Straight Dope Message Board

[AndyLee]

Inspired by this thread

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=638069

Have their ever been any hit songs, (and I know that's a relative term) or any other songs that have featured a kazoo?

I can't recall any, but I'm pretty tone deaf. I may be hearing a kazoo and not know it.

I guess it doesn't have to be a kazoo solo but one where the kazoo can be clearly heard

[lieu]

I'm pretty sure I've heard one in a song by Beck on Mellow Gold, Steal My Body Home perhaps?

[Zeldar]

Enter Kazoo Man: Metallica Enter Sandman performed on KAZOO by Mister Tim (multitrack)

[DCnDC]

San Francisco Bay Blues from Eric Clapton's Unplugged.

[Wheelz]

The Beat Farmers' Happy Boy features both a kazoo break and a gargling solo.

I certainly wouldn't call it a "hit song" though... maybe a cult classic.

[blondebear]

Jewish Princess by Frank Zappa

[amijane]

Love Rollercoaster by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The kazoo chorus is most noticeable coming in around 1.20 minutes.

[UntouchedTakeaway]

I Love Onions


UT

[Nightfall1]

You're 16 (right title?) Ringo Starrs version.

[AndyLee]

Thanks, and how could I have missed Ringo Starr's, You're Sixteen.

Keep 'em coming

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Hit song:

Country Joe & the Fish, "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag"

Not so hit songs:

Pink Floyd, "Corporal Clegg"
Mothers of Invention, "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" and "Who Are the Brain Police" (the latter featuring the most chilling kazoo solo ever)

Not an actual kazoo, but the Beatles' "Lovely Rita" features comb and paper.

[bleach]

"I'm the Urban Spaceman" by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band reached #5 on the UK charts.

[Labtrash]

Just about everything Weird Al did in his early days

Also this list is pretty good

[campp]

Jimi Hendrix Crosstown Traffic

[KarlGauss]

How about one of my all time favourites?

Runaway by Del Shannon. Wait a minute; that is a kazoo, isn't it?

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Originally Posted by KarlGauss

Runaway by Del Shannon. Wait a minute; that is a kazoo, isn't it?

The solo? That's a Clavioline.

[KarlGauss]

Thank you! Live and learn . . . (well, live).

[TreacherousCretin]

Hit:

"Johnny Get Angry" Joanie Sommers, 1962

Non-Hit:

"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" Zappa/Mothers

[njtt]

Don't forget the ineffable Temple City Kazoo Orchestra.

[Simmerdown]

A thread from some years ago...

[Maggie the Ocelot]

When The Cure were on MTV Unplugged, they did the synthesizer parts of "The Walk" with kazoos. Hilarious.

[Sigmagirl]

I believe that "Oh, Babe What Would You Say?" by Norman "Hurricane" Smith featured a kazoo. Played by Paul McCartney.

[Sam A. Robrin]

There's the instrumental interlude in this one, if you can get past those sickening lyrics:

http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Johnny+G...y/3h7rte?src=5

[Argent Towers]

Old Crow Medicine Show, Cocaine Habit.

Takes me back to my freshman year of college, when I used to listen to this band a lot, in a haze of cannabis. (NOT cocaine!)

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by TreacherousCretin

Hit:

"Johnny Get Angry" Joanie Sommers, 1962

Also known as a song in which a young lady begs to be hit for her infractions.

[SeldomSeen]

The original recording of Just an old-fashioned love Song - by the songwriter, not the better-known Three Dog Night version - features a kazoo.

An aside....I hadn't thought of Paul Williams in years until I went looking for that link. Anybody else remember him? The guy wrote lots of hit songs for others, but never really was renowned for his own performances. He was actually quite good though. My younger brother was a fan back in the mid-seventies and played Paul Williams records incessantly. I guess some of it must have rubbed off on me.
SS

[Jamicat]

Here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklUAoZ6KxY @ 2:23.

[nikonikosuru]

Julian Perretta- Wonder Why. Just the beginning and towards the end, I believe. Adds a sweet little charm to the song.

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by dropzone

Also known as a song in which a young lady begs to be hit for her infractions.

(Johnny Get Angry)

It's an odd song, with the happy-sounding kazoo ensemble sandwiched by those "brutalize me" lyrics.

.

[psychonaut]

Originally Posted by lieu

I'm pretty sure I've heard one in a song by Beck on Mellow Gold, Steal My Body Home perhaps?

Yep, that's the one.

There's a web page out there which lists the use of the kazoo in popular music.

[statij]

Skinned by Blind Melon, off the album Soup. Not a hit song by any stretch but I love it. One of my favorite and I think most underrated bands ever. The song is about the serial killer Ed Gein, and there is quite a bit of kazoo.

[Ellis Aponte Jr.]

"Lazy Sunday" by the Small Faces (1968), which was a big hit in Britain.

[Staggerlee]

Does 'Bear Necessities' from The Jungle Book feature a kazoo?

[Mr. Skinny]

Little Diane by Dion (1962).

Googled it to confirm and came up with this web site. "The Kazoo In Popular Music" http://www.kazoos.com/popkazoo.htm

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Not a hit song, necessarily, but the sexiest kazooing I've ever seen is in the Carolina Chocolate Drops's version of "Shakedown."

[LaurenIpsum]

This probably doesn't count as a "hit," but there is "Smells Like Nirvana" by Weird Al Yankovic.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Originally Posted by Jamicat

Here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FklUAoZ6KxY @ 2:23.

Originally Posted by LaurenIpsum

This probably doesn't count as a "hit," but there is "Smells Like Nirvana" by Weird Al Yankovic.

If these two posts were combined, it would be one awesome post .

[Peanuthead]

Originally Posted by Left Hand of Dorkness

Not a hit song, necessarily, but the sexiest kazooing I've ever seen is in the Carolina Chocolate Drops's version of "Shakedown."

Thanks Lefty, that was a lot of fun. And you ain't kiddin' about some sexy kazooing!

[pojimba]

"Lather" by Jefferson Airplane.

[motleyjust]

There is a list of songs about the kazoo at [my website which I am not going to spam you with]

[twickster]

motleyjust, Please see my note to you about spam here: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...0&postcount=14

twickster, Cafe Society moderator

[Jeff Lichtman]

The earliest kazoo recording that I know of is Arkansaw Blues (sic) by the Mound City Blue Blowers in 1924. The original membership of this group was Dick Slevin on kazoo, Red McKenzie on comb and tissue paper, and Jack Bland on banjo. It was a minor hit in its day. The personnel of the Mound City Blue Blowers changed over the years but always included Red McKenzie. Probably their best record was One Hour b/w Hello, Lola.