Robert Haimer, one half of the fictional, extraterrestrial novelty song duo Barnes & Barnes along with actor Bill Mumy, passed away yesterday of a long illness at the age of 69. Haimer's passing was announced by Mumy.
What began as a hobby between Haimer and Mumy (best known for playing Will Robinson on the 1960's sci-fi TV show Lost in Space) eventually resulted in Haimer sending several songs to Dr. Demento including "Fish Heads" which ended up becoming the most requested song in the show's history. Subsequently, a video of "Fish Heads" was directed by a young Bill Paxton who submitted it to Saturday Night Live which aired it in consecutive weeks. "Fish Heads" also became a regular staple in the early days of MTV.
Barnes and Barnes also had songs such as "Party In My Pants", "Love Tap" and "Soak it Up" as well as covers of The Beatles' "Please, Please Me" and "I Need You" by America. Interestingly, both Haimer and Mumy co-wrote songs with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell for several America albums in the 1980's and 1990's.
Here are Haimer and Mumy discussing "Fish Heads" on VH1's Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980's. R.I.P.
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