| Artist |
Track |
Album |
Comments |
Year |
|
Chevy Chase
|
NATIONAL ANTHEM
|
Chevy Chase
|
An appropriate beginning by Mr Chase from his only album. Co-produced by Tom Scott, who did work with the Blues Brothers (not the movie), as well as his own band, the LA Express. He's also appeared on albums by people like the Grateful Dead, George Harrison and Barbra Streisand. These days the royalties keep pouring in from the theme to Starsky and Hutch.
|
1980
|
|
Dave and Tom Show
|
A DAY IN THE LIFEBOAT
|
|
I can't be sure who these guys are, it seems there are a couple of Dave and Tom Shows (there's also a Dave and Tom who do videos), but I think these guys are Canadian and they had this one out before the final credits rolled out in that endless movie. Shamelessly lifted from a Dr Demento Show.
|
|
|
Little Roger & The Goosebumps
|
FUDD ON THE HILL
|
|
Paul McCartney meets Elmer Fudd in this one. Little Roger is Roger Clark and Dick Bright, with various sidemen over the years. Best known for "Stairway to Gilligan's Island" from the early 80s, which earned them a well-deserved Cease-and-Desist order from none other than Robert Plant his Own Bad Self (although the Plant admits it's his favorite version of STH). This comes from their debut album (from 2005 yet - no rush, guys) called "They Hate Us Because We're Beautiful."
|
|
|
Ozzie Fudd
|
KILL THE WABBIT
|
|
Ozzie Fudd is apparently Mark McCollum, who is also rumored to be Seymour Swine of "Blue Xmas" obscurity. Otherwise, I could find no real info.
|
|
|
the Perch
|
DUMBASS
|
|
The Perch is a comedy club in Charlotte, NC and it's my guess that these guys are the house band or something. From a wonderful cassette called "What Hatched," which crashed through my window one dark and stormy night. Their main writer is Jose Arroyo, who got himself an Emmy for writing for Dennis Miller (What? He's not so fucking funny all by himself?)
|
|
|
|
Music behind DJ:
Bach
|
Vivace
|
|
|
|
|
the Perch
|
NINE CORONAS
|
|
I truly think that "My Sharona" was one of the best rock songs ever. I just wished they had played it more often on the radio. I believe the original "9 Coronas" was by John Mammoser, but what do I know? (I mean I just told you that I think "Sharona" was great!)
|
|
|
Weird Al Yankovic
|
KING OF SUEDE
|
|
About time somebody gave it to Sting!
|
|
|
Bob Rivers
|
ASSHOLE SON
|
|
Bob started out in radio and is currently in Seattle on KZOK. He's best known for his Xmas parodies (3 CDs and counting) as well as his Twisted Tunes series. But did you know that he's also appeared in two Star Trek episodes (including the series finale)?
|
|
|
Dan Orr Project
|
LIKE PINK, BUT NOT QUITE
|
|
Hailing from Columbus, OH, he's had to keep busy to stave off death by boredom. Go to his website at danorrproject.com for a staggering list of song parodies he's done (with titles like "Nights in White Castle" and "Cheney's Got a Gun").
|
|
|
Jimenem
|
STANLEY
|
|
From the Kevin & Bean Xmas CD (2000) and one of my all-time favorites. K&B put one of these out every year for charity and their cast has included people like Jimmy Kimmel (here as Karl Malone) and Adam Corolla. Their website is www.kroq-data.com/kevinandbean/index.asp
|
|
|
Stan Freberg
|
ROCKIN STEPHEN FOSTER
|
|
Someday soon we'll devote a whole show to Stan. Until then, don't get me started. (Happy birthday Stan - Aug 7, 1926!)
|
|
|
Detergents
|
LEADER OF THE LAUNDRAMAT
|
|
Lawyers had a field day with this one. The composers of "Leader of the Pack," Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Shadow Morton were less than amused. But they settled out of court and Ron Dante, who formed the Detergents, later did some work with Shadow and achieved notoriety on his own as leader of the Archies (as well as the Cuff Lilnks. Remember "Tracy"?). One of the most popular satires ever, written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, who can claim credit for "Catch a Falling Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."
|
|
|
Mickey Katz
|
KNISH DOCTOR
|
|
Mickey got his start with Spike Jones before hitting it big on the Borscht Belt Circuit. Father of Joel Grey and grandpa to the lovely Jennifer. Walked the fine line between Klezmer and Big Band and never stumbled. You can see him in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with Julie Andrews if you really have to. Dr Steve Krinsky and I are still looking for his version of the Hucklebuck, but in the meantime ...
