The Gaylords (named after the notorious post war Chicago Gaylords street gang) were originally formed by Pat Fairley and Billy Johnston in Baillieston, a suburb east of Glasgow, in 1961. Their initial line-up included Tommy Frew on drums and lead guitarist Pat McGovern, fronted by vocalist Wattie Rodgers. William Junior Campbell joined on his fourteenth birthday on 31 May 1961 replacing McGovern, and Rodgers was then himself replaced, initially by two new lead vocalists, Billy Reid and Tommy Scott, although Reid soon departed leaving Scott as the sole frontman. Bill Irving, from local Baillieston group the Cadillacs, then took over from Johnston on bass.
The group began gathering notice and in 1963 Pat Fairley and Junior Campbell spotted Thomas McAleese, singer with local group The Monarchs, at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, and it was not long before he replaced Scott as lead singer. Thomas then adopted the stage moniker Dean Ford, and they then became known as Dean Ford and The Gaylords. Raymond Duffy, from Glasgow group the Escorts, then came in on drums after Frew departed. For a few months, they had an organist, Davey Hunter. By early 1965, Graham Knight, from the local group the Vampires, had displaced Irving on bass.
Becoming popular in Scotland, and under the management of Billy Grainger, in early 1964 they were championed by Scottish music journalist Gordon Reid, which led to them being signed to Columbia (EMI) by Norrie Paramor after auditions at Glasgow's Locarno Ballroom. They went on to record four singles, including a cover of the 1963 Chubby Checker US hit "Twenty Miles", which was a big seller locally but failed to chart nationally. The Columbia releases, although uncredited, were all produced by Bob Barratt, EMI staff producer, with Norrie Paramor as executive. Paramor played the celesta on "What's The Matter With Me"; the b-side of "Twenty Miles". In 1965, they played a long stint in Germany at the Storyville in Cologne and also in Duisburg. By this time The Gaylords had attained status as one of the top groups in Scotland, borne out in music poll results, but were ambitious, and so on their return from Germany to London in early 1965, they decided to try for success in the UK as a whole, and remained in London, where they changed management and agency representation, as Billy Grainger wished to remain in Glasgow.
On the recommendation of the Tremeloes, who had played with them in Glasgow, The Gaylords were invited to join the London-based agency Starlite Artistes, owned and managed by Peter Walsh. They then began to build up a club reputation as a tight, close harmony band and in 1966, finding themselves in the middle of the 1960s swinging London scene, they decided to update their image and instrumentation. On the advice of their new manager, they changed the band name to The Marmalade.
Name Game
Dean Ford & The Gaylords Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bo-ber-ley, bo-na-na fanna.
Fo-fer-ley. fee fi mo-mer-ley, Shirley!
Lincoln! Lincoln, Lincoln. bo-bin-coln,
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-fin-coln.
Fee fi mo-min-coln, Lincoln!
I betcha I can make a rhyme out of anybody's name.
The first letter of the name,
I treat it like it wasn't there,
But a "B" or an "F" or an "M" will appear;
And then I say "Bo" add a "B" then I say the name.
Then "Bo-na-na fanna" and "fo"
And then I say the name again with an ""f" very plain,
Then "fee fi" and a "mo"
And then I say the name again with an "M" this time.
And there isn't any name that I can't rhyme.
Arnold! Arnold, Arnold bo-bar-nold,
Bo-na-na, fanna fo-far-nold,
Fee fi m-mar-mold. Arnold!
But if the first two letters are ever the same,
Crop them both, then say the name.
Like Bob, Bob, drop the "B's", Bo-ob.
Or Fred, Fred, drop the "F's", Fo-red,
Or Mary, Mary, drop the "M's", Mo-ary.
That's the only rule that is contrary.
And then I say "Bo" add a "B" then I say the name.
Then "Bo-na-na fanna" and "fo"
And then I say the name again with an ""f" very plain,
Then "fee fi" and a "mo"
And then I say the name again with an "M" this time.
And there isn't any name that I can't rhyme.
Say Tony, Tony, bo-bo-ney,
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-fo-ney,
Fee fi mo-mo-ney, Tony!
Let's do Billy!
Billy, Billy, bo-gil-ly, bo-na-na
Fanna, fo-fil-ly,
Fee fi mo-mil-ly, Billy!
Let's do Marsha!
Marsha, Marsha, bo-bar-sha,
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-far-sha,
Fee fi mo-ar-sha, Marsha!
Little trick with Nick!
Nick, Nick, bo-bick, bo-na-na
Fanna fo fick, fee fi mo-mick. Nick!
The name game.
"The Name Game" is a playful song by Shirley Ellis, originally released as a single in 1964. The song humorously combines different combinations and variations of people's names. The lyrics of the song are straightforward and insightful, and they demonstrate the fun you can have with language. Shirley Ellis employs a simple rhyming scheme, and through that, she gets creative with names. In the beginning, she encourages the listeners to join in on the game, where she bets she can make a rhyme out of anyone's name. She then proceeds to explain the game, stating that she'll disregard the first letter of any name, and then use the most common consonants of the English language, such as B, F, and M, to form a catchy rhyme for the listener’s name.
Shirley's approach to naming is exciting and funny, and the lyrics show that she is an adept wordsmith. The song is about finding joy and humor in the little things, and is a celebration of the English language. "The Name Game" has endured throughout the years, remaining a beloved song to many, and is often played at parties, gatherings, and comedy sketches.
