Novelty song

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Novelty songs
Stylistic originsPopular music
Cultural origins1910s, United States
Derivative formsWizard rock
Other topics
A poster for "K-K-K-Katy," a popular novelty song released in 1918
"K-K-K-Katy"
Performed by Billy Murray recorded in 1918
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Charlotte Greenwood, "Oh By Jingo!" (1919)
"The Sheik of Araby" (1921)

A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a

ballads and dance music.[4]
Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.

Novelty songs are often a

dance or TV program. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!", by Napoleon XIV, has little music and is set to a rhythm tapped out on a snare drum, a tambourine
, and the bare sides of the musicians' legs.

A book on achieving an attention-grabbing novelty single is The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way), written by The KLF. It is based on their achievement of a UK number-one single with "Doctorin' the Tardis", a 1988 dance remix mashup of the Doctor Who theme music released under the name of 'The Timelords'. It argued that (at the time) achieving a number one single could be achieved less by musical talent than through market research, sampling and gimmicks matched to an underlying danceable groove.[5][6]

History

Late 19th century – 1960s

Novelty songs were a major staple of

I Wanna Be Loved By You", which made a star out of Helen Kane and inspired the creation of Betty Boop; silly lyrics like "Yes! We Have No Bananas"; playful songs with a bit of double entendre, such as "Don't Put a Tax on All the Beautiful Girls"; and invocations of foreign lands with emphasis on general feel of exoticism rather than geographic or anthropological accuracy, such as "Oh By Jingo!", "The Sheik of Araby", and "The Yodeling Chinaman". These songs were perfect for the medium of Vaudeville, and performers such as Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker
became well known for such songs.

Zez Confrey's 1920s instrumental compositions, which involved gimmicky approaches (such as "Kitten on the Keys") or maniacally rapid tempos ("Dizzy Fingers"), were popular enough to start a fad of novelty piano pieces that lasted through the decade. The fad was brought about by the increasing availability of audio recordings by way of the player piano and the phonograph; whereas much of Tin Pan Alley's repertoire was sold in the form of sheet music and thus had to be simple enough for an amateur pianist to play, novelty piano brought virtuoso-level performance to the home and to those who would not normally attend classical concerts.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, "

Hank Williams Sr.'s "Move It On Over", his first hit song, has some humor and novelty elements (about a man having to share the doghouse when his lover kicks him out of the house), but contemporaries (among them Jerry Rivers) disputed this and noted that many men had been faced with eviction under similar circumstances. The 1953 #1 single "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" became notable both for its extensive airplay and the backlash from listeners who found it increasingly annoying.[citation needed] Satirists such as Stan Freberg, Allan Sherman, and Tom Lehrer
used novelty songs to poke fun at contemporary pop culture in the 1950s and early 1960s.

In 1951,

Dagmar. Mitch Miller at Columbia Records became intrigued with the pairing and compelled songwriter Dick Manning to compose a song for the two of them. The result was "Mama Will Bark", a novelty song performed by Sinatra with interspersed spoken statements by Dagmar, saying things like "mama will bark", "mama will spank", and "papa will spank". The recording even includes the sound of a dog yowling. It is regarded by both music scholars and Sinatra enthusiasts to be perhaps the worst song he ever recorded. Sinatra would record a few others before he left Columbia and joined Capitol Records
in 1952.

Dickie Goodman faced a lawsuit for his 1956 novelty song "The Flying Saucer", which sampled snippets of contemporary hits without permission and arranged them to resemble interviews with an alien landing on Earth.[9] Goodman released more hit singles in the same vein for the next two decades including his gold record RIAA certified hit "Mr. Jaws" in 1975, which charted #1 in Cash Box and Record World and was based on the movie Jaws.

Among the more far out songs of this genre were the two released in 1956 by Nervous Norvus, "Transfusion" and "Ape Call".

