# Have a Ball

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Have_a_Ball
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Have_a_Ball.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_Ball
> Source revision: 1297790180
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Have a Ball*** is the first studio album by [Me First and the Gimme Gimmes](/source/Me_First_and_the_Gimme_Gimmes), released in 1997 on the [Fat Wreck Chords](/source/Fat_Wreck_Chords) [independent record label](/source/Independent_record_label).[1] The album is made up entirely of "Hits of the '60s and '70s", with the exception of [Billy Joel](/source/Billy_Joel)'s "[Uptown Girl](/source/Uptown_Girl)", originally released in 1983.

## Critical reception

Larry Katz of the *[Boston Herald](/source/Boston_Herald)* said that the album was an "unforgettable" album of 1997, despite being relatively little-known, and that the band's gimmick of recording cross-genre covers was a "darn good" joke.[2] Noel Murray, writing in *[Nashville Scene](/source/Nashville_Scene)*, praised the record as being fun while not overly long, and said that the rearrangements of familiar older songs allowed listeners to better appreciate the writing of those songs.[3]

## Personnel

- [Spike Slawson](/source/Spike_Slawson) – vocals
- [Chris Shiflett](/source/Chris_Shiflett) (a.k.a. [Jake Jackson](/source/Jake_Jackson)) – lead guitar
- [Joey Cape](/source/Joey_Cape) – rhythm guitar
- [Fat Mike](/source/Fat_Mike) – bass
- [Dave Raun](/source/Dave_Raun) – drums

## See also

- [Me First and the Gimme Gimmes discography](/source/Me_First_and_the_Gimme_Gimmes_discography)

## References

1. Frampton, Scott (Sep 1997). "Best New Music". *CMJ New Music Monthly*. No. 49. p. 13.

1. Katz, Larry (1998-01-04). ["The great unknowns: These albums from '97 would be unforgettable, if you'd ever heard of them"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/401704913/sem-2). *[Boston Herald](/source/Boston_Herald)*. Retrieved 2024-03-01.

1. Murray, Noel (1997-12-04). ["Records – LL Cool J, Mike Watt, and the Pulsars"](https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/133B496B075C4700). *[Nashville Scene](/source/Nashville_Scene)*. Retrieved 2024-03-01. – via Access World News.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Have a Ball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_Ball) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_Ball?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.