The Banana Splits Show

I remember in the mid 70s staying at my grandmothers house and I would watch the Banana Splits reruns. I saw this the other day and had to pass this delightful theme on to other ears…warning it will be there ALL day. 

This was a Hanna-Barbera show that ran from 1968-1970. They set out to do something really different to stand out from the pack, choosing to make characters similar to their in-house style except, instead of being animated, they’d be live-action costumed characters with real people in the suits. The costumes and sets were designed by Sid and Marty Krofft.

They consisted of guitarist Feegle the Beagle (voiced by Paul Winchell), drummer Bingo the Ape (Daws Butler), Drooper the Lion (Allan Melvin) on bass, and Snorky the Elephant (who only spoke in honks) on keyboards.

Sid and Marty Krofft would later make this type of show popular with their own shows H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, and The Bugaloos with an added psychedelic edge to it. 

The theme song “The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)” was written by Kellogg’s jingle writer N.B. Winkless Jr., who also wrote the “Snap, Crackle, Pop” jingle for Rice Krispies cereal. 

The song peaked at #96 in the Billboard 100. A punk band named The Dickies covered the song and took it to #7 in the UK in 1979.

The Banana Splits Theme

Tra la la tra la la la
Tra la la tra la la la
Tra la la tra la la la
Tra la la tra la la la

One banana two banana three banana four
All bananas make a split so do many more
Over hill and highway the banana buggies go
Come along to bring you the banana splits show

Four banana three banana two banana one
All bananas playing in the bright warm sun
Flipping like a pancake popping like a cork
Fleagle bingo drooper and snork

Making up a mess of fun
Making up a mess of fun
Making up a mess of fun
Lots of fun for everyone

Four banana three banana two banana one
All bananas playing in the bright warm sun
Flipping like a pancake popping like a cork
Fleagle bingo drooper and snork

Author: badfinger20 (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

19 thoughts on “The Banana Splits Show”

  2. I loved this show and the song. I’ll be singing it all day now. The video is quite a time capsule of what ultimate fun looked like then. The Dickies are hilarious. I haven’t seen that video before.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. The song is great! I want one of those amphibious atv’s the have… I started to price them Friday… but yes I loved the show.

      Like

      Reply

  3. Now that’s what I call kids’ entertainment! Seriously, I remember when this was first on, and we loved it. I still do.

    Allan Melvin was the greatest: we see him a lot in “Andy Griffith” and “Gomer Pyle USMC” reruns, I think he was in “Sgt. Bilko,” and he voiced a lot of cartoon characters. He never really became a star, but he was one of those guys that added something to everything he was in. You have to respect a guy like that.

    Liked by 1 person

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