The Coasters had novelty songs such as "Charlie Brown"

Billy and Lillie was popular in December 1958. Lonnie Donegan's 1959 cover of the 1924 novelty song "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)" was a transatlantic hit, reaching #5 on the Billboard charts two years after its release; it was one of the earliest top-5 hits to come from the United Kingdom in the rock era, preceding the British Invasion
.

Three songs using a sped-up recording technique became #1 hits in the United States in 1958–59: David Seville's "Witch Doctor" and Ragtime Cowboy Joe, Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater", and David Seville's "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", which used a speeded-up voice technique to simulate three chipmunks' voices.[11] The technique (which Dickie Goodman had also used on "The Flying Saucer") would inspire a number of other knockoffs, including The Nutty Squirrels and Russ Regan's one-off group Dancer, Prancer and Nervous.

In 1960, 16-year-old

surf rock medley of two novelty songs originally recorded by The Rivingtons. In 1964, the Grammy for Best Country and Western Album was awarded to Roger Miller
. Miller was known to sing novelty songs.

In 1965, "

the Year's Outstanding Novelty Composition.[15]

1970s–2000s

Basketball Jones"(1973) and "Earache My Eye" (1974). Warren Zevon's lone chart hit was the novelty number "Werewolves of London".[18] Other novelty songs in the '70s are Jimmy Castor Bunch "King Kong"(1975), Rick Dees' "Disco Duck" (1976) and The Fools' "Psycho Chicken"[19] (1978). "Weird Al" Yankovic would emerge as one of the most prolific parody acts of all time in the 1980s, with a career that would span four decades; he would join Cliff Richard
in being one of the few acts to have at least one top-40 hit in the U.S. in four consecutive decades (1950s through the 1980s for Richard, 1980s to 2010s for Yankovic).

Randy Brooks wrote a Christmas novelty song and it was originally recorded by the duo Elmo Shropshire and his then-wife Patsy in 1979, called "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer". It tells the tragic-comic story of a family grandmother (loosely based on Brooks's uncle Foster Brooks) who meets her end on Christmas Eve. After having drunk too much eggnog and forgetting to take her medicine, she staggers out of her family's house late Christmas Eve, is run over by Santa Claus' entourage, and found trampled at the scene the next morning. It has become a staple of Christmas music playlists on American radio since its original release.[20][21]

An underground novelty music scene began to emerge in the 1960s, beginning with the homosexually themed songs of

Clarence "Blowfly" Reid
.

Novelty songs have been popular in the UK as well. In 1991, "

Big Fish Little Fish
".

Some novelty music draws its appeal from its unintentional novelty; so-called "

Mrs. Miller, the Portsmouth Sinfonia, The Shaggs, and William Hung
).

After the fictitious composer

P.D.Q. Bach repeatedly won the "Best Comedy Album" Grammy from 1990 to 1993, the category was changed to "Best Spoken Comedy Album".[citation needed] When "Best Comedy Album" was reinstated in 2004, "Weird Al" Yankovic won for Poodle Hat.[citation needed
]

Novelty songs were popular on U.S. radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s, to the point where it was not uncommon for novelty songs to break into the

Bobby Brown (Goes Down)" was a smash hit in Europe despite its sexually explicit storyline, and "Valley Girl" was a Top 40 hit in the US, while his "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Dancin' Fool" also reached the top 100 in his native United States. Beginning in 1970, Dr. Demento
's nationally syndicated radio show gave novelty songs an outlet for much of the country; this lasted through the mid-2000s, when the show (mirroring trends in the genre) faded in popularity until its terrestrial cancellation in June 2010.

2010s to date

In the 21st century, novelty songs found a new audience online; the hit song "

memes as a result of its success, with the man behind the song being British comedian Michael Dapaah. The children's novelty song "Baby Shark" received widespread attention when Korean education brand Pinkfong's cover version from an online viral video
reached the top 40 in the U.S. and several other countries.

