# What Ever Happened to Novelty Records? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893 "2005-01-21T08:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/41 "2005-01-23T06:28:43Z")
> [@Hometownboy](#): > > I might also add the world of a cappella, which has its own subsection of novelty songs. Two great online catalogs are [Mainely a Capella](http://www.a-cappella.com/), which hails — surprise, surprise — from Maine. And on the West Coast, there’s [Primarily a Capella](http://www.singers.com/). Definitely. Check out The Bobs, for instance, or DaVinci’s Notebook. Lots of college groups do some humorous things as well. The Best of College Acapella has a humor album out called [Wasting Our Parents’ Money: The Best of College Acapella Humor](http://www.varsityvocals.com/boca/bocadisc.html#bocahumor). Great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/42 "2005-01-23T08:41:31Z")
Slightly more arguably-novelty… Oh my God, Becky… did you see her butt? ---
**Author:** ![Iceland\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@Iceland\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iceland_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/43 "2005-01-24T13:49:57Z")
Be grateful you escaped the Fast Food Rockers 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/44 "2005-01-28T08:13:52Z")
There are at least two popular extant bands besides Weird Al still making novelty songs – Ween and They Might Be Giants. True, TMBG wants to extend their recognition beyond the “joke/humor” song, but if either of these bands were released when “novelty” was considered a viable genre, they’d be considered novelty. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/45 "2005-01-28T09:02:32Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Among the ones I can still remember were the following: > > “Transfusion” - (_Transfusion, transfusion, my red corpsuckles [sic] are in mass confusion; I’m never ever ever ever gonna speed again–slip the blood to me, Bud!_) That would be by the truly bizarre [Nervous Norvus](http://www.aspma.com/drake/). We used to have an original 45 of that song on the Dot label…unfortunately gone with the years. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/46 "2005-01-28T13:37:32Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I think Weird Al’s finest moment was his recent song “Genius In France,” a complex tribute to the great Frank Zappa (complete with Dweezil Zappa on guitar). > > Zappa had plenty of material that could be considered “novelty songs,” including “Valley Girl,” “He’s So Gay,” “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” and “Jewish Princess.” Well, who knew? Didn’t know about the Zappa connection - I thought the song was about Jerry Lewis. Shows what I know. The Violent Femmes have some songs that I’d consider novelty. They’re good - check 'em out. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/47 "2005-01-28T13:48:12Z")
> [@Iceland\_Blue](#): > > Be grateful you escaped the Fast Food Rockers 😃 A Pizza Hut, A Pizza hut Kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut. ARRRRGHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/48 "2005-01-28T14:23:32Z")
Another slight hijack, but what became of Julie Brown? I know she had at least two novely pseudo-hits with ‘Because I’m a Blond’ and ‘Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun’. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/49 "2005-01-30T03:30:00Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I wonder if the 1980’s was the death of the novelty recordings. Such fun from the 1950’s to 1980’s…long lived those novelty records! What ones do you recall? > Here’s a start… > > Purple People Eater > Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor\* > > - I think there are two songs with very similar titles, but different songs totally > The Witch Doctor (title?) “I told the Witch Doctor…” by David Seville? > The UFO Song? (title?) also by David Seville? > The Chipmunk Song et al… > The Leader of the Laundry Mat (spoof of “Leader of the Pack”) > Judy in Disguise With Glasses (spoof of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”) > Beep Beep by the Playmates > The Camp Granada Song by Alan Sherman? (related to Bobby Sherman?) > Energy Crisis '74 > Mr. Jaws > King Tut (by Steve Martin) - I wish I had this! > Shaving Cream > Breaking Up Is Hard On You (re: AT&T Break Up) - rare, I can’t find > Pac-Man Fever > Do the Donkey Kong > The Curly Shuffle (re: 3 Stooges) > Take Off (from Second City TV - a quasi song/quasi novelty) > I’m sure I missed a bunch…what else do you recall? - Jinx 25 All-Time Novelty Hits (2002 Varese Saraband) on shelf at Circuit City today: The Flying Saucer (Pts. 1 & 2) -Buchanan & Goodman Western Movies-The Olympics Baby Talk-Jan & Dean Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu-Dicky Doo & the Don’ts Alley-Oop-Hollywood Argyles Jolly Green Giant-The Kingsmwn Juanita Banana-The Peels They’re Coming to Take Me Away Ha-Haa-Napoleon XIV & 17 more. Really great. Buchanan & Goodman dubbed phrases from other pop songs into their Flying Saucer opus narration. Got sued for copyright infringement my several owners, I remember reading. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/50 "2005-01-30T04:51:05Z")
