The Knickerbockers were a band formed in 1962 by
Buddy Randell (vocals, sax), previously of the
Royal Teens, who had a hit with
Short Shorts, along with brothers Beau (guitar/vocals) and John (bass/vocals) Charles and drummer
Jimmy Walker. After three years of unsuccessful recordings, following every fad going (for example the flop single
Jerk Town is sung in the style of the
Four Seasons and references
hot rods along with the songs
The In Crowd,
Surf City and
Downtown), they had a top 20 hit with the
Beatles soundalike
Lies, penned by Randell and Beau Charles.
Lies was one of the great singles of the 60s, but the follow-up, One Track Mind was even better. Unfortunately the band's label, Challenge, couldn't handle the distribution and the single only reached number 45. Shortly after Walker replaced Bill Medley in The Righteous Brothers, and the band split soon after.
The band's two great singles are on the Nuggets box, and there are numerous reissues/ rarity sets. The definitive collection by the band is titled The Fabulous Knickerbockers and is on Sundazed records.