The Peels is an American studio group that producer and songwriter Tash Howard put together for a single recording in 1966. The members are Gail Allan, Bill Spilka, Harvey Davis and Harold Swart. The quartet plays pop with elements of novelty and comedy. The group records the song "Juanita Banana", written by Tash Howard and Murray Kenton. The lyrics tell the story of a Mexican banana farmer's daughter who becomes an opera singer. The chorus is an adaptation of the aria "Caro Nome" from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto. The single is released in 1966 on the Karate Records label. It reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the same year, Howard released the follow-up "Juanita Banana Part 2" with the same group. The album Juanita Banana was also released in 1966 and the chorus of the Peels recording was sampled by comedian Dickie Goodman for the novelty record "Batman & His Grandmother" in the same year. The song became an international phenomenon: dozens of cover versions were released in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Argentina and the Philippines.
