and Abnak took up national distribution the engaging "Western Union" took them to #5 on Billboard. PEBBLES & BAMM BAMM

Daddy / The World Is Full Of Toys

HBR 484, 1966

Single number two from Fred and Barney's little darlings. Sadly, the superior bubblegum rock they churned out with the Bedrock Rockers at the turn of the decade failed to make it to wax. THE RIOT SQUAD

I Take It That We're Through / Working Man

HBR 485, 1966

Proving that the label was indeed a broad church Mr. Joe Meek himself turns up on this, another title imported from England. Of course Joe was finding the hits hard to come by at this point, but this is just one example of how he continued to make fascinating records. THE GUILLOTEENS

I Sit And Cry / Crying All Over My Time

HBR 486, 1966

Those plucky Guilloteens return with a new line up and two more quality garage/pop sides, "Crying All Over My Time" co-written by Memphis stalwart Jim Dickinson. When a national breakthrough failed to materialize, touring buddies Paul Revere & the Raiders helped them jump ship to Columbia, where they issued two more 45s. Sadly, by then even another valediction from the King wouldn't have arrested their decline. SIMON T. STOKES

Big City Blues /

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

HBR 487, 1966

One of the most weird, wonderful and rare HBR releases, arranger Harold Battiste helped pitch this harrowing downer somewhere between Dr. John and the Seeds. Stokes would go on to release several albums elsewhere and re-record "Big City Blues". RON GRAY

Hold Back The Sunrise / The Shake

HBR 488, 1966

Another rarity, Gray was apparently from Monroe, Louisiana. Moody, minor key and deep in Animals territory. RONNIE & ROBYN

Cradle Of Love / Dreamin'

HBR 489, 1966

Originally released on Detroit's Team Town label, Johnny Preston's 1960 hit is transformed into a swinging male/female soul duet. PAUL FREES

A Girl / Portrait Of A Fool

HBR 490, 1966

Presumably this is the same Paul Frees who had a long and astonishingly varied career as an actor and voice-over artist, his talents being heard everywhere from the Beatles cartoon show to Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean. PETER HARCOURT & THE SUBJECTS

Sneaky Pete / Someone's In Love Again

HBR 491, 1966

A real two-sider. The A-side is a cheeky frat rocker, while things slow down on the flip for an orchestrated melodrama somewhere in Tom Jones territory. Arranged by Don Ralke. THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS

You're Gonna Miss Me / Tried To Hide

HBR 492, 1966

When Roky met Yogi. Yep, HBR leased this Grade 1 psychedelic classic from International Artists, but after a contract dispute the record was withdrawn, making this a very rare artefact indeed. Apparently, playing times on both sides of the HBR pressing were slightly reduced. THE DYNATONES

The Fife Piper / And I Always Will

HBR 494, 1966

The jazzy Dynatones were an instrumental quartet formed at Salem College in Clarksburgh, West Virginia. Released first on the St. Clair logo out of Pittsburgh, "The Fife Piper" reached #53 on Billboards Hot 100 when picked up by HBR. The band was led by Ray Figlar, whose specialist instrument was, you guessed it, the fife. SCOTTY McKAY

Waikiki Beach / I'm Gonna Love Ya

HBR 495, 1966

Texan McKay was born Max Lipscomb and followed a stint as one of Gene Vincent's Blue Caps with an itinerant solo career recording for a host of labels, including Ace, Dot and Parkway and appearing in a couple of low budget horror flicks. JIMMY JAMES & THE VAGABONDS

Hi Diddley Dee Dum Dum / Don't Wanna Cry

HBR 496, 1966

Like Geno Washington, James was a popular London-based American soul act. This track, also recorded by the Dells on Argo, was his first U.S. release. JEAN KING

Don't Say Goodbye /

It's Good Enough For Me

HBR 497, 1966

More sophisticated soul balladry, with classy Randazzo-esque arrangements from Ernie Freeman. THE ABBEY TAVERN SINGERS

Off To Dublin In The Green /

Gallant Forty Twa'

HBR 498, 1966

An odd choice for a single perhaps, but this traditional Irish folk song had been a huge fluke hit in Canada. LARRY BUTLER

