Song Poems - American Pop Culture Oddities

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Ranked #1,365 in Music, #35,380 overall

What Is A Song Poem?

This is the definition of "song-poem" from the American Song-Poem Music Archives website: "Song-poem music is a scam in which innocent people are deceived into paying to have a poem or song lyric they've written set to a tune and recorded. Although the song-poem company suggests in its promotional literature that it will support the finished recording, and that it therefore has a chance to become a smash hit, in reality once the record is completed and returned to the customer it is quickly forgotten about, in favor of the location and seduction of new victims.
Song-poem companies profit by doing volume business, and so must create a literal factory of music, with the songs being shuttled from melody-writing to fabrication on an assembly-line basis. It is the aesthetic clashes between the work of the amateur and often graceless lyricists and that of the professional studio personnel forced to work too hastily that sparks song-poem music's unique pleasures. The genre has a long and colorful history..."

This definition is technically correct, but I believe that it makes the song poem industry sound particularly unsavory.  Maybe I'm glamorizing it a little bit because I happen to be a fan of the genre, but I think many people who sent their poems to the song poem companies were happy with the results they received.  They were able to see a dream realized - their words immortalized in song.  Ok, ok, so maybe it isn't right to promise or even hint at fame and fortune for the "songwriter", but I still love the concept of the average Joe or Jane seeing their song come alive.  This is a unique slice of American pop culture, and I love it!

The song poem industry has been in existence since the early 1900's and originally started by offering sheet music instead of recorded music.  Song poem customers were sent several copies of their song on 45 RPM records and were also offered the chance to purchase LPs which included their own song with the songs of other customers.  Some of these 45s and LPs have become quite collectible.  Current song poem companies will send you a CD and some also send an mp3 via email. 

What's So Great About Song Poems? 

Song poems are a unique slice of Americana and are of particular interest to people who have an interest in the unusual, strange, weird and bizarre. This is a beloved genre for collectors of outsider or "fringe" music. Each song poem is unique and gives the listener a glimpse into the mind of the poet. There have been song poems written about the usual song subjects, but also about amazingly unusual topics such as liking yellow things, Jimmy Carter, non-violent taekwondo troopers, and Annie Oakley.
Musically, song-poems can range from the truly awful to the pretty darn catchy. This adds to the fun for fans of song poems. Because the song poems companies were churning out the "hits" as quickly as possible to maximize studio time (and profit), most of the songs were completed in one take. Also, the musicians went into the studio to record having never seen the sheet music for each song and without rehearsal time. Basically, the musicians were sight reading the music and if a mistake was made, it usually became a part of the finished product.
See the section below for links to audio samples of some song-poems.

Like What You've Heard? 

Get Some Song Poems To Keep!

There was a great documentary called "Off The Charts" made recently about the song poem phenomenon. It was originally aired on PBS, but is now available commercially on DVD. Rock!
Here are some links to some song poem anthology CDs as well as the "Off The Charts" DVD on Amazon. Happy watching and listening!

Song Poems on eBay 

Search eBay for Undiscovered Song-Poem Gems!

For song poem fans and collectors, eBay can be a great resource to find the rare and elusive song poem 45s and LPs. These can be quite pricey, but sometimes, a bargain can be found.

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Rodd Keith - Song Poem Superstar 

Rodney Keith Eskelin was one of the most talented and prolific musicians and songwriters in the song-poem industry. He was sought after by numerous song poem companies and did work with many of them. He was incredibly innovative and creative and often used a Mellotron to add more instruments and sounds to his recordings.
Rodd (as well as other performers in the song-poem industry) often used aliases on recordings. One of his alter-egos is Rod Rogers. It has also been reported that Rodd was a heavy user of hallucinogens. According to the film "Off The Charts", Rodd Keith wanted to be a composer of classical music and felt that he was "prostituting" himself by working in the song-poem industry.
Rodd Keith has a son, Ellery Eskelin, who is a jazz musician and collector of song poems.
At the end of 1974, Rodd Keith tragically died after falling from an overpass. To this day, no one knows if his death was intentional or accidental.

Sing Me Your Song! 

Are you a song poem fan? Will you become a fan after reading this lens? Let me know!

