Tonight's topic is novelty songs. These are generally humorous or parody songs, sometimes but not always from one-hit wonders. The line between novelty and mainstream humor is somewhat vague, leaving the category wide open to interpretation. But when they are really good, or really bad, these are songs that take up residency in your brain and refuse to leave.
Tonight, I'll be presenting a few that live in my own brain.
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There are still plenty of orange croissants to go around. Help yourself to one below, and come on in.
First up, the title song. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?) was put out as a single by Scottish performer Lonnie Donegan in 1959, and ended up being his biggest "hit" in the United States. By 1961, it rose to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song actually dates back as far as 1924, and the original title and lyrics had "Spearmint" in place of "Chewing Gum". To be played on BBC radio, the song had to be changed because "Spearmint" was a registered trademark; the generic words were OK for "The Beeb". I can remember hearing this version on Canadian radio in the 1960s. It's probably my earliest memory of a novelty song, though I didn't know there was such a category at the time.
Donegan's version of Does Your ... is also a favorite of Dr. Demento. This might be a good place to mention that Dr. Demento pretty much exists for and because of (though maybe not entirely) the Novelty Songs category. From the 1970s all the way through to today, Barry Hansen a.k.a. Dr. Demento has been playing these songs on syndicated radio, and now online.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard this next song. Maybe in the billions, or maybe less. Anyway, it's time for Christmas Don't Be Late, a.k.a. The Chipmunk Song. Released in 1958, the voices of Dave, as well as the chipmunks Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, were all recorded by David Seville, the stage name of Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. Perhaps David Seville sells better. The song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It's been on and off the charts ever since, especially since the release of the 2007 movie based on the same characters. And now, for your listening pleasure:
I was in college when streaking became a thing, and it was popular among the college crowd. I was never a participant, but saw a few episodes. Streaking is nothing more than running naked, with the intention to be seen. College guys (it seemed to be mostly guys) would often streak together. Some surprised viewers were scandalized; others, like me, cheered them on.
Ray Stevens, no stranger to the novelty song category, came out with The Streak in 1974 to capitalize on the craze (yeah, we didn't have "a thing" back then; we had "a craze"). Like all really good novelty songs, this one also went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. The video version included here begins with Stevens apparently at the scene of the crime, narrating the proceedings using a combination of live action and animation.
Don't look, Ethel!
Roger Miller wrote and sang many well-known songs over the course of his career. He is often described as a novelty song writer, and while he did create several of those, he also wrote many more mainstream songs, such as King of the Road. Miller was very much a cross-over artist, and sometimes hard to categorize. Here's one of his more whacky songs, Do Wacka Do:
And another one from Roger Miller, which he described as his favorite of all that he wrote, You can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd.
Weird Al Yankovic.
You knew that was coming, right? Is there much more to be said? Perhaps the reigning king of novelty songs, Weird Al was an early favorite of Dr. Demento, and a current favorite of myself and many others. It might be accurate to say that he fits more into the parody/comedy category than pure novelty, which becomes more obvious when you consider his body of work. Weird Al has said "If there hadn't been a Dr. Demento, I'd probably have a real job now." Novelty was his thing back in those early days; the more recent songs lean more to pure parody/comedy.
I'm going to include just one Weird Al number, Smells Like Nirvana. It's parody, not pure novelty, but this is my diary, and I like it! It is in fact one of my favorite Weird Al numbers. The late Kurt Cobain apparently said that this parody was a sign that Nirvana had "made it" as a successful band. Without further ado:
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