TV Commercials
The Marquis Chimps appeared in three television commercials for Red Rose Tea in 1960. One had the apes playing golf, and another showed them as cowboys. The most popular ad, "Rock and Roll Tea Party," featured the chimps as plaid-suited musicians, playing a swinging jazz number in praise of Red Rose Tea. Chimpanzees had been advertising PG Tips (another Brooke Bond brand) since 1956 in the UK, and would continue to do so until the late 1990s.
In 1968, Pittsburgh disc jockeys Zeke Jackson and Frank "Crazy D" DiMino played the "Rock and Roll Dance Party" soundtrack on their radio programs. Listener response was so enthusiastic that they licensed the song from Red Rose's parent company, Brooke Bond Foods, and issued it on a 45-rpm single. Record collector and producer Paul Mawhinney pressed 1000 copies of the tune for Jackson and DiMino on their own Gink label ("Red Rose Tea," Gink #9612, no artist credited); the record version extends the TV-commercial soundtrack by playing it through twice; and the "B" side is identical to the "A" side.
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