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.
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.
Bumble Boogie
B. Bumble & The Stingers Lyrics
Instrumental
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
@jno2756
My late husband loved this song. Even at 98 he could still dance to it.
Wow I really miss him....
@Tony-zs3sd
Hope you had a long and happy life together and always remember the good times.
@eddriver7815
ABOUT 1963 THIS WAS A REGUAR PLay on the radio
was in cadets listening to this behind the the mess hall ... with all the other 14 -15 year olds in our platoon
bumble boogie .... just heard it again Grrrrrrreat !
@lancedavis9216
FANTASTIC ! Where has this type of talent been ? I am 77 & I love the heart & spirit of these rare people. They really put some life & inspiration in my being.!!
@RebelRacer70
You know what blows my mind about this video? EVERYTHING! Not just the unbelievable dancing, not just the fantastic song, but how the song and video fit together so seamlessly. It's was though they were dancing to this very song. AMAZING!!!
@davidmelton2091
This is an underrated instrumental you don't hear enough anymore. Ernie Freeman played the piano 🎹 and had a hit with Raunchy with his self named instrumental group.
@OtisFan1
The dancers are Whitey's Lindy Hoppers; the film is Hellzapoppin' (1941). Nice clear video is available on YouTube. Look up their name with "A Day at the Races" (1937 Marx Brothers comedy) for a fun clip from that film with more great dancing (+ singing). BTW, 15 years before B Bumble's version, it was Jack Fina who adapted Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" for jazz band Freddie Martin and His Orchestra (with Fina on piano). Also on YouTube, & also a fabulous video of Liberace playing it.
@VinDcator
Great historical background for those of us who love watching this.
@JEB54inNYC
Thanks for identifying the film! I was wondering…
@sakinfest220
🎉Thanks for all credits ❤