Almost Persuaded /

Green Green Grass Of Home

HBR 499, 1966

Floyd Cramer-style piano instrumentals with humming female chorus. POSITIVELY THIRTEEN O'CLOCK

Psychotic Reaction /

13 O'Clock Theme For Psychotics

HBR 500, 1966

Perhaps the result of a quiet afternoon at the Texas studio run by Robin Hood Brian, this spirited cover of the Count Five hit, recorded by various local musicians and backed by an innocuous instrumental ditty, failed to grab much chart action for itself. It seems unlikely that no local release exists but none is documented. THE TIDAL WAVES

Big Boy Pete / I Don't Need Love

HBR 501, 1966

The Tidal Waves return to the frat rock source, covering Don & Dewey's "Big Boy Pete", though they're obviously well acquainted with "Jolly Green Giant" by the Kingsmen, which used the song as its template. Again it's all Zombies-style wistfulness on the flip. GEORGE CHAMBERS

Flood Of Tears / Don't Make Me Go

HBR 502, 1966

PORTER JORDAN

Nobody's Boy / Untouchable Woman

HBR 505, 1966

DeWAYNE & THE BELDETTAS

Hurtin' /

HBR 506, 1966

Like their fellow Oklahomans the Five Americans, the Beldettas were an accomplished sounding bunch. The flip of this rare release remains undocumented. THE W.C. FIELDS

MEMORIAL ELECTRIC STRING BAND

Hippy Elevator Operator /

Don't Lose The Girl

HBR 507, 1966

Hip psychedelic pop from an L.A. band with roots in the city's garage scene and a heavy feel that makes it sound more '68 than '66. THE NEW BREED

Want Ad Reader /

One More For The Good Guys

HBR 508, 1966

Thrilling garage rocker out of Sacramento, California, backed by an instrumental. This had a local release on the World United label. Bassist Tim Schmidt would later turn up in the Eagles and Poco. THE FOUR GENTS

I've Been Trying / Soul Sister

HBR 509, 1966

A local hit in Detroit on S.V.R. An Impressions cover and an organ-heavy instrumental. EARL GAINS

Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness /

I Have Loved And I Have Lived

HBR 510, 1966

More southern R&B/soul sides waxed in Nashville for Hoss Allen. THE HOGS

Blues Theme / Loose Lip Sync Ship

HBR 511, 1966

With Davie Allan and the Arrows getting attention with this tune from the Wild Angels movie, producer Ed Cobb dispatched the Chocolate Watchband into the studio with the aim of grabbing himself a piece of the action. The result, all fuzz and revving motorcycles, was as good as, if not better than the original. Featuring much freakery, the flip was long rumoured to be the work of Frank Zappa, but this has since been disproved. THE RAINY DAY PEOPLE

Junior Executive / I'm Telling It To You

HBR 512, 1966

This appears to be an earlier incarnation of the Pleasure Fair, who released a charming, David Gates-produced, sunshine pop album on UNI the following year. Band member Rob Royer would, of course, later team up with Gates to form Bread. Groovy male/female pop produced by Snuff Garrett who is one of the few producers to be credited on an HBR label. SUNNY LANE

Tell It Like It Was / Trollin'

HBR 513, 1966

You'd never guess from the writer credits, but this is an answer-song to Aaron Neville's #1 hit "Tell It Like It Is". Hidden on the flip is a cool guitar instrumental - not performed by Miss Lane, one presumes. THE UNRELATED SEGMENTS

Story Of My Life / It's Unfair

HBR 514, 1966

More Detroit goodies from the S.V.R. deal. The Segments were big players on the city's competitive live scene and their cool, punky confidence is very much in evidence here. The group had a couple more garage gems in them but opted to release them on Liberty. THE TIDAL WAVES

Action (Speaks Louder Than Words) /

Hot Stuff

HBR 515, 1966

In that wonderful place between "Louie Louie" and "Get Off Of My Cloud" the Tidal Waves finally turn out a garage contender of their very own. THE TIME STOPPERS

I Need Love / The Fickle Frog

HBR 516, 1966

The fascinating journey came to an unceremonious end with this unremarkable little pop record by a Pittsburgh garage band.