B. Bumble and the Stingers were an instrumental ensemble from the early 196… Read Full Bio ↴B. Bumble and the Stingers were an instrumental ensemble from the early 1960s, who specialized in rocking up classical melodies.

At Rendezvous Records in Los Angeles, the house band had a hit record with a rocked-up version of "In The Mood", credited to the Ernie Fields Orchestra. Band members Earl Palmer, Rene Hall and Plas Johnson then came up with the idea of taking the same approach to a piece of classical music, and approached pianist Jack Fina who had successfully arranged a swing version of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" - as "Bumble Boogie" - in 1946. Producer Kim Fowley instructed pianist Ernie Freeman to use Fina's arrangement, but recorded him on two tracks, one using a grand piano for the rhythm part, whilst the other featured a doctored upright with thumb tacks attached to the hammers. Credited to B. Bumble and the Stingers, "Bumble Boogie" went to # 21 on the Billboard charts in 1961.

A teen band from Oklahoma, who had played no part in the recording itself, were recruited to handle promotion and public appearances. Their names were given as Fred Richard, Ron Brady, and the unlikely-sounding William "Billy" Bumble.

The follow-ups, "Boogie Woogie" and "Caravan", flopped, and the record company lost interest. Fowley then secured the copyright to an arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "March of the Wooden Soldiers", and recorded it on the Del-Rio label with H. B. Barnum, under the name Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks. Producer Rod Pierce at Rendezvous thought that they could do a better version with their own band, and recorded a new arrangement with Earl Palmer (drums), Tommy Tedesco (guitar), Red Callender (bass), and pianist Al Hazan (aka Ali Hassan) taking the place of the indisposed Freeman. Released as "Nut Rocker" in February 1962, the record went to # 23 in the US and # 1 in the U.K.

However, despite a touring band being formed to promote them, further B. Bumble and the Stingers recordings failed to match the success of "Nut Rocker", and the musicians who played on the hits continued their own careers on sessions and in touring bands.

A version of "Nut Rocker" was recorded in 1972 by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

Boogie Woogie
B. Bumble & The Stingers Lyrics

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Monday snow
Winter wind blowing
I'm whistling as I'm walking home
Beaux-Arts stone
Tree lined road
The crows caw along
Oh winter sun don't make room
No winter sun don't make room for that blue moon

On Leroy street
That's where we meet
Wear your boots and wear your gloves
The snow it rains
The world seems tame
I'm calling at the sky above
No winter sun don't make room!
No winter sun don't make room for that blue winter moon!
Coffee in hand
The park looks grand
But I feel the day drift away
The sun gets weak
I'm feeling meek
Don't make me go to work again

Winter sun don't make room
No winter sun don't make room for that blue winter moon

Overall Meaning

In these lyrics, the singer is describing the beauty of winter while also acknowledging the harshness of the season. They talk about walking home in the snow and being surrounded by the cold and cawing crows. Despite the cold, the singer is whistling and enjoying their walk home. They talk about meeting someone on Leroy street, emphasizing the importance of wearing warm boots and gloves. The snow is falling heavily, and the world seems tamed by the winter weather.

As the singer sips their coffee in the park, they express a reluctance to go to work in such cold weather. The sun is weak and they feel meek, but they appreciate the grandness of the park in winter. The lyrics emphasize the power of the winter moon over the winter sun, highlighting the fact that the blue winter moon cannot be ignored or overshadowed by the sun. The singer seems to appreciate the beauty of winter, but also acknowledges its power to make life difficult.

Line by Line Meaning

Monday snow
It is snowing on Monday.

Winter wind blowing
There is a blowing wind in the winter.

I'm whistling as I'm walking home
The person is whistling while walking home.

Beaux-Arts stone
There are Beaux-Arts stones present.

Tree lined road
The road has trees lining it.

The crows caw along
The crows are making noise.

Oh winter sun don't make room
The winter sun is not coming out.

No winter sun don't make room for that blue moon
The winter sun is not making room for the blue moon.

On Leroy street
The meeting place is on Leroy street.

That's where we meet
The people are meeting on Leroy street.

Wear your boots and wear your gloves
The people need to wear their boots and gloves.