Pop Culture Safari!

The Batman TV show - out this week on DVD and Blu-ray after many years of delay - launched full-fledged Batmania back in the 1960s, resulting in thousands of cash-in products, from toys to clothing, to branded food items and records.

When you consider the continued popularity of the series' theme song, plus the memorably dynamic background music featured on the show, it's easy to see why vinyl was a natural way to exploit the program's popularity.

Literally hundreds of Batman-associated records were released during the mid 1960s, most featuring version of the theme song, along with other Batman and comic book-inspired tunes.

The trick for Batman fans and record collectors is to determine which of these myriad releases is worthwhile.

And more casual fans, who just want a copy of the real "Batman Theme" for their collections may not know where to start.

Here, then, is a look at key Bat Records of the 60s.

Finding the real "Batman Theme"

The "Batman Theme" was penned by Neal Hefti,a jazz trumpeter and arranger who wrote charts for the Woody Herman and Count Basie bands.

Hefti released a version of "The Batman Theme" as a single after the show became a big hit, but this version isn't the same one featured on the TV show.

That version was arranged and recorded by Nelson Riddle, famous for his work with Frank Sinatra and others. Riddle produced a version of Hefti's theme for use as the program's theme, and composed and arranged all the background music for the show.

His version of the tune, and other music from the show is available on the LP below, which also includes funny sound bytes from show between the songs. If you only need one Batman album, this is the one to get.

Batman (Exclusive Television Soundtrack) by Nelson Riddle

2014 reissue out now on CD and vinyl

1966 Batman movie soundtrack

Also very highly recommended is Riddle's score for the 1966 "Batman" movie, starring most of the TV show's cast, but on the big screen. The music is a lot of fun even without the visuals and you gain an appreciation for Riddle's imaginative compositions and arrangements. The remastered version below features the TV show song as a bonus cut.

Batman: The Movie Original Motion Picture Score by Nelson Riddle

La-La Land Records limited edition CD

Available here.

The Neal Hefti albums

Now, we get to Hefti. His version of the Batman theme, which doesn't sound much different from Riddle's has appeared on numerous LPs, which are padded out by Hefti instrumentals that are groovy to hear, but were never featured on the TV show.

Neal Hefti recorded two Batman-themed albums featuring his theme tune and other instrumental tracks, not from the show. They have been reissued, and sometimes combined on CD.

This CD, which combines tracks from both LPs. Here are pics and track listings for the original albums:

Recordings by the Bat Cast

With Bat-exploitation underway, several of the show's cast members also got into the record game, including Adam West, who gamely cut "Miranda," a Caribbean/calypso-type tune that hints at the singer's secret identity.

"Miranda" by Adam West

1966, 20th Century Fox Records, single

Available on the compilation CD Batmania: Music Inspired by the Batman TV Series.

Weirder, yet, and maybe weirdest of all - Burt "Robin" Ward cut a song written and produced by Frank Zappa that poked fun at the Boy Wonder's teenage fans.

"Boy Wonder, I Love You," by Burt Ward

MGM, 1966, single

Never widely released, the song doesn't appear on any compilation albums that I could find. However, you can listen to it here.

Bat villains Frank Gorshin and Burgess Meredith also cut singles themed after their respective characters:

"The Riddler" by Frank Gorshin

A&M Records, 1966, single

Available on the compilation CD Batmania: Music Inspired by the Batman TV Series.

"The Capture" and "The Escape" by Burgess Meredith

ABC Records, 1966, single

Available on the compilation CD Batmania: Music Inspired by the Batman TV Series.

Bat Records for kids

Children, obviously, were the key market for many Bat records, including these:

It's the Batman

There Goes Robin

The Battiest Car Around

The Penguin

The Joker Gets Trumped

All Batman Records (Synthetic Plastics Company), 1966

These are 7-inch singles in figurative sleeves (the main selling point) marketed to children.

The Official Adventures of Batman and Robin

Leo the Lion Records, 1966, audio dramas

More Official Adventures of Batman and Robin

Leo the Lion Records, 1966, audio dramas

Available on used vinyl.

Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder

Golden Records, 1966, audio dramas

Bat Records by surf and guitar bands

With its catchy 12-bar riff and basic beat, the Batman theme naturally leant itself to surf'n'garage music takes, so it's no wonder several acts from these genres cut Batman-related records.

Surf duo Jan and Dean went above and beyond, making a record that included the TV show song, but also several other comic booky tunes and lots of goofy narration. The result is one of the weirdest albums of the 1960s:

Jan and Dean Meet Batman

Liberty Records, 1966

Available for download

The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale was a one-off collaboration between Blues Project and avant garde jazz pianist Sun Ra, playing organ, though nobody knew that at the time. Now the album, which features a rocking version of the "Batman Theme" and other Batman-title instrumental tracks not from the show, is regarded as a cult classic by record collectors. And it sounds great - sort of a tougher version of Booker T. and the MGs.