> [@TommyTutone](#): > > Another slight hijack, but what became of Julie Brown? I know she had at least two novely pseudo-hits with ‘Because I’m a Blond’ and ‘Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun’. I suspect that the latter tune just doesn’t play as well today, after all of those real-life school shootings, as it did when it first came out ☹ And Yankovic is a genius, pure and simple. One important key to his lyrics is the subtlety. I can hear one of his songs 50 times, and on the 51st listening I’ll catch some little thing I had missed before, and it will start me howling all over again. For example: In _Fat_, he replaces Michael Jackson’s “Jam on! Jam on!” with “Ham on! Ham on! Ham on whole wheat!” That becomes insanely funny once you realize that the Spanish word for “ham” is “jamon”. Pronouned “ham-on”. The number “27” is included in the lyrics at least once on every single album Al has ever released. Not exceptional at first glance. Even Al himself has stated that he just thinks 27 is a funny number. But then one day you’re looking at the Periodic Table, and you discover that 27 (actually 26.981538) is the atomic weight of the element Aluminum, which is indicated by the symbol “Al”. I can’t tell you how many times I played, yes, even performed in public, Al’s song _One More Minute_, before I finally realized what I was saying when I sang the line, “'Cuz I’m stranded all alone at the Gas Station of Love, and I have to use the self-service pump…” I finally, painfully, agonizingly realized the meaning immediately after I sang that line… to a group of people from my church. :smack: It’s especially funny when, while singing about some horrifying disaster, he expresses concern over the most trivial thing. Singing about the Earth being invaded by space aliens who are bent on killing everybody, he sings, “They’ve got hands all covered with fungus / They’ve got eyes like some kind of bug / I sure hope they don’t come in here / I just shampooed the rug!” \*I’m the biggest dork there is alive My mom picked out my clothes for me 'till I was 35 And I forgot to mention I’m not even welcome at the Star Trek convention But the Frenchies think That my poop don’t stink I’m a genius in France \* ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/51 "2005-01-30T06:14:56Z")
Fish heads, fish heads, roly-poly fish heads, fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum! How about [Bob Rivers](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/73232/102-7342122-9565710)? Both Louden Wainright III (“Dead Skunk”) and Jim Stafford(“Cow Patti”, “My Girl Bill”, “Cows with Guns”) had big hits with novelty songs in the 1970’s. John Prine sang “Dear Abby”, and Zevon had “Werewolves of London”. So there have been a few around. But I definitely think Weird Al qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/52 "2005-01-30T18:34:33Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > 25 All-Time Novelty Hits (2002 Varese Saraband) on shelf at Circuit City today: > > The Flying Saucer (Pts. 1 & 2) -Buchanan & Goodman > … > > Buchanan & Goodman dubbed phrases from other pop songs into their Flying Saucer opus narration. Got sued for copyright infringement my several owners, I remember reading. Didn’t Buchanan & Goodman do about a half-dozen of those things (I vaguely remember one about the shark in JAWS)? Then they fell off the map, and now we know… the rest of the story. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/53 "2005-01-30T19:43:46Z")
When I was a kid, I loved [My Boomerang Won’t Come Back](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/m/myboomerangwontcomeback.shtml) by Charlie Drake. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893/54 "2005-01-30T19:53:44Z")
And, I actually preferred [The Martian Hop](http://www.top40db.org/Songs/ID_63155.shtml) to the Beach Boys. :o [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-novelty-records/285893.md?page=2)