There is so much to the story of B. Bumble & The Stingers, all I can do is hit on some of the highlights.
The song "Nut Rocker" was written by whiz kid Kim Fowley, and was released in 1962.
Kim had secured a copyright to an arrangement from Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker.
B. Bumble & The Stingers was not a real band, but a bunch of very talented studio musicians.
The first version was recorded by Jack B. Nimble And The Quicks, and when that didn't sell well, it was re-recorded by a different group of studio musicians as B. Bumble & The Stingers.
The single made it to #23 in the U.S. and was a number one hit in the U.K. which went against all the rules at the time.
The BBC had a very strict policy against playing records that parodied or mocked classical music, but a committee reviewed the song and decided it was a harmless homage rather than an offensive parody.
The song was so successful, they had to throw together a touring band to support the single that didn't include any of the original musicians.
They also had another hit in 1961 titled "Bumble Boogie," but you can only push a concept so far, and "Apple Knocker," and "Dawn Cracker" went nowhere.
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