Batman and Robin by the Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale

Tifton, 1966

Available on CD, vinyl and download

The Marketts were among the better and more imaginative surf groups, turning out records that augmented twangy, heavily reverbed guitars with strings and horns. As mentioned above, their version of the Batman theme charted and they rounded it out on LP with lots of other Batman-titled tunes, none from the TV show.

The Batman Theme Played by the Marketts

Warner Bros. Records, 1966

Available on CD and vinyl.

More miscellaneous Bat Records of note

Rough-voiced R&B singer LaVern Baker had a big hit in the early days of rock'n'roll with "Jim Dandy (To the Rescue)" To cash in on the Bat craze, the basic tune was reworked to replace Jim's name with that of the Caped Crusader. The result is both catchy and fun.

Batman to the Rescue by Lavern Baker

Brunswick, 1966, single

Available on the compilation CD Batmania: Music Inspired by the Batman TV Series.

The "Batman Theme" was also recorded by a couple of the 1960s biggest bands, The Kinks and The Who, among seemingly hundreds of others. We'll round out the post with those and few other notable renditions.

The Kinks Live at Kelvin Hall

Pye Records, 1967

Features the band playing "The Batman Theme."

Available on CD and vinyl.

Music: A Bit More of Me by David McCallum

Capitol Records, 1967

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. star conducts orchestral versions of pop tunes, including "The Batman Theme."
Available on CD

Ready, Steady, Who by the Who

Polydor, 1967

Seven-inch EP features the Who performing "The Batman Theme" in their inimitable style.
Available on this CD

The Horn Meets "The Hornet" by Al "He's the King" Hirt

RCA Victor 1966

The New Orleans trumpet man played the theme tune for "Batman" spinoff "The Green Hornet." Naturally, when it came time to cut an LP of the tune, he included a cover of "The Batman Theme" as well.

Hirt's cover of "The Batman Theme" is available on the compilation CD Batmania: Music Inspired by the Batman TV Series.

The Biggest Twang of Them All by Duane EddyReprise Records, 1966

The king of pre-surf instrumental guitar songs provides his take of "The Batman Theme."
Available for download

Three years before the Batman TV show hit the airwaves 1966, DC Comics approved construction of a custom Bat car that toured the country.

Heritage Auctions is listing the vehicle at a starting bid of $90,000. Looks nifty!

More pics below.

Details from the press release:

The first touring Batmobile, which started life as a 1956 Oldsmobile 88, with the famous 324 Rocket engine — the predecessor to the muscle cars of the early 1960s — languished in a New Hampshire field for decades before being rescued and restored, and will be auctioned for the very first time on Dec. 6 at Heritage. It could now bring $500,000 or more. The opening bid is $90,000.

"This is a great piece of lost Pop Culture and Americana," said Margaret Barrett, Director of Entertainment and Music at Heritage Auctions. "After it was removed from the field, it went through a few owners before the most recent owner, Toy Car Exchange, put the car through a painstaking frame up restoration with the original engine and other original parts lovingly restored and rebuilt."

This is the earliest DC-licensed Batmobile known to exist. Work on the original touring Batmobile was finished in 1963, two years before the George Barris-designed TV Batmobile had begun in December of 1965.

The car, which measures 17 feet by 83 inches, took three years to build. It was stripped and given a newly created body, replete with the large fin, front end and pocket sliding doors. The high-concept design was, ultimately, highly-reminiscent of the DC comic book cars.

When Batmania started in earnest in the early 1960s, ALL STAR Dairies, a DC Comic Book licensee, approached the owner of the car about renting it, repainting it and rebadging it in official Batman colors and labels and then touring it as the Batmobile. The car was toured in small towns in the Eastern U.S. as "Batman's Batmobile" according to a 1966 Keene Sentinel newspaper clipping.

"This is from before replicas of the Barris TV Batmobile were made and available for touring," added Barrett. "Those were known as 'ABC TV Batmobiles,' and later on as the Barris Batmobile or 1966 Batmobile."

The original '63 Batmobile was returned to the owner in late 1966 and subsequently retired, eventually being sold for less than $200. Within a few years it would lay in a New Hampshire field and, for several decades, would remain a long forgotten piece of American Pop Culture history.

The car, or what was left of it, was re-discovered in 2008 and dug out of the dirt by Bobby Smith of Swanzey, NH. It was sold online to a Chicago Car rare auto dealer, who sold it to auto historian George Albright, who meticulously researched and tracked down the original builders of the car, retired DC Comics executives, as well as former ALL STAR Dairies executives, all of whom had very distinct memories of the car. Albright supplemented the research with other ALL STAR Batman memorabilia, such as milk cartons and ice cream containers with the National Periodic Publications copyright (then owner of DC Comics).

In February 2013 the car was purchased by Toy Car Exchange LLC and transported to Borbon Fabrications in Sacramento, CA, a company that specializes in vintage car restorations. Restoration was beautifully and accurately completed more than a year later and the car made its debut at the renowned Sacramento Autorama, America's longest running indoor car show, where it won first place in the hand built sports car class, ahead of such legendary classics as the Shelby Cobra.