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  • Reply
    Tony Downs Tony Downs Jan 22, 2008 @ 2:21 am
    I see my videos/sonpoems referenced at the bottom of this page...Check out my songpoem site and myspace for free downloads of my songpoems...

    http://tonydowns1975.tripod.com/

    http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=87360064
  • Reply
    Gary Forney Gary Forney Jan 19, 2008 @ 9:18 am
    The strangest part of the whole songpoem thing is that I have actually attracted a gay stalker. The guy is obsessed with me. Since I don't return his feelings, I am married with three children, he has since tried to destroy whatever career I may have. Recently he had all my websites deleted and any mention of me removed from the Wikipedia. If anyone is interested, my new website is at Http://TheLegendaryGaryForney.Tripod.Com

    Another strange aspect is how polar of reactions I get from people. There are those who know I am a normal human being, an obscure musician just trying to have a career. There are others who think that ANYONE doing songpoems must be mentally challenged, in light of Caglar. It's a strange mix! If anyone is interested, I have written an autobiography, CARAVAN, along with a sequel, BEYOND THE CHARTS. Either book tells the true story. There are also the movies, OFF THE CHARTS, PUPPY, PUNK'N. I also appear in Chicago annually.
  • Reply
    David David Oct 3, 2007 @ 12:02 am
    And there's always the very first CD of new song-poems, Song Poem Hits of 2007! http://www.geocities.com/songpoemhits
  • Reply
    Brite-Ideas Brite-Ideas Jul 9, 2007 @ 11:18 pm
    Well, this was VERY informative for me, as I write poems and lyrics - and write several new things a week. Had NO idea this existed. Am chomping at the bit to have my lyrics put to music - My fave lyrics-
    http://www.drageda.com/songindex/rememberwhoIam/index.html - 5 stars for your site.
  • Reply
    ankur ankur May 31, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
    Hi MonkeyGroupie, Great lens. I also created my lens.Hey there. The_Industry_Yellow_Pages is still working on this lens about music business and will publish it to the world soon. Come back soon! To view the lens click here. 5 stars to yours.
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The Infamous Story of the Most Famous Song Poem 

Blind Man's Penis (Peace and Love)

The story in the words of John Trubee, the poem's author:
"Stevie Wonder's penis is erect because he's blind. This ludicrous line was invented out of sheer boredom and homicidal frustration as I labored as a cashier in a convenience store in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1975. I'd scribble some poems and weird phrases on a legal pad to vent my seething anguish. Writing on the job was a kind of self-invented therapy to prevent the onset of mental illness due to occupational stress and severe teenage alienation.
In late spring of 1976, I bought one of those horrible sleazy tabloids you find in supermarkets by the check-out stand. I had to keep up on my UFO sightings and mass hatchet murders. In the back pages of the Midnight Globe (not the National Enquirer, as erroneously reported elsewhere -- was it Time?), I scanned the geeky little ads and saw: "Cowrite on a 50-50 basis, earn $20,000 royalties, send your song poems to ..." some outfit in Nashville, Tennessee. I thought to myself: wouldn't it be fun to send these people the most ridiculous, stupid, vile, obscene, retarded Iyrics to see their response?
In five minutes of stream of consciousness (or unconsciousness), I hammered out the following:

Peace & Love
I got high last night on LSD
My mind was beautiful, and I was free
Warts loved my nipples because they are pink
Vomit on me, baby
Yeah Yeah Yeah.

Stevie Wonder's penis is erect because he's blind
It's erect because he's blind, it's erect because he's blind
Stevie Wonder's penis is erect because he's blind
It's erect because he is blind

Let's make love under the stars and watch for UFOs
And if little baby Martians come out of the UFOs
You can fuck them
Yeah Yeah Yeah.

The zebra spilled its plastinia on bemis
And the gelatin fingers oozed electric marbles
Ramona's titties died in hell
And the Nazis want to kill everyone.

Stevie Wonder's penis is erect because he's blind ... etc."

To condense the rest of John's story, he received a letter from the song-poem company who thought his song worthy of publication and agreed to do so for $79.95. There was one difference in the song - the company changed the lyrics "Stevie Wonder" to "A Blind Man" in order to avoid legal action.

John sent his money, received his 45s and a 3" reel to reel demo copy of the song. The song was eventually discovered by others and has become a cult favorite!

Song Poems on YouTube 

Cool song poem videos on YouTube!

a blind mans penis

Runtime: 120
9639 views
22 Comments:


SONG The Mighty White Hunter (The Original Crazy Dave)

Runtime: 191
3517 views
1 Comments:


SONG POEM Sorry Joe ORIGINAL CRAZY DAVE (sound like Zappa?)

Runtime: 147
438 views
2 Comments:


SONG POEM The Boy In The Bubble ORIGINAL CRAZY DAVE

Runtime: 182
3072 views
4 Comments:


Song-poem: Strawberry Walrus THE ORIGINAL CRAZY DAVE

Runtime: 162
3124 views
2 Comments:


SARGE-THE VIDEO

Runtime: 212
628 views
1 Comments:


The Rockin' Wefties (song poem video)

Runtime: 91
155 views
1 Comments:


ODE TO THE SONGPOEM

Runtime: 205
988 views
5 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

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