‘Super Freak’ Meets the Everly Brothers : What started as a Rhino Records novelty act nine years ago is still out crooning ‘50-ized versions of modern pop tunes

Big Daddy was born a one-trick pony: In 1983, Rhino Records assembled a group of musicians and asked them, just for laughs, to record a dozen or so modern pop hits revamped in 1950s style.

They did Rick James’ funky “Super Freak” like an Everly Brothers song, sweetly harmonizing the opening line, “She’s a very kinky girl.” Devo’s “Whip It” ended up sounding like the Four Freshmen.

It was an amusing idea and Rhino even conjured a phony biography for the group. They were supposedly a doo-wop band touring Southeast Asia in 1959, performing for the boys in uniform, when communist forces captured them and held them hostage for 24 years. Eventually returning to the United States, they’d latched onto new material but couldn’t shake their old style.

The resulting album passed quickly through record stores and into oblivion. And that might have been the end of it, except the musicians found themselves having too much fun to quit.

“We got inspired by the way it sounded. We thought maybe we’d do a follow-up album,” recalled Bob Wayne, one of the band’s leaders. “Then some people said we should put together a real band and play live.”

Almost a decade later, the eight-man group is still at it, a running gag so to speak. Earlier this month, they released their fourth album for Rhino, a send-up of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” A recent appearance at Santa Monica’s At My Place attracted the usual audience of hard-core fans. Later this summer, Big Daddy hopes to tour Germany and England.

The band has gathered a scattering of decent reviews over the years. “Big Daddy knows irony,” People magazine wrote, “rendering a song in a way that is opposite of what the artist intended.” LA Weekly suggested “the real treat is seeing these guys live.” Big Daddy also reached the pop charts in England with a version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.”

But making it as a novelty act can be tricky. When it comes to such successes, there’s Weird Al Yankovic and a host of one-hit wonders and that’s about it. Big Daddy has attempted to distinguish itself by augmenting the humor with rich vocals and tight instrumentals.

“Novelty means it’s funny for a laugh and one play,” Wayne said. “But we don’t fit entirely into that category. We’re kind of comedy and we’re kind of not. You can listen to us for the music.”

Said Harold Bronson, a co-owner of Rhino: “Quite often, their arrangements will make the songs more accessible by stripping them down and fleshing out the melody.”

This group, if nothing else, possesses a suitable pedigree for harmony and satire. Before he joined Big Daddy, bass player John Hatton was on the road backing John Davidson. Wayne is a recording studio owner who works on movie soundtracks and helped with the score for Hulk Hogan’s “Suburban Commando.” Vocalist Marty Kaniger wrote the songs that Shirley Jones sang on “The Partridge Family.”

Having emerged from the bowels of the pop beast, they have a keen ear for twisting modern hits. Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” gets crooned with all the syrupy sweetness of Frankie Avalon’s “Venus.” David Byrne’s multicultural bent is broken wide open when Big Daddy wrestles “Once in a Lifetime” into a Harry Belafonte number. “Ice Ice Baby” gets much more than it deserves as a Chuck Berry sound-alike.

On the new album, the Beatles’ sitar-laden “Within You, Without You” is delivered as beat poetry. “When I’m 64” becomes, of course, “60 Minute Man.”

“They keep the concept alive by the way they keep reinterpreting new songs,” said Matt Kramer, who has regularly booked Big Daddy at At My Place for eight years. “They realize that to stay interesting they have to broaden to other eras.”

And the music is delivered in kooky dramatic style as each member adopts a different persona. Guitarist Don Raymond, for instance, wears a biker’s black leather jacket while drummer Damon DeGrignon sports a beatnik’s beret and goatee. Hatton plays the nerd in bow tie and pocket protector.

“We’re just a bunch of goofballs, real hams who feel like they’re doing this in their living room,” Kaniger said. “On stage, you’ll see the guys in the group cracking up. We’re laughing at each other.”

Such theatrics have been featured on “Entertainment Tonight” and MTV’s “The Week in Rock.” The band also got mentioned in an episode of “L.A. Law” when several of that show’s characters discussed going to a performance.

“Big Daddy?” one character asked.

“Fifties retro group,” another explained. “They’re great.”

Last year, Big Daddy tried to cash in on its visual shenanigans by turning its concocted history in a comedic play at the Groundlings Theatre. The theatrical run drew decent notices, but, Rhino executives lament, didn’t do much for record sales.

In fact, the band has yet to wriggle past the fringes of success. The first three albums sold no more than 25,000 copies each, enough to grab some airplay on FM radio stations around the country but not enough to turn a profit. Big Daddy has done voice-overs for dog food commercials. They’ve opened for Jay Leno. But every paycheck gets split eight ways. To make a living, band members must play casuals or straight 1950s gigs.

“This week, it’s a wedding; next week, it’s a show at the Wiltern or a big function at the Beverly Wilshire,” Hatton said. “But I play so many gigs where I have to wear a tuxedo and play ‘New York, New York.’ At least with Big Daddy, I’m part of a show.”

At present, Hatton and his compatriots are trying to scare up a television deal to turn the Big Daddy shtick into a screenplay, perhaps a movie of the week. But if that doesn’t pan out, the group is willing to continue with its particular brand of rock ‘n’ roll, to keep the joke going for as long as it will.

“We’ve had enough success to keep us going. We’ve had enough fun to keep us going,” Kaniger said. “We’re not there to make a statement. This is just the kind of music we do.”