The two examples I’m starting with are later era parodies of the concept of 1920s fad songs.
So, I suppose it’s possible that my two examples don’t actually relate to any real phenomenon. I’m starting this Thread to see if anyone can offer insight.
In the movie Zelig, once Zelig becomes a minor celebrity there are some novelty songs that become brief hits to capitalize on the “Chameleon Man” craze only to be forgotten to time as the fad passes.
The other example I’m thinking of, again a later era parody rather than something authentic from the era, is a sketch from Mr. Show with Bob and David. Two rival novelty songwriters from the 20s compete to write the most popular songs for the latest inventions, they sing their songs through old-fashioned cone-type megaphones. As the examples of new inventions can’t keep up with the demand for songs, the songwriters then have to invent new inventions then write songs in the hopes of establishing a new fad around the latest invention.
So… nothing authentic to start out with.
I accept that it’s entirely possible that the “Fad Song” was never a significant phenomenon in the 20s. It could be that Woody Allen just created the idea for Zelig. Maybe the Mr. Show sketch didn’t draw inspiration from anywhere but Zelig. But I always got the impression that this was a parody of something that was actually common in 1920s pop culture.
Anyone have any authentic examples to share?
Anyone wanna break the news to me that this was never really a thing?
*Yes We Have No Bananas *was published in 1922 and popularized by Eddie Cantor.
It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’ goes back further, but it was first recorded in the 1920s.
I Wanna Be Loved By You may not have started out as a novelty song, butHelen Kane’s versionof it put it firmly in novelty territory.
As for singing through a megaphone, it was certainly a real thing. Before microphones, that was the only way a singer could be heard in a ballroom space without shouting.
(Fun fact, it’s generally credited that Bing Crosby was the first popular singer to figure out what would be called “working the microphone” to create a more intimate singing style.)
There were several records made of Crazy Words, Crazy Tune in 1927. The song made fun of the ukulele craze, and also of the then-current vo-de-oh-do style of singing. There’s also Vo-Do-De-O Blues, also from 1927.
A singer named Eddie Walters recorded “Since They’re All Playing Miniature Golf” in 1930. Miniature golf was a new thing at the time.
Fletcher Henderson recorded Knock, Knock, Who’s There? in 1936. I think knock-knock jokes were a new thing at the time.
These are all songs about actual fads. There were many songs written about cars and airplanes when they were new, but I wouldn’t count those as fads.
I think the OP was asking for songs about (or inspired by) fads, not just songs that were fads, or novelty songs. There have always been plenty of faddish songs and novelty songs (e.g. The Macarena and Baby Got Back). Songs about fads, such as Pac Man Fever, are more unusual.
There were a boatload of songs out of Tin Pan Alley during WWI. Song writers went from normal or even antiwar songs to patriotic tunes (such as “God Bless America” and “Over There”) almost overnight when the country’s mood changed to pro war. It can be argued that WWI wasn’t a fad, of course.
Probably nobody would remember the song “Freddie the Freshman” if it wasn’t for this 1932 cartoon. YouTube which contains a number of references to popular fads of that time.
The Japanese Sandman. The fad I would connect it to is that old perennially trendy chinoiserie, blurring over into generalized Orientalism, is my take on it. Regardless, it isn’t racist like many such ethnoid songs were in those days. At best it’s slightly charming and at worst it’s trite kid stuff, but nothing in the lyrics disrespects Japanese people or culture, which was kind of a relief to discover. The slow introduction sounds to me like 0% Japanese and 99+% Russian Yiddish in inspiration.
