Why are so many great songs from the 1960’s shrouded in mystery? I’ve been trying very hard to figure this one out, but I haven’t learned much about it yet. I’ll tell you what I do know – it’s a really nice record!

This song was written by Lou Duhig and Ruby Berry, who also wrote songs for Bonnie Guitar, The Castells, Ronnie Deauville, Tony Wilde, and a folk group called The Moments out of Nashville, among others. Their biggest claim to fame, at least from what I can find, was the hit song Doll House first recorded by Donnie Brooks. Most of the songs they wrote were released on the Era label between 1957 and 1964. This could be one of their last major compositions.

The Picadilly record label was a subsidiary of Jerden out of Seattle, Washington, which was founded in 1960 by Jerry Dennon and Bonnie Guitar, and not to be confused with the Piccadilly label from England. Bonnie had previously founded another record company, Dolphin, which later became Dolton, and was the home of The Ventures. Era Records, however, was located in Hollywood, California. In 1957, Bonnie Guitar recorded a song called Frantic Party that had been written by Lou Duhig and Ruby Berry. That could explain how they ended up writing this song for Bonnie Guitar’s Picadilly label. Bonnie released a lot of her records on the Dot label, which had been founded by Randy Wood in Gallatin, Tennessee, but moved to Los Angeles in 1956. Well, that’s probably the connection between Seattle and Los Angeles, but it’s all just speculation.

There’s a chance, although unlikely, that “Larry” of Larry And Mike is actually Larry Verne, the guy from Minneapolis who had the hit novelty song, Mister Custer, on the Era label in 1960. If you listen to both records, you might hear some similarity in the voice, once you disregard the embellished southern accent on Mister Custer.

Anyway, here’s Queen Of The Starlight Dance by Larry And Mike on Picadilly 500 from 1963:

If you actually know who Larry And Mike were, by all means, please let me know. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the musical treasures on MusicMaster Oldies and tell all your friends about it!