The Gorillaz Would Eat The Banana Splits

If you’re a Baby Boomer you probably remember the TV show The Banana Splits. This was a show about a British Invasion style rock band made up of animal characters. The Banana Splits appeared as people in big character costumes between cartoons. The characters were Fleegle who played guitar, Drooper the bass player, Bingo the drummer and Snorky who played keyboards.

The show ran for two seasons starting in 1968 and the characters’ costumes were designed by Sid and Marty Krofft. Each character was a different animal; a dog, a gorilla, a lion and an elephant. The “live” characters were filmed having adventures in an amusement park (riding the attractions) and were show between the Hanna Barbera cartoons that were not necessarily about the band but reused from other programs.

 My six degrees of separation when it comes to The Banana Splits is that I was in a band with a guy who got a job working as a security guard at Hanna Barbera’s warehouse where they stored the costumes and equipment used for the show. One night he left work with two Vox Super Beatles guitar amplifiers that had been used as props for The Banana Splits. He used them as stereo speakers in his living room. Overkill to the max.
 

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