"The Little Black Egg" | |
---|---|
Song by The Nightcrawlers | |
Released | 1965 |
Genre | Folk rock, Bubblegum pop, Garage rock |
Length | 2:45[1] |
Label | Lee Records[2] |
"The Little Black Egg" is a song first performed by Daytona Beach, Florida garage band The Nightcrawlers in 1965.[1] It reached number 85 on the Billboard charts in 1967,[3] and has been since covered by multiple artists including The Lemonheads, Tarnation and The Cars. It was The Nightcrawlers' only hit.[4]
Allmusic review Matthew Greenwald describes the song as a "slightly bizarre nursery rhyme", with lyrics about a rotten bird's egg.[1] The song was originally recorded in 1965 by sound engineer Lee Hazen and released on Hazen's record label Lee Records;[2] the 1965 release became a regional hit in The Nightcrawlers' home state of Florida and in the Midwest.[1] The song was re-released on Kapp Records in 1966[2] and charted nationally (reaching number 85 on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart) the following year.[3]
In 1981, during recording sessions for Shake It Up, members of The Cars recorded a version of "The Little Black Egg" featuring Ric Ocasek on lead vocals.[5] The song was later stripped of Ocasek's vocals and re-sung by fashion model Bebe Buell, whom Ocasek had befriended.[5] The version with Buell's vocals was included on her 1981 EP Covers Girl;[6] the Cars version was released on 1995's Just What I Needed anthology.[7]
Other recordings of "The Little Black Egg" include a 1991 version by The Primitives, released on their Galore album;[8] a 1993 version by The Lemonheads, released on their Into Your Arms CD single;[9] and a 1997 version by the Paula Frazer-led country band Tarnation, released on their Mirador album.[10] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the Tarnation version of "The Little Black Egg" as a highlight of Mirador.[10]