Bugaloos

Sid and Marty Krofft Productions followed the Saturday-morning triumph of H.R. Pufnstuf by launching The Bugaloos in an attempt to break into the pop-music arena. The quartet of British singing insects resided in Tranquility Forest alongside their companion Sparky the Firefly. Each installment featured the malevolent Benita Bizarre, portrayed by Martha Raye, and her inept aides Flunky Rat, Woofer, and Tweeter devising fresh plots to appropriate the Bugaloos’ abilities. Sparse narrative probably explains the program’s brief run of two seasons, which began in September 1970 and concluded in September 1972. The principal roles went to four little-known performers: Caroline Ellis as Joy, the singing butterfly; Wayne Laryea as Harmony, the keyboard-playing bumblebee; John McIndoe as IQ, the grasshopper guitarist; and John Philpott as Courage, the male ladybug drummer. Comparable television pop ensembles of the era—Banana Splits, Monkees, Archies, Lancelot Link & the Evolution Revolution—likewise introduced a fresh song in every episode. The compositions originated with the same writers who would later supply the mid-’70s themes for Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. Capitol Records issued an album drawn from the series in 1970 under the fitting title The Bugaloos. Long-out-of-print enthusiasts finally received a CD edition of that recording in 2000 on the Japanese imprint Vivid. The tracks depart from the standard bubblegum template of the period, favoring instead a polished sound built around strings and tight vocal harmonies. The lyrics range from the playful, chant-like “Gna, Gna Gna, Gna Gna” and “The Bugaloos Theme” to the comparatively mature “The Senses of Our World,” “Fly Away With Us,” and “Older Woman!”—unusual material for a children’s record.