The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Inspired a No. 1 Song by Another Band
The Beatles‘ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was not one of the band’s hits. Despite this, the song inspired a No. 1 single by another band. Notably, the tune in question knocked The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” from the top of the charts in the United States.
Misheard lyrics from The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ inspired a big hit
John Fred was a rock ‘n’ roll singer. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Fred purchased a copy of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) when the album was new. He was shaving when he listened to the opening track: “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
He erroneously believed John Lennon was singing “Lucy in disguise with diamonds” rather than “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Fred felt the misheard lyric was clever. Subsequently, he was disappointed when he looked at the album and it said “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” The misheard lyric gave Fred the inkling of an idea for John Fred & His Playboy Band’s hit single “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses).”
The Beatles weren’t the only inspiration behind ‘Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)’
Women wearing sunglasses at a Floridian beach also inspired the track, as did a bra commercial containing the line “Cross your heart with your living bra.” The final song incorporated that line. The song was initially called “Beverly in Disguise (With Glasses)” but the lady in the track was renamed Judy.
Fred and co-writer Andrew Bernard brought the song to the rest of the band. The other band members didn’t like the song much. To them, “Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” sounded like bubblegum pop. While the other band members weren’t big fans of the song, it became popular soon after its release. It even knocked The Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye” from the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
How ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ and ‘Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)’ performed on the charts in the United States
Meanwhile, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was not a single, so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which topped the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks. Altogether, the album stayed on the chart for 233 weeks.
“Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” was a hit in the United States. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, staying on the chart for 10 weeks in total. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, John Fred & His Playboy Band never topped the chart again.
“Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)” became John Fred & His Playboy Band’s biggest hit and it wouldn’t be the same without The Beatles.
