The Barbarians were an American garage band of the 1960s with a few nationally charted hits. They had their biggest hit with the novelty single "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?".

History

The Barbarians formed in 1964 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Original members included Bruce Benson, Ronnie Enos, and Jerry Causi. While their debut single, "Hey Little Bird" produced by Al Ham,(on Joy Records) bombed, two of their next three singles (on Laurie) charted on Billboard, (with "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" peaking at No. 55) and also made the Cash Box charts. "Are You a Boy" was co-written by Doug Morris, who went on to head Universal Music Group.

They received their biggest break when featured on The T.A.M.I. Show (performing "Hey Little Bird") alongside other artists such as The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, Lesley Gore, Chuck Berry, James Brown & The Famous Flames, The Miracles, and Marvin Gaye.

They wore leather sandals and grew their hair longer than most of their contemporaries. One-armed drummer Victor "Moulty" Moulton used a prosthetic hook on his left arm, having at age 14 lost part of his arm in an explosion. Moulty was able to play drums using the prosthesis to hold a drum stick. Their minor hit, "Moulty" was a humorous and melodramatic autobiographical song chronicling the drummer's life and the loss of his hand. Moulton sings lead on "Moulty, but the other Barbarians do not play on the track. Instead, Moulton is backed by New York session musicians including members of Levon & The Hawks, later to be known as The Band. Although it barely scraped the Billboard charts, "Moulty" would gain a cult following when it was included on Lenny Kaye's Nuggets compilation in 1972,

In 1965 Boston guitarist, Geoffrey Morris replaced Ronnie Enos on lead guitar. It was Morris' arrangement of "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" that is heard on the single.

In 1967, Benson, Morris and Causi left The Barbarians to form Black Pearl. The Barbarians disbanded in 1968, though not before a version of the group incorporating Denny Romans aka Demian Bell (from Maypole) as the lead guitarist and lead singer, with Walter Parks as Bass player. They combined martial arts and music by rigorously rehearsing nearly everyday at a Karate dojo owned by Moulty's brother-in-law.

The Ramones' song "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" includes Moulty in its list of rock and roll figures and institutions.

Discography

45s

• "Hey Little Bird" / "You've Got to Understand": Joy J-290 (1964)
• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl" / "Take It Or Leave It": Laurie L-3308 (1965)
• "What the New Breed Say" / "Susie-Q": Laurie LR 3321 (1965)
• "Moulty" / "I'll Keep on Seeing You": Laurie 3326 (1966)

LPs

• Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl (1966): Laurie LLP-2033 (mono); SLP-2033 (stereo). Tracks: Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl / Moulty / Mr. Tambourine Man / House of the Rising Sun / Marie Elena / Bo Diddley / Memphis, Tennessee // What the New Breed Say / Take It Or Leave It / I'll Keep on Seeing You / Linguica / Susie Q / I've Got a Woman

National chart appearances

Billboard

• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl." Debuted on September 25, 1965, peaked at #55, stayed on charts 6 weeks
• "What the New Breed Say." Debuted on Bubbling Under charts on November 20, 1965, peaked at #102, stayed on Bubbling under charts 6 weeks. Did not proceed to Hot 100 Chart.
• "Moulty." Debuted on February 26, 1966, peaked at #90, stayed on charts 4 weeks.

Cash Box

• "Are You a Boy Or Are You a Girl." Debuted on September 18, 1965, peaked at #62, and stayed on the charts for 7 weeks.
• "Moulty." Debuted on March 5, 1966, peaked at #97, stayed on charts 1 week.

External reference

• Allmusic entry
• http://theband.hiof.no/albums/are_you_a_boy_or_are_you_a_girl.html -- Contains an excerpt from a 1998 interview with Victor Moulton where he confirms The Band's participation in the "Moulty" recording session.