In the United Kingdom, the novelty hit has mainly become a feature of the "

Christmas chart battle"[24] (apart from a few viral hits found earlier in a year), with novelty act LadBaby[25][26] reaching Number One five times in a row,[27] with all five songs being parodies of other popular songs reworked to incorporate a running gag that revolves around sausage rolls. More often than not, the UK Christmas novelty records were recorded for charity, with LadBaby's Christmas chart rivals in 2020 also including The Dancing Binmen (Jack Johnson, Henry Wright and Adrian Breakwell) with their song "Boogie Round The Bins At Christmas Time",[28][29] and "Merry Christmas, Baked Potato" from comedian Matt Lucas, with fellow chart contender "Raise The Woof!" being promoted as the first ever Christmas record for dogs.[30]

Top 10 chartings in the U.S.

1930s and 1940s

Title Artist Highest
charting 		Date
“
Three Little Fishes
” 		Kay Kyser 1 1939
“The Hut-Sut Song” Freddy Martin 2 May 1941
"Der Fuehrer's Face" Spike Jones 3 October 1942
"Mairzy Doats" the Merry Macs 2 February 1944
"Cocktails for Two" Spike Jones 4 January 1945
“
Chickery Chick
” 		Sammy Kaye 1 October 1945
“Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti)” Alvino Rey 6 May 1946
“Open the Door, Richard!”
Harry "Sweets" Edison and Bill Johnson
 1 February 1947
"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" Tex Williams 1 August 1947
“Bongo, Bongo, Bongo (I Don't Want to Leave the Congo)” Danny Kaye and The Andrews Sisters 3 September 1947
“Too Fat Polka!” Arthur Godfrey 2 October 1947
“Temptation (Tim-Tayshun)” Red Ingle and The Natural Seven and Jo Stafford (under the name "Cinderella G. Stump") 2 October 1947
“Feudin' and Fightin' Jo Stafford 10 October 1947
“Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)” Peggy Lee 1 January 1948
“Woody Woodpecker Song" Kay Kyser vocals by Gloria Wood & Harry Babbitt 1 May 1948
“Woody Woodpecker Song"
Sportsmen
 2 July 1948
"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" Spike Jones 1 November 1948
"I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" Yogi Yorgesson 5 December 1949
"
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
 Gene Autry 1 December 1949

1950s

Title Artist Highest
charting 		Date
“If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake” Eileen Barton 1 March 1950
"The Thing" Phil Harris 1 December 1950
“Aba Daba Honeymoon” Debbie Reynolds & Carleton Carpenter, first recorded in 1914 by the comic duo team of Collins & Harlan 3 February 1951
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Jimmy Boyd 1 November 1952
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” Spike Jones 7 December 1952
"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" Patti Page 1 January 1953
“Eh, Cumpari!” Julius La Rosa 2 September 1953
“Santa Baby” Eartha Kitt 4 November 1953
“Nuttin' for Christmas” Barry Gordon with the Art Mooney Orchestra 6 December 1955
“Blue Suede Shoes” Carl Perkins (Elvis Presley reached number 20 with the song later in 1956) 2 March 1956
"The Flying Saucer" Buchanan & Goodman 3 August 1956[31]
“Searchin'” The Coasters 3 May 1957
“Young Blood” The Coasters 8 May 1957
"Short Shorts" The Royal Teens 3 February 1958[32]
"Witch Doctor" David Seville 1 April 1958[33]
"Splish Splash" Bobby Darin 2 May 1958[34]
"The Purple People Eater" Sheb Wooley (sax solo by Plas Johnson)[35] 1 June 1958[36]
"Yakety Yak" The Coasters (sax solo by King Curtis) 1 June 1958[37]
“Chantilly Lace” The Big Bopper 6 August 1958
"Beep Beep (The Little Nash Rambler)" The Playmates 4 November 1958[38]
“The All American Boy” Bobby Bare 2 December 1958
"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"
The Chipmunks
 1 December 1958
“Charlie Brown” The Coasters (sax solo by King Curtis) 2 February 1959
“Alvin's Harmonica” Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 February 1959
"Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes & Connie Stevens 4 April 1959
“Pink Shoe Laces" Dodie Stevens 3 April 1959
"The Battle of New Orleans" Johnny Horton 1 April 1959[39]
“Along Came Jones” The Coasters 9 June 1959
“Poison Ivy” The Coasters 7 September 1959

