Bread and Butter (The Newbeats song)



"Bread and Butter" is a 1964 song by The Newbeats. Written by Larry Parks and Jay Turnbow, "Bread and Butter" was the group's first and most popular hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1964 for two weeks, while attaining the same position on Cashbox for one week. The song reached #15 in the United Kingdom and #8 in Australia. It sold over one million copies in the United States, attaining a gold disc.

"Bread and Butter" served as The Newbeats' demo in an effort to obtain a recording contract with Hickory Records. They were then asked to formally record the track for the label.

The opening two-chord piano riff and the lead falsetto singing voice of Larry Henley are notable features of the song.

Soon the song was sampled in the Dickie Goodman novelty song "Presidential Interview (Flying Saucer '64)". "Bread and Butter" was the inspiration for the advertising jingle of Schmidt Baking Company used in the 1970s and 1980s; it went: "I like bread and butter, I like toast and jam, I like Schmidt's Blue Ribbon Bread, It's my favorite brand". Devo covered the song in 1986 for the soundtrack to the film 9½ Weeks, but it wasn't used in the film itself. A lyrically modified version of the song was used as the theme for the television series Baby Talk. The song features on the soundtrack to the 1998 comedy-drama film, Simon Birch, as well as in the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. "Bread and Butter" was featured in The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars and in the Lizzie McGuire episode "She Said, He Said, She Said". The song has been featured on numerous compilations, including Billboard Top Rock'n'Roll Hits: 1964 and Classic Rock (Time-Life Music).

The American Henry Qualls, a Texas and country blues guitarist and singer, covered the song on Blues from Elmo, Texas (1994)

Chart run

 * Billboard Hot 100 (12 weeks, entered August 15): Reached #2 (2 weeks)
 * Cashbox (14 weeks, entered August 8): 70, 44, 26, 10, 8, 4, 3, 2, 3, 6, 12, 17, 28, 35

Cover versions

 * Checkmates, Ltd. released a version of the song as part of a medley on their 1967 debut album, Live! At Caesar's Palace.