Line by Line Meaning
The name game. Shirley! Shirley, Shirley.
The song is called the name game and the singer is calling out the name Shirley three times.
Bo-ber-ley, bo-na-na fanna.
The singer is rhyming Shirley with Bo-ber-ley and then saying Bo-na-na fanna.
Fo-fer-ley. fee fi mo-mer-ley, Shirley!
The singer is rhyming Shirley with Fo-fer-ley, then saying fee fi mo-mer-ley and concludes the line by saying Shirley again.
Lincoln! Lincoln, Lincoln. bo-bin-coln,
The singer is now calling out the name Lincoln three times and rhymes it with bo-bin-coln.
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-fin-coln.
The singer is rhyming Lincoln with Bo-na-na fanna and fo-fin-coln.
Fee fi mo-min-coln, Lincoln!
The singer is ending this verse by saying fee fi mo-min-coln and concluding with Lincoln once again.
Come on ev'rybody, I say now let's play a game.
The singer invites everyone to play a game.
I betcha I can make a rhyme out of anybody's name.
The singer claims that they can make a rhyme out of any name.
The first letter of the name,
The singer explains that they will use the first letter of the name to make the rhyme.
I treat it like it wasn't there,
However, the singer will not actually use the first letter in the rhyme.
But a "B" or an "F" or an "M" will appear;
Instead, the singer will use the letter B, F or M to create the rhyme.
And then I say "Bo" add a "B" then I say the name.
The singer explains the first part of the rhyme, putting Bo in front of the name.
Then "Bo-na-na fanna" and "fo"
Then the singer says Bo-na-na fanna and fo.
And then I say the name again with an ""f" very plain,
The singer then says the name again with an F sound this time.
Then "fee fi" and a "mo"
After that, the singer says fee fi and mo.
And then I say the name again with an "M" this time.
Finally, the singer ends the rhyme by saying the name again with an M sound.
And there isn't any name that I can't rhyme.
The singer claims that they can make a rhyme with any name.
Arnold! Arnold, Arnold bo-bar-nold,
The singer moves on to the name Arnold, and repeats it three times in the form of Arnold, bo-bar-nold.
Bo-na-na, fanna fo-far-nold,
The Singer Rhymes Arnold with Bo-na-na, fanna fo-far-nold
Fee fi m-mar-mold. Arnold!
The Singer ends the rhyme for Arnold by saying Fee fi m-mar-mold and Arnold.
But if the first two letters are ever the same,
The singer presents a rule for when the first two letters of the name are the same.
Crop them both, then say the name.
They explain that you should remove the two letters and then say the name.
Like Bob, Bob, drop the "B's", Bo-ob.
The singer provides an example with the name Bob and says you should drop the Bs to make Bo-ob.
Or Fred, Fred, drop the "F's", Fo-red,
The singer provides another example with the name Fred and says you should drop the Fs to make Fo-red.
Or Mary, Mary, drop the "M's", Mo-ary.
The Singer provides a third example with the name Mary and says you should drop the Ms to make Mo-ary.
That's the only rule that is contrary.
The singer concludes that this is the only exception to the rhyme rule they explained earlier.
Say Tony, Tony, bo-bo-ney,
The Singer moves on to the name Tony and rhymes it with bo-bo-ney
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-fo-ney,
The singer Rhymes Tony with Bo-na-na fanna and Fo-fo-ney.
Fee fi mo-mo-ney, Tony!
The Singer ends the rhyme for Tony with Fee fi mo-mo-ney and Tony.
Let's do Billy!
The Singer moves on to the name Billy and repeats it.
Billy, Billy, bo-gil-ly, bo-na-na
The singer rhymes Billy with bo-gil-ly and Bo-na-na.
Fanna, fo-fil-ly,
The Singer rhymes Billy with Fanna and fo-fil-ly.
Fee fi mo-mil-ly, Billy!
The Singer ends the rhyme for Billy by saying Fee fi mo-mil-ly and Billy.
Let's do Marsha!
The Singer moves on to the name Marsha and repeats it twice.
Marsha, Marsha, bo-bar-sha,
The Singer Rhymes Marsha with bo-bar-sha.
Bo-na-na fanna, fo-far-sha,
The Singer rhymes Marsha with Bo-na-na fanna and fo-far-sha.
Fee fi mo-ar-sha, Marsha!
The singer ends the rhyme for Marsha by saying Fee fi mo-ar-sha, and then concluding with Marsha.
Little trick with Nick!
The singer moves on to the name Nick and exclaims it's a little trick.
Nick, Nick, bo-bick, bo-na-na
The singer rhymes Nick with bo-bick and Bo-na-na.
Fanna fo fick, fee fi mo-mick. Nick!
The Singer ends the rhyme for Nick with Fanna fo fick, Fee fi mo-mick and then concluding with Nick.You could substitute any name and change the first letter and follow these directions to involve that name in the song lyric.
The name game.
The song ends with the words the name game
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LINCOLN CHASE, SHIRLEY ELLISTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bryanpalmer9660
LOVE this version,it has a supercharged energy to it,top marks to Dean Ford and the band
@Sp33gan
Honestly, the only version of this song that I actually like. A classic case of the cover being superior to the original.