The Playmates, an American vocal group from Waterbury, Connecticut, were formed in 1952 by Donny Conn (real name Donald Claps), Chic Hetti (real name Carl Cicchetti), and Morey Carr (real name Morey Cohen). The trio began their career touring small venues in the United States and Canada, initially known as the Nitwits, before adopting the name The Playmates. In 1958, they signed with Roulette Records and released their debut album Playmates Visit the West Indies. Their breakthrough came with the novelty song "Beep Beep", which reached number four on the Billboard Top 40 chart in July 1958 and remained there for 12 weeks. The song sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The group followed up with notable singles such as "What Is Love" (1959) and "Wait For Me" (1960). After releasing four albums for Roulette, including At Play With the Playmates in 1958, the group disbanded in 1965. Morey Cohen passed away from lung cancer in 1987, and Donald Claps died in Malibu, California, on 2 September 2015, at the age of 85.
