Redartz: Recently we've featured several musically-oriented posts; hope you don't mind one more. In this case, we're looking at a small niche in popular music, but one inherently fun: novelty tunes!
Once upon a time, you could listen to the top forty songs in a given week, and most likely be exposed to at least one laugh-inducing melody. From the fabulous 50's onward through the excellent 80's, novelty hits were fairly common; and at times even topped the pop charts. Some performers were notably linked with the genre- Ray Stevens, The Chipmunks (actually producer Ross Bagdasarian), Weird Al Yankovic and Jim Stafford, for instance. Others were among the ranks of 'one hit wonders' who brought us a smile and disappeared: think Kip Adotta ( "Wet Dream"), Reunion ("Life is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me"), and Jump 'n' the Saddle ( "Curly Shuffle").
Hearing these humorous hits always made the Top 40 Countdown a bit more fun, and certainly made the radio more interesting to listen to. Unfortunately, in more recent years popular music seems to have lost it's sense of humor. I can't remember the last time I heard a new novelty hit on current radio or streaming. Granted, I'm not as well-versed in the latest pop music as I once was, but it would surprise me to hear any such songs today. I'm aware of satires and comedic routines on YouTube and such, but a true 'funny song' in the Top Ten? If only....
What about all of you? Did you get a kick or two out of those 'silly symphonies' and 'merry melodies'? Did you have a favorite novelty hit or performer? Perhaps you know of some more recent examples of novelty music; I'd love to hear about them. Let's get a little silly...and to help get in the mood, here's a few of my favorites from the genre. Enjoy!
Reunion, "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)"
Jump 'n' the Saddle, "Curly Shuffle"
Dickie Goodman, "Energy Crisis '74"
Ray Stevens, "The Streak"
