John Fred & His Playboy Band

John Fred Gourrier (May 8, 1941 – April 15, 2005), best known as simply John Fred, was an American musician from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was best known for the 1968 number-one single "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)". John Fred Gourrier was born on May 8, 1941 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of John Fred Gourrier Sr. and Miriam Chaisson. He had two sisters, Ann Gourrier Kleinpeter and Kay Gourrier Begue; and one son, Kevin Morris Gourrier. Standing at six feet five inches tall, Gourrier played basketball for Catholic High School. In 1956, at the age of fifteen, Gourrier formed the rhythm and blues band John Fred and the Playboys. Their first charting single was "Shirley", which featured instrumentation by Fats Domino's backing band. The track peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1959, leading to the Playboys appearing on Alan Freed's television show The Big Beat. However, Fred later turned down an invitation from Dick Clark to perform on American Bandstand due to his commitment to a high school basketball game. After a series of non-charting followup singles on the Montel label, the band split in 1961 when Fred attended college, where he lettered in basketball and baseball at Louisiana State University and Southeastern Louisiana University, winning two Gulf State Conference baseball championships with the latter in 1962 and 1963. A new version of the band, John Fred and His Playboys, was formed in 1964, with two albums released under that name until it was changed to John Fred & His Playboy Band in order to avoid confusion with Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Fred and bandmate Andrew Bernard served as the group's primary songwriters, including their biggest hit, "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)", whose name is a parodic play on the title of The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song, issued by Louisiana-based Jewel Records on the Paula label, became successful, knocking "Hello, Goodbye", another Beatles song, out of the No. 1 chart position on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in January 1968. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. With the success of the single, John Fred & His Playboy Band was branded as a novelty act and never had another major success. The follow-up single, "Hey, Hey, Bunny", peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard chart, and the band never again hit the Hot 100. Only after years of struggles did Fred obtain full legal rights to "Judy in Disguise" and its royalties. Gourrier continued to perform in bands, coached high school basketball and baseball, and remained a fixture at concerts and shows in his hometown. He produced records for other artists, including Irma Thomas and Fats Domino, and hosted a local radio show, The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll, on WBRH in Baton Rouge. He released several solo albums and one group effort, Louisiana Boys, with Joe Stampley and G. G. Shinn. He also wrote and produced radio commercials and jingles, earning two Clio Awards. Gourrier received a kidney transplant in 2004, but complications thereafter resulted in repeated stays at Tulane Hospital in New Orleans. He died on April 15, 2005 at age 63, survived by his wife Sandra, son Kevin, daughter-in-law Jodi, and grandson Jon Sterling Gourrier. in 1999, Gourrier received the Louisiana Hall of Fame Living Legend Award, and in 2007 was the first artist inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Later, he was appointed to serve on the Louisiana Music Commission. He was also inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame and the Delta Music Hall of Fame. Discography notes Other band members co-wrote songs as well including Tommy Bryan, Lynwood "Lynn" Ourso, Ronnie Goodson, Howard Cowart, and John "Buddy" Chehardy. Included on The Best of John Fred and the Playboys compilation (Sugarcane Records, 1984). Included on The History of John Fred and the Playboys compilation (Paula Records, 1991) Included on John Fred & His Playboy Band – Anthologie 1958/1969 compilation (Magic Records, France, 2008). Credited to John Fred. Remake of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'" combined with Frankie Lee Sims' "Walkin' With Frankie". Bootleg exists with "Just Want to Make Love to You" b/w "Boogie Children". Included on With Glasses-The Very Best of John Fred and His Playboy Band compilation (Fuel 2000, 2009) Credited to The Playboys. Credited to John Fred (With The Playboys) Remake of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You". Also No. 1 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, and Switzerland; No. 3 in Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 4" flexi-disc. A-side remixed with horn overdubs. B-side credited to The Playboy Band. Both tracks credited to John Fred and the Creepers. Digitally remastered and remixed in stereo. "Shirley" credited to The Playboys. "John Fred (Gourrier) Obituary". Bob Walker's New Orleans Radio Shrine. 20 April 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2023. Associated Press (19 April 2005). "J. F. Gourrier Dies at 63; Sang 'Judy in Disguise'". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2007. "Lions Mourn Loss of Former Two-Sport Athlete John Fred Gourrier". LionSports.net. 16 April 2005. Retrieved 30 December 2025. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles (13th ed.). Menomenee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 339. ISBN 978-0-89820-190-1. "John Fred". Museum of the Gulf Coast (Port Arthur, Texas). Retrieved 30 December 2025. Ankeny, Jason. John Fred Biography at AllMusic Davies, Phil. "John Fred". This Is My Story. Retrieved 7 January 2023. Kasser, Tom (July 2013). Lucy in the Mind of Lennon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974760-3. "Seven things you didn't know about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"". blog.oup.com. Oxford University Press. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2015. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. Billboard Books. p. 235. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). Baghdad, Afghanistan: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 221. ISBN 0-214-20512-6. Wirt, John (2005). "Spectropop Remembers John Fred". Spectropop. Retrieved 3 January 2023. "John Fred". Rocky52. Retrieved 3 January 2023. "Louisiana Music Hall of Fame Inductees 2007". www.LMHOF.org. "Delta Music Hall Of Fame To Induct James". James Burton Foundation. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2023. Whitburn, Joel (2018). Top Pop Albums 1955-2016. Prometheus Global Media. ISBN 978-0-89820-226-7. John Fred - Somebody's Knockin'. 2002 – via 45worlds. Wirt, John (2 September 2016). "As a Supergroup of Local Musicians, the Louisiana Riverfront Band Finally Releases a Debut Album". 225 Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2023. Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book Billboard/Cash Box/Record World 1954-1982. Sheridan Books. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7. John Fred & His Playboy Band at tsimon.com Deprecated link at archive.today (archived December 20, 2012) John Fred & His Playboy Band at 64 Parishes.com John Fred & His Playboy Band at spectropop.com John Fred discography at Discogs John Fred & His Playboy Band discography at Discogs