Who on EARTH did this song? It’s on a compilation tape of weird stuff given to me by an ex-boyfriend. Great tape - includes “The Scotsman”, “Existential Blues”, “Der Führer’s Face”, “The Homecoming Queen’s got a Gun”, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”, Mae West doing “Twist and Shout”, Jack Webb doing “Try a Little Tenderness”, William Shatner (you knew this was coming) doing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, and a bunch of others. But he didnt write who does most of 'em! “Fish heads” has eluded all my efforts to track down the (using the term loosely) artist’s name. Can anybody help me out?
Sounds like a Dr. Demento compilation. When I was a part time DJ in college in the mid eighties the most coveted item was the vinyl albums of the Dr. D. show, even more so than the King Biscuit Flour Hour. Sadly the Demento show is no longer heard on broadcast radio and only available on webcasts.
The first time I heard Fish Heads was in the film Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video. around '80
To diverge slightely, have others heard two versions of “Existential Blues” (an all-time fave of mine)? My tape is from an 80’s Dr. D. radio show, and the “complete” version on it was all I’d ever known. In recent years I got a Dr. D. CD with the song and found it had been butchered, with individual lines and whole sections edited out. It made the song very choppy, ruining the lovely flow of consciousness, and omitted some of the best parts. I’d have to put some thought into listing the specifics, but in general it seemed that everything that could be considered “copyrighted” (like much of the Oz stuff) had been cut out, I assume because someone’s lawyer wrote a letter to T-Bone. Anyone else know anything about it, the how or why?
The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go.
They’re coming to take you away;{HA-HA}
They’re coming to take you away;{HEE-HEE}
To the Funny Farm,
Where the men in white suits come out to take you away. {HA-HA-HO-HO-HEE-HEE}
Oh, and Brithael bites.
For excessive smiley useage:
“Cancel the kitchen scraps for widows and orphans! No more merciful beheadings!! And cancel Christmas!!!”
My all-time favorite, as well. I have a version that I taped off of the radio around 1986 or 1987 that I THOUGHT was complete. It certainly mentions all the Oz stuff. What other specific lines are missing from the edited version? I gots to know! I’d hate to think that what I’ve been listening to all these years was, in fact, a watered down copy of the original.
“Fish Heads,” according to Dr. D himself and his video collection (I bought a copy in The Wherehouse in Torrance, CA, years ago) is the all-time most requested demented title he has ever played.
I live in Los Angeles, CA (area code 310) and have not heard Dr. Demento’s show for about two years (off KLSX, most recent).
My sisters and I love that song. When we start singing it, anything can happen, and all sorts of bizarre permutations have occured. The most recent had us singing it with German accents. “Roly-poly Fischkopfen are never seen drrrinking Cappuccinos in Italian restaurants viz Oriental vomen! Ja!”
An infinite number of rednecks in an infinite number of pickup trucks shooting an infinite number of shotguns at an infinite number of road signs will eventually produce all the world’s great works of literature in Braille.
Forgot to mention that Real Audio versions of many of the songs covered in this thread, including Fish Heads, Dead Puppies, and Existensial Blues are on-line at: Brento’s Jukebox #3
