Laugh, Laugh" is a song by
American
rock group
The Beau Brummels, written by guitarist
Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later
known as
Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut
single, the song reached number 15 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 chart the following February.
"Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single to come out of the
emerging
San Francisco music scene in response to the
British Invasion. The song was later included on the
band's first full-length album,
Introducing the Beau Brummels, released in April
1965.
The Beau Brummels promoted the single by appearing
on several television shows, including a 1965 episode of
The Flintstones in which the band gave an animated
performance as the Beau Brummelstones. In 1994, "Laugh,
Laugh" was selected to
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock
and Roll exhibit. Lead singer
Sal Valentino reworked the song for his 2008 solo album,
Every Now and Then.
"Laugh, Laugh" was released in December 1964, seven
months after the band's formation. In January 1965, the song
entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 96. The song
remained in the
top 40 portion of the chart for eight weeks, peaking at
number 15 in February. Donahue believed the single would
have peaked at number one if the band was on a label with
stronger distribution In Canada, the song reached number two
on
RPM magazine's singles chart. As the song climbed
the charts, many listeners assumed the Beau Brummels were
British, due to the band's name and musical style For their
part, Donahue and Mitchell spread rumors that the band was
indeed from the UK, and had the band dress in Beatlesque
suits.
"Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single from a burgeoning
San Francisco music scene—including such bands as Jefferson
Airplane, the Grateful Dead, We Five, Moby Grape,
Quicksilver Messenger Service and Country Joe and the Fish—
to respond to the British Invasion The song is credited as
one of the earliest tracks to blend
beat music with
folk rock, even before
The Byrds recorded "Mr.
Tambourine Man."
Chris Hillman, who played
bass guitar with the Byrds, saw the Beau Brummels at a
Los Angeles concert, and later remarked: "I remember them
doing the hit they had, 'Laugh, Laugh.' They really sort of
answered the Beatles before we did, in that sense." However,
Byrds singer-guitarist
Roger McGuinn claimed "they had a little trouble singing
in tune." The song was one of 10 pop singles named in a
January 1966 issue of Billboard which credited the
use of harmonica in folk, pop, and
rhythm and blues (R&B) music for sparking a harmonica
sales boom at record retailers in 1964 and 1965
