JOHN FRED & HIS
PLAYBOY BAND
 John
Fred (born John Fred Gourrier, 8 May 1941 – 14 April 2005) was a
blue-eyed soul, Cajun swamp pop and bubble-gum pop performer from Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, best known for the song, "Judy in Disguise (With
Glasses)
His group John
Fred and the Playboys were formed in 1956; their first hit single was
1958's "Shirley". He appeared on Alan Freed's show, but when
Dick Clark asked him to sing on American Bandstand, Fred had to turn him
down because he had to play in a basketball game.
In 1967 Fred
and band member Andrew Bernard co-wrote "Judy in Disguise", a
parody of The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
The song became enormously successful, ironically knocking another
Beatles song ("Hello, Goodbye") out of the #1 chart position
on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in January 1968. Although Fred
actually had a well-rehearsed and talented group honed by years on the
road, now known as John Fred & His Playboy Band, he was branded as a
novelty act and never had another success. Only after years of struggles
did Fred obtain full legal rights to "Judy in Disguise" and
its royalties.
Fred continued
to perform in bands, coached high school basketball and baseball,
remained a fixture at concerts and shows in his hometown, and hosted a
popular local radio show, The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll. In 2002 he
released his final album, Somebody's Knockin. In 2004 his health began
to fail and he received a kidney transplant. Complications ensued,
culminating in a long hospital stay, and finally, death in 2005. Fred
was survived by his wife, Sandra, and a son.
In
April of 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored John Fred (Gourrier)
for his contributions to Louisiana music by inducting him into The
Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
JOHN FRED AND HIS PLAYBOYS
(Paula LPS-2191) 1966
34.40 OF JOHN FRED AND HIS
PLAYBOYS (Paula LPS-2193) 1967
AGNES ENGLISH (Paula Records LPS-2197) 1967
Side 1: Up And Down, Judy In Disguise, Off The Wall, Out Of Left Field,
She Shot A Hole In My Soul, Most Unlikely To Succeed
Side 2: Agnes English, When The Lights Go Out, No Good To Cry, Sometimes
You Just Can't Win, Sad Story, AcHenall Riot
PERMANENTLY STATED (Paula
LPS-2201) 1969
LOVE MY SOUL (Universal City
Records 73077) 1970
Singles
Down In New Orleans/I Love You (Montel 904, 1959) Shirley/My Love For
You (Montel 1002, 1959) Good Lovin'/You Know You Made Me Cry (Montel
1007, 1961) Mirror Mirror (On The Wall)/To Have And To Hold (Montel
2000, 1962) The Fool/There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight (Jewel 730, 1964)
There Goes That Train/Dial 101 (Cause I Still Love You) (Jewel 730,
1964) same catalog number? Lenne/You're Mad At Me (Jewel 736, 1964)
Boogie Children/My First Love (Jewel 737, 1964) as "The
Playboys" Boogie Children/My First Love (Joy 1005, 1965) Wrong To
Me/How Can I Prove (Jewel 743, 1965) Fortune Teller/Making Love To You
(Paula 225, 1965) Can't I Get A Word In/Sun City (Paula 234, 1966) Doin'
The Best I Can/Leave Her Never (Paula 244, 1966) Outta My Head/Love
Comes In Time (Paula 247, 1966) Up And Down/Wind-Up Doll (Paula 259,
1967) Agnes English/Sad Story (Paula 273, 1967) Judy In Disguise (With
Glasses)/When The Lights Go Out (Paula 282, 1967) Also as White, Yellow
& Pink labels Hey Hey Bunny/No Letter Today (Paula 294, 1968) Lonely
Are The Lonely/We Played Games (Paula 303, 1968) Tissue Paper/Little Dum
Dum (Paula 310, 1968) What Is Happiness/Sometimes You Just Can't Win
(Paula 315, 1968) Back In The U.S.S.R./Silly Sarah Carter (Uni 55135,
1969) Open Doors/Three Deep In A Feeling (Uni 55160, 1969) Love My
Soul/Julia Julia (Uni 55187, 1969) Come With Me/Where's Everybody Going
(Uni 55220, 1970) I'm In Love Again/In The Mood (Bell 382, 1973) as
"John Fred and the Creepers" Keep It Hid/You Had To Be A Woman
(Sugarcane 1001, 1975) Jukebox Shirley/Hey, Good Lookin' (Sugarcane
1002, 1975)
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