Novelty Songs & Parodies: Not Just One-Hit Wonders
There have been a few artists who specialized in novelty music who stand out as memorable from those decades: Spike Jones, Victor Borge, Allan Sherman and Tom Lehrer. Of those who came later, "Weird Al" Yankovic stands out the most.
Dr. Demento, Novelty Songs and "Weird Al" Yankovic
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.
Dr. Demento's Hit Parades
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Doctor Demento Hit Parade 2
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The first Doctor Demento Hit Parade lens presented videos based on the Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection. This second hit parade presents videos from the Dr. Demento 30th Anniversary Collection. Note: Videos on YouTube sometimes disappear sudd...
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Doctor Demento Hit Parade
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Dr. Demento (aka Barrett Hansen) has a nationally syndicated radio show each week that features novelty and comedy songs from all eras. While his on-air persona is decidedly wacky, off-air he's a serious collector of novelty and comedy records, tapes...
Der Fuehrer's Face with Donald Duck
Spike, Victor, Allan, Tom & Stan
More than "one-hit wonders"
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Tom Lehrer Video Showcase
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Tom Lehrer wrote some of the best satirical songs of the 1950s and 1960s while also pursuing an academic career teaching mathematics and musical theater. He self-produced his first album which was sold on the Harvard University campus and local recor...
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Stan Freberg Video Showcase
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Stan Freberg got into voice work in Hollywood in 1944 when he signed on with Warner Brothers. His first vocal appearance was as Junyer Bear in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears." He wasn't actually credited for his voice work until 1957. In his voice w...
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Victor Borge Video Showcase
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Victor Borge, known as "the Clown Prince of Denmark" and "the Great Dane," trained early in life as a classical pianist. In the 1930s he began including comedy in his performances, often making jokes at the expense of Adolf Hitler. He was performing...
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Spike Jones Video Showcase
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Spike Jones was a musician and bandleader who satirized popular and classical music in the 1940s and 1950s with his band The City Slickers. His arrangements, which sometimes started out sounding quite urbane and sophisticated, would quickly devolve i...
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Allan Sherman Video Showcase
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Allan Sherman didn't start out as his mother's son, the folksinger. Before he gained fame with song parodies, he created the popular TV show I've Got a Secret in 1952 and was the show's producer from then until 1958. He lived in West Los Angeles next...
Dr. Demento & Friends
Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection: The Greatest Novelty Records of All Time
Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 12/07/2009) 
Dr. Demento 30th Anniversary Collection: Dementia 2000
Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Spike Jones - Greatest Hits
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
My Son, the Greatest: The Best of Allan Sherman
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/07/2009)
Tom Lehrer Sings the Elements
Elements by Tom Lehrer
***********************Its a great honor to have our little cartoon featured on Wired Magazine. (www.wired.com) As the number 5 top video about science. We would be pleased if you saw the other 9 videos featured. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/sciencemusic/ **************** A Useless Bay Production of The Elements Song (or the Periodic Table Song) by Tom Lehrer Yes, we are very much aware that "silicone" is not the same as "silicon" however there are silicon piano keys in the picture, if anyone has noticed. We aren't chemists, and we aren't even very good animators over here at Useless Bay. *************** To Students and Instructors: If you would like to use this video please email us and we'll be happy to send you a copy. Please share, post, show, broadcast or transmit, we would be honored to donate our project. We can correct the glaring administrative error in the cartoon, as well and make it a little more family friendly. Gene at Useless Bay Productions ************************* http://www.myspace.com/hall_of_wisdom
Runtime: 118
548043 views
724 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
Novelty Song Links
- 100 Greatest Novelty Songs
- This site from DigitalDreamDoor.com actually lists 150 top novelty songs with lyrics for most of the top 100.
- Crazy Funny Songs
- Fellow Squidooer Joan Adams (aka Joan4) appreciates novelty songs as well and has some very funny ones in her lens.
- Weird Al Yankovic Video Showcase
- I was going to do a video showcase on Weird Al, but this one's very good, so I moved on to create other lenses and video showcases instead.
Share your thoughts on Novelty Songs
Don't forget to bookmark and rate this lens! You can do that following the comments.
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- Snozzle Snozzle Apr 29, 2009 @ 9:19 am
- Never heard of Dr. Demento before but some of the others are familiar especially Tom Lehrer and Spike Jones. Interesting theme.
Mike.
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- TheWhistler TheWhistler Apr 21, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
- I think novelty songs have always been popular in Great Britain. Thanks for the lens.
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- poddys poddys Mar 13, 2009 @ 7:53 pm
- Great lens, 5*****. Favorited, Lensrolled to my Humor lenses, and welcomed into the "Laugh Away" group.
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- badmsm badmsm Oct 29, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
- Hey Moby, great lens. I used to listen to "the Good Doctor" growing up in So Cal on KMET every Sunday night. What a hoot! We now have have 2nd generation Dementoids... How about some Flanders & Swann? They rock! 5 stars and a fave for you!
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- Joan4 Joan4 Oct 12, 2008 @ 10:47 pm
- Enjoyed this! A new generation of novelty songs, I think. Lensrolling to Crazy Funny Songs!
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