Novelty Songs

Dr. Demento, the on-air persona of Barret Hanson, began his radio show in the 1970s, featuring novelty songs and parodies from all eras and introducing millions of listeners to the rich history of comedy in music. Many folks might never have heard of Spike Jones (that's him on the album cover at right), Allan Sherman and Tom Lehrer if it weren't for the Doctor.

It wasn't all music from the dusty musty archives, however. He got a tape from a high school student, Al Yankovic, and played it on his show in the mid-70s. A while later, "Weird Al," as he was known, and by then in college, recorded a parody of The Knack's "My Sharona" and called his version "My Bologna." The Doctor invited Al onto his show, where he recorded "Another One Rides the Bus," a parody of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." That was in early 1980, and "Weird Al" is still recording parodies, along with original songs.

Novelty songs are popular subjects for YouTube videos. When I got the idea to do a video showcase using videos of songs on the double CD Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection, I had no trouble coming up with enough material. A lot of what I selected has some very creative video to go with the music. In other cases, the video is more static - a record player or a still photo - but the songs are funny and the audio quality is acceptable, so they've been included.

There was plenty of material left to do a showcase based on the Dr. Demento 30th Anniversary Collection, plus showcases for individual performers.

I was going to do a "Weird Al" video showcase, but there's already a pretty decent one from a fellow Squidooer, teenager Tomasz Klekot, who I gather is from Poland. Check the Novelty Song Links to go to his site when you're done here.