Ben Franklin's Almanac

The Cryan' Shames recorded Ben Franklin's Almanac for the B-side of their 1966 Destination single Sugar and Spice. Jim Fairs wrote the song, and the original single credits Stu Black as engineer and MG Productions as producer. Ben Franklin's Almanac introduced the band's harder-edged original writing on the flip side of their first national hit. Its contrast with the A-side made it a distinctive early document of the Hinsdale and Chicago-area group before their Columbia album period. Ben Franklin's Almanac has endured as a prized 1960s B-side among collectors of the band's early singles. Later reissues of Sugar and Spice kept the track in circulation alongside the group's best-known recordings.