Not Edison Lighthouse, Not White Plains: Tony Burrows' Other Group That Time Forgot

Bubblegum pop certainly had a hold over audiences in the late '60s and early '70s, and no artist managed to dominate the genre quite like session artist Tony Burrows. As homogeneous as the genre may seem to modern ears, his playful and experimental work for the Pipkins showed audiences a weirder, more novel side of his vocal work.

The Pipkins were Burrows' 1970 project alongside songwriter Roger Greenaway, a school friend and member of his 1960s band, the Kestrels. They had originally parted ways in 1965, with Burrows joining what would become White Plains and Greenaway writing hits for long-forgotten '60s artists such as Gene Pitney and Graham Nash's debut group, the Hollies. In 1970, Burrows' first U.K. Top 10 single with the White Plains, "My Baby Loves Lovin'," had actually been penned by Greenaway and another former bandmate, Roger Cook, reassembling the team.

"Gimme Dat Ding," the Pipkins only hit, was actually commissioned for the classic English television program "Little Big Time" for the segment "Oliver in the Overworld." The humorous and outlandish story told through the lyrics reflects its context within the show, but Burrows and Greenaway's convincing performance managed to grab the attention of adults, too. "Gimme Dat Ding" would peak at No. 6 on the U.K. charts, occupying the Top 10 for four weeks. It also reached No. 9 in the U.S. and took the No. 1 spot in New Zealand.

The Pipkins were never meant to be a real band, but the surprising success of "Gimme Dat Ding" garnered real attention. It even created a demand for live performances, though Tony Burrows and Roger Greenaway wouldn't make it out of the studio. Much like Burrows' bubblegum pop hit, "Love Goes (Where My Rosemary Goes)" for Edison Lighthouse, the Pipkins on stage featured different artists than the original bubblegum recording – particularly Len Marshall and Davey Sands.

The Pipkins' follow-up singles, "Yakety Yak" and "Are You Cooking, Goose?," could never live up to "Gimme Dat Ding's" success, prompting the end of the group. Burrows' legacy is founded on being the voice behind some of the most notable one-hit wonders of the '70s, but he had more success fronting fake bands than with his own solo work. His performance on the hit BBC musical program, "Top of the Pops," earned him the honor of becoming the only artist to front three bands on the program at once, and he even had four records with different bands occupy the British Top 10 in the same year. 

Despite this success, he still couldn't manage to chart higher than No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his solo debut, "Melanie Makes Me Smile." Although Burrows may have been condemned to stay in the studio, his musical magic would still achieve greatness. He's the voice behind the harmonies for Elton John's "Tiny Dancer," and "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" charted again in 2022 after going viral on TikTok. Despite his scattered legacy, it's clear that Burrows knew how to handle a hit when it landed on his lap.