BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES^©

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

[spoken:]
I remember, I remember when I was just a kid
Growin' up on them backstreets, in an old stone-age town
I used to come home at night from my job, I had a job flippin' dino burgers
I see the quarry, it'd be just closing down by then
Little bird up on the pole, he's screaming out how the working day's over
And I'd see them dinosaurs, they'd be herding out through the gates
And the workers, they'd be giving them cars a running start with their fat little feet
Now, so, so one night I'm crossing the alley and I see this one worker coming home to his little stone hut
And I seen the lady's lunch pail by the door, and he calls out to his wife, "hey Wilma! I'm home, honey"

Wiilllmaa!!!

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones
Well they're the modern stone-age family
From the town of Bedrock
Well, they're a page right out of history

Well let's ride with the family down the street.
Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet

When you're with the Flintstones
we'll have a yabba dabba doo time.
A dabba doo time
We'll have a gay old time, a gay old time
Wilma!

[sax solo]

Huh!
Whoaaaaahhhh!!!

Page last updated: 21 Nov 2009

Intro

BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES is a Bruce Springsteen parody singing The Flintstones theme. The "Bedrock Rap" portion (spoken part) is a Springsteen concert-like intro written by Craig Hankin and Tom Chalkley. The "Meet The Flintstones" portion (sung part) is the theme song for the famous animated series The Flintstones (1960 to 1966). "Meet The Flintstones" is written by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and Hoyt S. Curtin.

Bruce Springstone

Bruce Springstone was created in the spring of 1982 by Baltimore's Tom Chalkley (writer, cartoonist, and satirist) and Craig Hankin. According to Chalkley, the idea came at a party, during which he was singing TV show theme songs in the style of Bruce Springsteen. It was an instant hit. "Everybody hit the deck laughing," Hankin recalls told The Baltimore Sun in November 2009. "We thought, 'Oh, this is a funny idea.'"

Convinced he should cut a record, Chalkley originally wanted to sing "New York, New York" the Bruce way. Hankin came with the idea that Chalkley should use his Springsteen impression to sing MEET THE FLINSTONES. They called this knock-off project "Bruce Springstone" and recruited lead guitarist Tommy Keene and veteran jazz saxophonist Ron Holloway to record with them at Hit And Run Studios in Rockville, MD.

They took the recording to Clean Cuts, a local record label then known for its jazz recordings, and played it for label owner Jack Heyrman. "[Heyrman] let me know a one-off novelty single was not exactly up his alley, but he was willing to listen," Hankin told The Baltimore Sun. "By the time we got to the end of the tape, he was chuckling. He said, 'I think we may have a novelty record here.'"

Clean Cuts wanted to release the Bruce Springstone song, BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES, but needed a B-side. Hankin discovered and original lyrics and sheet music to TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, and they recorded a version of it for the B-side.

The Bruce Springstone: Live At Bedrock single was released in September 1982 on Clean Cuts Records, the same week Bruce Springsteen' Nebraska album was released. The single was an instant hit, selling 100,000 copies, and was spun on hundreds of radio stations in the U.S. and abroad. Upon it's release, many rock and college radio stations played the record to fool their audiences, and it is reported that it did fool a lot of people. Bruce Springsteen sent a postcard to Tom Chalkley saying: "Heard your record. Cute."

The front cover is a parody of the Born To Run album, picturing Fred as Bruce and Dino as Clarence. Cartoon makers Hanna-Barbara had a problem. They approved the use of MEET THE FLINSTONES, but they were against the sleeve artwork. After selling some 35,000 copies, Hanna-Barbara pulled the plug with a cease-and-desist order.

A-side: BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES B-side: TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME Credits: Tom Chalkley - lead vocals Gabor Lutor - bass Ron Holloway - saxophone John Ebersbergr - drums, glockenspiel, vocals Craig Hankin - rhythm guitar Suzy Shaw - keyboards Tommy Keene - lead guitar Arranged by Craig Hankin and Tom Chalkley Produced by Jack Heyrman Engineered by Steve Carr at Hit & Run Studios, Rockville, MD Front cover art by John Ebersbergr Back cover art by Tom Chalkley

Bruce Springstone made a music video for BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES, but Hannah Barbera threatened to sue if MTV played it. "It was the most expensive home video ever made," Hankin told The Baltimore Sun. Tom Chalkley wrote three other songs for Bruce Springstone -- "Cave Girl," "I'm On Ice," and "Ugga Bugga" -- but none of them made it to record under Bruce Springstone.

Official Releases

The Live At Bedrock single was released on both 7" and 12" formats:

• Bruce Springstone -- Live At Bedrock
  7" single - USA, Sep 1982 - Clean Cuts (CC902)
  
  
   
• Bruce Springstone -- Live At Bedrock
  12" single - USA, Sep 1982 - Clean Cuts (CC1202)
  
  

Both BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES and TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME by Bruce Springstone are still in print, on various compilation albums released by Rhino.

BEDROCK RAP / MEET THE FLINTSTONES was also released on several compilations on Rhino Records:

• Various artists -- Dr. Demento Presents The Greatest Novelty Records Of All Time
  6-LP box set - USA, Oct 1985 - Rhino (RNBC 490)
  
  
   
• Various artists -- Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Novelty Records of All Time, Volume V: The 1980s
  LP - Oct 1985, USA - Rhino (RNLP 824)
  LP - USA, 1988 - Rhino (R1 70824)
  CD - USA, 1988 - Rhino (R2 70824)
   
• Various artists -- Rerun Rock: Superstars Sing Television Themes
  LP - USA, 1989 - Rhino (R11H 70199)
  CD - USA, 1995 - Rhino (R21S 70199)
  
  
   
• Various artists -- Tales From The Rhino: The Rhino Records Story
  2-CD set - USA, 1994 - Rhino (R2 71759)
  This album also includes a cover of DANCING IN THE DARK performed by Big Daddy.
  
  

Credits / References

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help. Info about some of the above official releases are taken from the Nebraska website.

Request

In 1994, Bruce Springstone: Live At Bedrock Suzy Shaw keyboard player Suzy Shaw wrote "The Bruce Springstone Story" for Backstreets Magazine issue #48. If you have that issue, please contact me via the below form or by email: . Any additions, comments, or corrections to this page are also welcome. You will be credited. Thanks in advance.