Quick-off-the-mark singer Gary Knight released this single in May 1968 – just three months after Planet of the Apes premiered – surely making it the first Apes cash-in song. The single didn’t chart, and very little is known about the elusive singer beyond what is printed on the record label: the song was written by Gary Knight and Irwin Levine; and produced, arranged and conducted Herb Bernstein. Further investigation suggests that Knight was also known as Gary Weston and Gary Temkin, and was Harold Temkin by birth. He was a songwriter who collaborated with, among others, Francine Neiman – the co-writer of Greta Green Grass (which had already been released as a Gary Knight single in December 1967).
The Planet Of The Apes song itself is a novelty ‘vaudeville’-type number, with lyrics recounting Taylor’s story, and featuring such classic lines as “experimentation on my brain; those far-out doctors with their bushy manes”. The song was co-published by ‘Fox Fanfare Music Inc.’, as were later, officially-licensed, Apes music releases.
Taken from Fandom www.fandom.com