"Darlin'" by Yipes!

Song#:  0277
Date:  08/02/1980
Debut:  89
Peak:  68
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Power Pop



Pop Bits:  Hailing from Milwaukee, Yipes! was a group headed by songwriter/lead singer Pat McCurdy. They formed in the late 70s and ended up getting signed by RCA/Millennium. Their self-titled debut appeared in 1978 and made a brief appearance on the album chart. It seemed to be enough for the label to ask for a second LP and in 1980 they issued "A Bit Irrational." The single lifted from the album is this song that got them a few weeks on the singles chart. Unfortunately this time around it was not enough and the label dropped the band and group eventually disbanded. McCurdy continues to perform, but these days he has a solo cabaret act that he does frequently around the Midwest.

ReduxReview:  This is quite a pumped-up version of the original (see below). It's a good song from the Beach Boys' "Wild Honey" album and translates pretty well to power pop. I'm not sure the group did anything to advance the song except amp it up a bit, but they did a nice job with it. I heard a couple of other songs by them and they seemed like a fun, quirky group. But there were a lot of other pop/new wave groups at the time and they may just not have distinguished themselves from the crowd.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) This song is a remake of a Beach Boys tune. Their original peaked at #19 in 1968 and for the next nine years was their last Top 20 song. The song also charted in 1978 as a duet by Paul Davis and Susan Collins. They made it to #51.  2) McCurdy was asked in 2008 to write a song for the Green Bay Packers to be played in the stadium. He wrote "I Love the Green and Gold" and starred in a video for the song that also featured Larry the Cable Guy.

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