What do The Buckinghams, Gilberto Gil & The Temptations Have In Common?

Some time ago--I mean like years ago--I discovered a piece of background noise that was used in at least 3 different songs. I call it background noise because that's what it is. Not music. Rather it's the sound of children's voices having fun.

You might ask how I can tell that such a soundbite is the very same one on 3 very different songs. After all, it's a pretty obscure clip and just used for effect in the songs. And most regular listeners wouldn't even play attention to the clip, much less realize that it's the same one. But the key for me to having recognized the recordings as being one and the same is in the voice of what seems to be an adult shouting something like, "Harry!" It could be Larry or Gary or Barry. I'm going with Harry. But whatever the actual name is it's the same one. Also there's a little bit of children's voices before and after the "Harry!" that serves to prove it's the same soundbite.

I know you're all dying to know just what this recording is and where it appears. So here we go. The first recording is the longest and clearest of the three. It is found on "Have You Noticed You're Alive (reprise)" by The Buckinghams from 1967. The "Harry!" yell is heard right around the 11 second mark:





The next this clip is found on is a totally different song. Totally different country, too. It's at the beginning of a song by Brazilian singer/songwriter Gilberto Gil called "Domingo No Parque" from 1968. The title translates to "Sunday at the Park." The "Harry!" shriek can be heard right around the 8 second mark. The beginning part of the clip is less audible and clear. But from the Harry part on you can tell it's the same as the one on The Buckinghams tune.





Finally, on a third and still very different song you can hear this background noise once again. This time it's on The Temptations song "Ain't No Justice" from 1973. On this song you can hear much of the beginning of the clip up to the point of the Harry. And then the music gets louder and the clip less audible. Oh, and the clip seems to be only on the right channel/speaker. You can hear "Harry!" right around the 3:16 mark:




There you have it! Were you able to hear it on all three songs? Are you convinced it's the same clip? Do you wonder where this soundbite was recorded and when? I sure do. And how did it ever circulate around to 3 different record labels (Columbia, Phillips, Motown, respectively)? Also I can't help but wonder if this same clip was used in any other songs.

I've been meaning to write this post for soooo long. I always had a hard time remembering which Buckinghams' tune had the clip. But there it all is.