The Little Black Egg
Nightcrawlers song
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"The Little Black Egg" is a song first performed by Daytona Beach, Florida garage band the Nightcrawlers in 1965.[5] It was a minor hit in both the US and Canada, reaching number 85 on the US Billboard charts in 1967,[7] while doing slightly better in Canada, where it hit number 74.[8] The song has been since covered by multiple artists including Inner City Unit, the Lemonheads, Neighb'rhood Childr'n, Tarnation, the Primitives and the Cars. It was the Nightcrawlers' only hit.[9]
| "The Little Black Egg" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Nightcrawlers | |
| from the album The Little Black Egg | |
| Released | 1965 |
| Recorded | 1965 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:45[5] |
| Label | Lee[6] |
| Songwriter | Chuck Conlon[citation needed] |
Original recording
The song was written in 1965 for an Easter concert, in which the band opened for the Beach Boys.[10] The song was originally recorded in 1965 by sound engineer Lee Hazen and released on Hazen's record label Lee Records;[6] the 1965 release became a regional hit in the Nightcrawlers' home state of Florida and in the Midwest.[5] The song was re-released on Kapp Records in 1966,[6] finally charting nationally in both the US and Canada early the following year. AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald describes the song as a "slightly bizarre nursery rhyme", with lyrics about a rotten bird's egg.[5]
Other versions
"The Little Black Egg" was included in the influential compilation album Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 on the 1998 CD reissue, as a bonus track. [citation needed]
Ohio punk band the Pagans recorded the song in the late 1970s. In 1981, during recording sessions for Shake It Up, members of the Cars recorded a version featuring Ric Ocasek on lead vocals.[11] The song was later stripped of Ocasek's vocals and re-sung by fashion model Bebe Buell, whom Ocasek had befriended.[11] The version with Buell's vocals was included on her 1981 EP Covers Girl;[12] the Cars' version was released on 1995's Just What I Needed anthology.[13]
Other recordings of "The Little Black Egg" include a 1985 version by garage rock band the Rattlers, on their only full-size album, Rattled!; a 1991 version by the Primitives, released on their Galore album;[14] a 1993 version by the Lemonheads, released on their Into Your Arms CD single;[15] a 1966 version by the Music Explosion featuring lead singer Jamie Lyons, available on their Anthology CD;[16] and a 1997 version by the Paula Frazer-led country band Tarnation, released on their Mirador album.[17] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the Tarnation version of "The Little Black Egg" as a highlight of Mirador.[17]
The Minus 5 covered it on the 2000 release In Rock.