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An Entity of Type : wsb:Song, within Data Space : covidontheweb.inria.fr associated with source document(s)

AttributesValues
type
sameAs
has title
  • Rubber Biscuit
Subject
  • 1956 songs
  • The Blues Brothers songs
  • Doo-wop songs
  • Comedy songs
  • The Chips songs
abstract
  • %22Rubber Biscuit%22 is a doo-wop song by The Chips, recorded in 1956. It was famously covered by The Blues Brothers (on their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues), among many other artists as well as featuring in the 1973 film Mean Streets. Label credit for writing the song was given to Chips lead singer Charles Johnson and Adam R. Levy. Levy, though, was the son of label owner Morris Levy, who was notorious for adding either his or his son's names to songwriting credits in order to claim partial, or in some cases all composer royalties on songs they did not write. There is no evidence that Morris or Adam ever wrote any songs. Few of the lyrics can actually be understood, as they are sung in the scat manner. The scat is interrupted every few bars for short one-liners, most of which are implicit references to the singer's poverty and the low-grade food he eats: a %22wish sandwich%22 (where one has two slices of bread and wishes for meat in between the slices of bread), a %22ricochet biscuit%22 (which is supposed to bounce off the wall and into one's mouth, and when it doesn't, %22you go hungry%22), a %22cold-water sandwich%22 (or a %22cool-water sandwich%22) and a %22Sunday-go-to-meeting-bun%22. The song closes with the question %22What do you want for nothing? A rubber biscuit?%22%22Rubber Biscuit%22 became the theme tune to Jimmy's Food Factory, a programme about supermarket's food tricks on BBC One. It is The Chips' version that is played at the beginning and end of each show. It was also featured in the 1990 John Waters film, Cry-Baby.The Chips were teenage friends in New York: Charles Johnson (lead vocal), Nathaniel Epps (baritone), Paul Fulton (bass), Sammy Strain and Shedrick Lincoln (tenors). %22Rubber Biscuit%22 started life as Johnson's answer to the marching rhythms of the Warwick School For Delinquent Teenagers while he was an intern there.When Josie Records heard the tune they signed the group and the record was issued in September 1956. Although it did not chart, %22Rubber Biscuit%22 became an instant east coast radio favourite, and saw its performers touring alongside The Dells, The Cadillacs and Bo Diddley, but the momentum gained by their debut single was waning and the group broke up at the end of 1957. Only Sammy Strain went on to success in the music industry, as a member of Little Anthony & The Imperials from about 1961 to 1972, when he left to join The O'Jays. Strain left the O'Jays in 1992 to return to The Imperials, where he remained until his retirement in 2004.
schema:datePublished
schema:disambiguatingDescription
  • live
homepage
musicbrainz
Musicbrainz GUID
  • 4c438386-8c2b-4b14-938a-c78f474c185b
mo:performer
universally unique identifier
  • 5714dee725ac0d8aee536dc3
wikipedia
bpm
mo:duration
isrc
  • USAT29200083
track number
schema:album
wsb:allMusic_page
wsb:deezer_artist_id
  • 2708
wsb:deezer_page
wsb:deezer_song_id
  • 747198
wsb:explicit_lyrics_count
wsb:gain
wsb:has_explicit_lyrics
wsb:iTunes_page
wsb:language_detected
  • english
wsb:rank
wsb:spotify_page
wsb:title_without_accent
  • Rubber Biscuit
wsb:youTube_page
wsb:arousal
wsb:has_emotion_tags
wsb:has_social_tags
wsb:lastFm_song_id
  • TRZOAOS128F932017C
wsb:valence
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