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My Ladybug Stay Away From That Beatle| Novelty Song

  • Writer: faBgear
    faBgear
  • May 1
  • 2 min read

In February 1964, The Beatles played on The Ed Sullivan Show,

Beatles Novelty Record

and fans across the United States went wild. Motown Records wanted in on the craze. At Hitsville U.S.A., Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Jr., and R. Dean Taylor wrote a goofy song called "My Ladybug Stay Away From That Beatle." At first, they called it "Little Tumble Weed." The team quickly recorded the song and vocals on February 13, 1964, right in the middle of Beatlemania. Motown hoped this song would catch on like the other Beatles novelty songs popping up everywhere.


Motown got the song ready for release in no time. They registered it with their publishing company, Jobete Music, on March 9, 1964, with a copyright notation of "MY LADYBUG, STAY AWAY FROM THAT BEATLE; w & m E. Holland, R. Dean Taylor, L. Dozier & B.

Holland, 2 1. © Jobete Music Co.; 9Mar64; EU815179." Motown picked the V.I.P. Records label for the release and gave it catalog number VIP 25005 A. Edward Holland Jr., and R. Dean Taylor wrote the B-side, "Poor Girl." Motown pressed test records for DJs and reviewers. Studio notes put the track under LP (M): JD 229, which meant the record was almost set for full production.

Beatles Novelty Record

Motown moved fast with the single but ended up scrapping it. The company’s top bosses thought the song wasn’t good enough and was just an attempt to rush into a Beatlemania cash-in, and Berry Gordy’s team pulled the plug before anyone could press or ship the record. The executives pulled VIP 25005 to keep Motown’s clean reputation. Because of this, R. Dean Taylor didn’t actually get to put out his first song on the V.I.P. label until November 1965—more than a year and a half later—when he released “Let’s Go Somewhere.”

Beatles Novelty Record

Motown kept "My Ladybug Stay Away From That Beatle" locked up for almost forty years, so no one heard it until much later. The song finally showed up on R. Dean Taylor’s greatest hits albums, like the 2001 Essential Collection CD, The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 4: 1964, and some unofficial uploads online. Holland-Dozier-Holland never said anything about making the song, but R. Dean Taylor admitted he felt a little embarrassed when people finally heard it. In the album notes, he said they made the song as a quick joke, not as a serious hit, during the wild, busy days of 1964.




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