“Baby Baby Baby”
by Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks
1961 song
"Baby Baby Baby" was Sky Saxon’s second solo single, released in 1961 under the name Richie Marsh and The Hoodwinks. It’s a corny stroll through light pre-Beatles teen pop. From a modern perspective, the best thing about it is hearing Sky Saxon, drug-crazed garage rock hero of legend, sighing in a pure and youthful voice about his “darling angel from up above”.
A chirping sax helps keep the beat on "Baby Baby Baby" and give it a slightly raunchy teen blush. A backing chorus of girls chant helpful nonsense syllables as Richie emotes through the almost nonexistent lyrics. The tune pleasant and even fun but it did not establish Mr. Marsh as a pop star – he’d have to transform himself for that.
Legend has it that young Richie Marsh had gotten a job digging a swimming pool; the pool’s owner turned out to be former Li’l Rascal Darla Hood, now grown up and married to a record company owner. "Baby Baby Baby" was co-written by Darla who also wrote the B-side "Half Angel". She gave them to pop sensation wannabe Richie and the single was released on her husband’s label, Acama Records, with Darla singing backup.
"Baby Baby Baby" was one of the early Sky Saxon songs on the 1982 European LP Bad Part Of Town and has also been on the CD versions of that quasi-legal album. (They all use original 45s as their source; who knows what became of the master tapes of this 7″.) In 2003 "Baby Baby Baby" was released on Sky Saxon Presents "A Starlight Date With Richard Marsh", a vinyl LP that collected all twelve known early Sky sides. The version on this release also seems to have come from a 45 source but the sound is inferior owing to the excessive noise reduction applied to it.