1960s

Title Artist Highest
charting 		Date
"Alley Oop" The Hollywood Argyles 1 June 1960[40]
"Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" Brian Hyland 1 August 1960
“
Yogi
” 		The Ivy Three 8 August 1960
"Mr. Custer" Larry Verne 1 September 1960
“Baby Sittin' Boogie” Buzz Clifford 6 January 1961
“Mother-In-Law” Ernie K-Doe 1 April 1961
“Boll Weevil Song” Brook Benton 2 June 1961
"
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor
" 		Lonnie Donegan 5 August 1961[41][a]
“Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)” Barry Mann 7 August 1961
“Speedy Gonzales” Pat Boone 6 June 1962
"
Ahab The Arab
" 		Ray Stevens 5 August 1962
"Monster Mash"
Bobby "Boris" Pickett
& the Crypt-Kickers 		1 September 1962[42]
"Pepino the Italian Mouse" Lou Monte 5 December 1962[43]
"
Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport
" 		Rolf Harris 3 June 1963[44]
"
Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah
" 		Allan Sherman 2 August 1963[45]
"Surfin' Bird" The Trashmen 4 December 1963[38]
“Dang Me” Roger Miller 7 July 1964
“Chug-a-Lug” Roger Miller 9 October 1964
“Love Potion No. 9” The Searchers 3 December 1964
"The Name Game" Shirley Ellis 3 January 1965[46]
“The Jolly Green Giant” The Kingsmen 4 January 1965
“King of the Road” Roger Miller 4 February 1965
“I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" Herman's Hermits 1 July 1965
“England Swings” Roger Miller 8 November 1965
"They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" Napoleon XIV 3 August 13, 1966[44]
“Winchester Cathedral” The New Vaudeville Band 1 November 1966
"Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" The Royal Guardsmen 2 December 1966[47]
“Gitarzan” Ray Stevens 8 May 1969
“A Boy Named Sue” Johnny Cash, written by Shel Silverstein 2 August 1969

1970s through 2020

Title Artist Highest
charting 		Date
“Gimme Dat Ding” The Pipkins 9 June 1970
“Amos Moses” Jerry Reed 8 January 1971
“When You're Hot, You're Hot” Jerry Reed 9 May 1971
“Hot Rod Lincoln” Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 9 April 1972
“Coconut” Harry Nilsson 8 July 1972
"My Ding-a-Ling" Chuck Berry, first recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952 1 September 1972[48]
“The Cover of "Rolling Stone"”[dubious – discuss]
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, written by Shel Silverstein
 6 March 1973
“Uneasy Rider” Charlie Daniels 9 July 1973
“Spiders and Snakes” Jim Stafford 3 December 1973
"The Streak" Ray Stevens 1 April 1974[49]
“Wildwood Weed” Jim Stafford 7 July 1974
"Convoy" C. W. McCall 1 January 1976
“Junk Food Junkie” Larry Groce 9 February 1976
"Disco Duck" Rick Dees and his Cast Of Idiots 1 September 1976[50]
“Short People” Randy Newman 2 December 1977
“Barbie Girl” Aqua 7 April 1997
“White & Nerdy”
“Weird Al” Yankovic
 9 September 2006
“The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” Ylvis 6 October 2013

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Donegan's version was recorded live at the New Theatre Oxford on December 13, 1958, and was first released in his native U.K. in 1959.

