"It's Got a Great Beat, Daddy!"

The Castaways, with their one and only hit single, Liar, Liar. Note that the clip is pixalated for the first few seconds, but then straightens out. Thanks to Dreamtime pals, Doug, "CamLwalk," and "Dreamtime Fan," among others for answering that question that was bugging us, man, about what Mr. D. was playing at the opening of the "Truth and Lies" episode.

The reason the song seemed so familiar to me, beach movie addict that I am, is that The Castaways perform Liar, Liar in It's A Bikini World, a movie released in 19 and 67, two years after Liar, Liar had charted. One of the last of the great AIP beach movies, It's a Bikini World was shot in 19 and 65, when Liar, Liar was still a hot ticket, but for reasons unknown the film was held off the market until 1967, when the beach movie craze was in intensive care and heading towards the morgue.

Although never officially released, the ever-useful Video Beat offers It's a Bikini World on DVD-R. If you like beach party movies like we like beach party movies, you can't go wrong with It's a Bikini World, which has about every thing you would want from a beach party movie except Annette.  Ignoring that one flaw, It's a Bikini World does have a Disney connection, as it stars Tommy Kirk, who does his best Frankie Avalon, with Deborah Walley standing in for Annette.  As well as The Castaways, The Animals perform We've Got To Get Out of This Place, and girl group The Toys offer Attack.

And because Dreamtime is all about Theme Time Radio Hour, we'll also provide a TTRH connection. If you catch the movie, dig Tommy Kirk's sidekick.  That's one "Bob Pickett," who would be better known as Bobby "Boris" Pickett, creator of that graveyard smash, The Monster Mash, which you can read all about right here.

The Castaways, boys from Minnesota, as is Prince, and a certain musician who moonlights as deejay, never again caught the wave as they had with Liar, Liar, and eventually broke up.  Two of the original members  formed a new group in California with the same name and were active into the `70s. There's still a band called The Castaways around today, although only one original founding member, Jim Donna, is involved with the latest incarnation of the group. The Castaways are available for "community concerts and dance party events to the intimate settings of the country club or wedding reception," according to their web page, playing everything from The Righteous Brothers to Bruce Springsteen.  And, one can assume, Liar Liar.