|
|
|
Homer & Jethro
|
HUCKLEBUCK
|
|
Henry D Haynes & Jethro Burns (AKA Kenneth C Burns [KCB!] are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame and have personally massacred hundreds of otherwise halfway decent songs. For more about the Hucklebuck, see Dr Steve Krinsky's article at wfmu.org/LCD/26/huck1
|
|
|
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes
|
A: YOU'RE ADORABLE
|
|
Edd apparently blew a lot of public relations gigs because he couldn't play nice with others. He was in line to be the host of "Wheel of Fortune" but apparently had trouble with the alphabet and an attitude problem with recalcitrant guests. Such a dork, he sued Edward Burns about use of his name, but it turns out that the poor guy was born with that name, unlike Mr Poopy Pants, Edward Byrne Breitenberger. We still love Kookie, though: a TV Guide survey voted him the #5 teen idol as far back as 2005 (after the Fonz and Ricky Nelson, no doubt)
|
|
|
|
Music behind DJ:
Overture
|
WEST SIDE STORY
|
|
|
|
|
Jane Morgan
|
GIRL NAMED JOHNNY CASH
|
|
Born as Florence Catherine Currier (of the Currier & Ives family) in Newton MA on Xmas Day in 1920. She attended Julliard and sang in Paris. Back in the USA, she was one of the first artists on the Kapp label (an offshoot of Decca), mostly warbling the straight stuff. She's been married to big Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub since 1965 and lives happily in Palm Springs and Malibu. This song was written hy Martin Mull.
|
|
|
Cactus Pryor
|
IF I KNOWED YOU'SE A COMIN...
|
|
Richard "Cactus" Pryor got his name from the Cactus Theater in Austin TX, which was owned by his father. He's still out there, doing 2-minute spots of nostalgia on Austin radio and is spokesman for Serranos, a chain of TexMex restaurants in the area.
|
|
|
Simon Crum
|
HILLBILLIES DECK OF CARDS
|
|
The old saw about the biblical deck of cards gets it's pants pulled down on this one. Simon Crum is actually Ferlin Husky, who also used the name of Terry Preston. Husky has a list of credits as long as your arm and at age 83, shows no sign of slowing down.
|
|
|
Spike Jones
|
HAWAIIAN WAR CHANT
|
|
Like with Stan Freberg, it's best not to get me started with Spike. We'll have a show or two for him soon as well. The original melody of this one was written in the 1860s by Prince Leleiohoku. the original title is something like "Kawa I Ka Huahua'i" or "We Two in the Spray". This features Carl Grayson on the tangled up vocals.
|
|
|
Cavemen
|
BOWLING ALLEY OOP
|
|
Tried to find it on the web, but found only comic strips.
|
|
|
Roscoe Holland
|
FOUL MULE TRAIN
|
|
The original made a man out of Frankie Laine and was written by Fred Glickman, Hy Heath and John Lange. Roscoe's only other ripple in the waters of pop was "Stick Out Your Can (Here Comes the Garbage Man")
|
|
|
Steve Karmen
|
GIMME THAT OLD UNEMPLOYMENT
|
This is a City?
|
The web is crawling with Steve Karmens in showbiz. I like to think that this is the guy who wrote "You Deserve a Break Today" or "I Love New York." The album is full of good little satire bombs like this one. More to come.
|
|
|
Allen Sherman
|
IT'S AMOST UNUSUAL PLAY
|
My Name is Allen
|
Most of Allen's songs were written with Lou Busch. The one I want to get my hands on is "Music to Dispense With," an album of six paper cup and vending machine songs he did for the Scott Paper Company. Allen died in 1973 and is buried in Culver City, CA, home of the Dr Demento Show (but in a different cemetery than Spike Jones).
|
1965
|
|
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
|
TIME STANDS STILL
|
|
Gary and his friends started playing at Disneyland and his Dad's friends got him other paying gigs. The Playboys sessions used seasoned pros (like Leon Russell and Hal Blaine) in their hot-selling records. When he appeared on the Sullivan Show, Gary sang live over a pre-recorded instrumental track (only other act to do that was the Dave Clark Five, as Sullivan was real big on live performances).
|
|
|
|
Music behind DJ:
George Harrison
|
PARTY SEACOMBE
|
|
|
|
|
Ray Stevens
|
HEY THERE
|
|
Ray is best known for using a stupid laugh track in his songs, as if he were recording live somehere. His big hits, Ahab the Arab, Harry the Hairy Ape, the Streak etc, are all marred by an annoying laugh track. However, the man's been in showbiz for 50 years, has sold 25 million records and four million videos. He produced some of the best early stuff for the sublime Dolly Parton and even has time for a new record, "On the Road," hopefully without a laugh track.
|
|
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