Sources

  • Otfinoski, Steve, The Golden Age of Novelty Songs, Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2000

References

  1. ^ Axford, Song Sheets to Software, p. 20: "As sentimental songs were the mainstay of Tin Pan Alley, novelty and comical songs helped to break the monotony, developing in the twenties and thirties as signs of the times."
  2. ^ Tawa, Supremely American, p. 55: "... in the 1920s, novelty songs offset the intensely serious and lachrymose ballads. nonsensical novelty songs, reproducing the irrational and meaningless side of the twenties, made frequent appearances."
  3. ^ "Way Back Attack – Top 100 Novelty Hits of the '50s and '60s". Waybackattack.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Hamm, Irving Berlin Early Songs, p. xxxiv: "The text of a novelty song sketches a vignette or a brief story of an amusing or provocative nature. ... noted for portraying characters of specific ethnicity or those finding themselves in certain comic or melodramatic situations, ..."
  5. ^ "Words and Music: Our 60 Favorite Music Books". Pitchfork Music. July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  6. ISBN 0-86359-616-9
    .
  7. ^ Russell 1997, pp. 105–120.
  8. ^ Kelley
  9. ^ "New Case for Old 'Napster'; Dickie Goodman's Son Reveals Father's Legacy in Book and Fights for It in Lawsuit". PR Newswire. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  10. ^ "The Coasters Charlie Brown | Daily Doo Wop".
  11. Best Comedy Recording
    Grammy was awarded to David Seville's Hoffman, Dr Frank. "Novelty Songs". Jeff O's Retro Music. Jeff O'Corbett. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  12. ^ "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  13. ^ "Ronnie Hilton – A Windmill In Old Amsterdam / Dear Heart". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "A Windmill In Old Amsterdam". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "The Ivors 1966". Theivors.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  16. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  17. ^ "Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  18. ^ George Plasketes (June 15, 2016). The Secret Inspiration Behind Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’, Medium.com, accessed 30 July 2018
  19. ^ "'Psycho Chicken': Plucked-up Talking Heads parody, 1979". Dangerousminds.net. February 3, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  20. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  21. ^ Knopper, Steve (December 20, 2022). "'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer': How a Holiday Gag Became a Christmas Standard". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  22. ^ Bromley, Tom We Could Have Been the Wombles: The Weird and Wonderful World of One-Hit Wonders p.51. Penguin books ltd, 2006
  23. ^ "Big Shaq | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  24. ^ "Christmas number one: Why is the festive chart-topper such a big deal? - CBBC Newsround". BBC Newsround. December 13, 2018.
  25. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (December 20, 2019). "LadBaby takes Christmas No 1 with I Love Sausage Rolls". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  26. ^ Gorman, Rachel (December 9, 2019). "LadBaby to release new novelty sausage roll song in bid for second Xmas No. 1". NottinghamshireLive.
  27. ^ "LadBaby claims Christmas number one". ITV News. December 21, 2018.
  28. ^ Parkes, Thomas (November 13, 2020). "Wolverhampton's famous binmen swap dancing for singing with shot at Christmas number one". www.expressandstar.com.
  29. ^ Parkes, Thomas (November 20, 2020). "Wolverhampton's famous dancing binmen release their Christmas song". www.expressandstar.com.
  30. ^ "Christmas Number 1 2020: The contenders". www.officialcharts.com.
  31. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 72.
  32. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 398.
  33. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 411.
  34. ^ Whitburn, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004, Record Research, 2004 p. 145
  35. ^ Otfinoski, Steve, The Golden Age of Novelty Songs, Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2000 p.31-32
  36. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 502.
  37. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1992). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 104.
  38. ^ a b Whitburn 1992, p. 361.
  39. ^ "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2024.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 223.
  41. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 146.
  42. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 357.
  43. ^ "Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2018". Recordresearch. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Whitburn 1992, p. 326.
  45. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 414.
  46. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 159.
  47. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 397.
  48. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 51.
  49. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 438.
  50. ^ Whitburn 1992, p. 132.

Bibliography

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