I’ve written many times on this very blog about the 1966 Batman TV show and how it was the biggest thing ever. Rather than repeat myself I’ll just offer more evidence. Exhibit A is the Batman movie which was released in ’66, the same year as the TV show! By comparison, it took 31 years for The Beverly Hillbillies television series (1962) to become a major motion picture (1993). Take that Jed Clampett!

Click the image for a widescreen view.

The thing that was so unique about the Batman phenomenon was how everybody and his brother jumped on the bat-wagon. Back in those days, they didn’t wait for permission or an official licensing deal. They just released bat products as fast as they could batufacture them!

Naturally, this included lots of bat music, including umpteen versions of the Batman theme song. But it didn’t stop there! Some people wrote new songs about Batman. Or not-so-new, as the case may be. Which brings us to our star spotlight of the day, LaVern Baker.

LaVern was no stranger to hit records. In 1953 she had a big hit with “Tweedlee Dee” and in 1956 she had another chart-topper called “Jim Dandy” which sold more than a million copies. It was only natural that when Batman hit big ten years later, LaVern turned her big hit 45 into a batastic bat-tune, “Batman To The Rescue.”

With the refrain “Jim Dandy to the rescue” the original song didn’t need much work to change the hero from the very capable Mr. Dandy to the Caped Crusader. Just change a few words and start recording!

Even before LaVern Baker’s record, Batman and Robin were very familiar with rescues.

Get ready to Batusi! Click the link below to listen.

Batman to the Rescue - LaVern Baker