Big Daddy

Emerging from Los Angeles in 1983 via the Rhino Records imprint, the comedic pop ensemble Big Daddy devotes itself to recasting recent chart material in the manner of 1950s and early-1960s rock & roll. A notable instance occurred in 1985 when their version of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," delivered in the vein of Pat Boone, reached the U.K. Top 40. The ensemble's actual background remains deliberately obscure; its members assert they represent the final major act of the 1950s and recount being abducted by Laotian guerillas during a performance for U.S. troops in Vietnam, only to be freed in 1983. By 1991 the lineup had expanded to an octet whose four principal vocalists were Marty Kaniger (also guitar), Tom Lee (also guitar), Bob Wayne, and Don Raymond (also guitar), supported by John Hatton on bass, Norman A. Norman on keyboards, Bob Sandman on reeds, and Damon DeGrignon on drums.