AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Critters

Artist:The Critters

Song:Mr. Dieingly Sad

Album:Younger Girl: The Complete Kapp & Musicor Recordings

Mr. Dieingly Sad was a top 20 hit in 1966. It was the only big hit for The Critters. They were a soft rock group that should remind you of groups like The Lovin' Spoonful. I don't think that was a coincidence. The Critters are from Plainfield, NJ. Singer songwriter guitarist Don Ciccone went to see a band called The Vibratones because his saxophonist friend Bob Podstawski was in the band. He liked the band enough that he asked to audition and they liked that he could write. The band name was changed to The Critters. Other members were Chris Darway on keyboards, Jimmy Ryan on guitar and vocals, Ken Gorka on bass and Jack Decker on drums. After one 1964 single on Musicor, The Critters signed with what would become Kama Sutra Records. At first Kama Sutra licensed acts to other labels. The Critters were licensed to Kapp Records. The producer was Kama Sutra co-owner Artie Ripp who also produced The Lovin' Spoonful. The Critters' first single was the John Sebastian song Younger Girl. The Critters recorded it first. It reached #47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mr. Dieingly Sad was the second single and it reached #17. Ciccone wrote it. Listeners may have thought it was by The Lovin' Spoonful. By the time the song was a hit, Ciccone had been drafted and spent the next four years in Vietnam with the US Air Force. After Podstawski and Decker were also drafted, Ryan attempted to keep the band going. They recorded a couple of albums for Enoch Light's Project 3 label. After that went nowhere, The Critters split up. This CD from the reissue label Now Sound is the 1966 album Younger Girl plus bonus tracks. Ryan recorded and toured with Carly Simon and became a session musician. Ciccone was in The Four Seasons in the 70s. He sang lead on the 1975 hit December 1963. He died in 2016. Here's The Critters performing Mr. Dieingly Sad on the 1966 Dick Clark TV series Where The Action Is.