Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll: Special Novelty Edition

by N/A

Overview

Name any big rock & roll novelty hit from the mid-'50s to the mid-'60s, the sillier the better, and the odds are it's on this 30-song compilation. As just a sample of the big hits here, this has the Ran-Dells' "Martian Hop"; Sheb Wooley's "The Purple People Eater"; David Seville's "Witch Doctor"; the Playmates' "Beep Beep"; Barry Mann's "Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp Bomp Bomp)"; Gene Simmons' "Haunted House"; the Detergents' "Leader of the Pack" satire "Leader of the Laundromat" (probably the funniest thing here); and, closing the disc, Napoleon XIV's legendarily grating "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" Naturally, some of the big hits included weren't as funny as they were popular, like Larry Verne's "Mr. Custer," Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," Ray Stevens' "Ahab the Arab," and Buzz Clifford's "Baby Sittin' Boogie." Those are necessary to get a full view of the range of early rock & roll novelty hits, though, and as compensation there are quite a few semi-forgotten amusing small novelty hits, like Murry Kellum's "Long Tall Texan" (covered soon afterward by the Beach Boys), Jimmy Cross' tasteless death rock satire "I Want My Baby Back," Stan Freberg's "The Old Payola Roll Blues," and Spencer & Spencer's "Russian Band Stand" (a simulation of how American Bandstand might have been conducted in the former Soviet Union). As grounds for mild criticism, "Transfusion" would have made a better Nervous Norvus cut than "Ape Call," and the version of "Alley-Oop" is not the number one hit version by the Hollywood Argyles, but the (admittedly far rarer) one by the Dyna-Sores, which made it up to a mere number 59. But overall it's the most in-depth collection of the genre ever produced, accompanied by a 32-page booklet of detailed liner notes. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2003
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667198028
Rank:	65079

Tracks

1. Martian Hop  -  Ran-Dells  - Robert Rappaport  - Steve Rappaport  - John Spirt
2. Mr. Bass Man  - Johnny Cymbal
3. I Want My Baby Back  - Perry Jr. Botkin  - Jimmy Cross  - Gil Garfield
4. Baby Sittin' Boogie  - Buzz Clifford  - Johnny Parker
5. Yogi  -  Ivy Three  - Sid Jacobson  - Charles Koppelman  - Lou Stallman
6. Ape Call  -  Nervous Norvus
7. Delicious!  - Jim Backus  - Mort Garson  - Buddy Kaye
8. Long Tall Texan  - Murray Kellum  - Henry Strzelecki
9. Mr. Custer  - Fred Darian  - Al DeLory  - Larry Verne
10. The Purple People Eater  - Sheb Wooley
11. The Flying Saucer, Pt. 1  -  Buchanan & Goodman  - Dickie Goodman
12. Rip Van Winkle  -  Devotions  - Ray Sanchez
13. Witch Doctor  - Ross Bagdasarian  - David Seville
14. Russian Band Stand  - Dickie Goodman  -  Pryor  -  Spencer & Spencer
15. Beep Beep  - Carl Cicchetti  - Donald Claps  -  Playmates
16. More Money for You and Me Medley: Mr. Blue/Alley Oop/Smoke Gets in ...  - Bruce Belland  - DeWayne Blackwell  - Jacque Cascales  -  Four Preps  - Dennis Frazier  - Otto Harbach  - Jerome Kern  - Glen A. Larson  - Gene Roland
17. The Mummy  - Bob McFadden  - Rod McKuen
18. The Blob  - Burt Bacharach  - Mack David  -  Five Blobs
19. The Little Space Girl  - Jesse Lee Turner
20. Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)  -  Brynes  - Connie Stevens  - Irving Taylor
21. Itsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini  - Brian Hyland  - Lee Pockriss  - Paul Vance
22. Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp Bomp Bomp)  - Gerry Goffin  - Barry Mann
23. Psycho  - Bobby Hendricks  - Clyde McPhatter  - Jimmy Oliver
24. Ahab the Arab  - Ray Stevens
25. Haunted House  - Robert Geddins  -  Kiss
26. Alley-Oop  -  Dyna Sores
27. The Old Payola Roll Blues  - Stan Freberg
28. Ambrose, Pt. 5  - Linda Laurie  - Wes McWain  - Lou Sprung
29. Leader of the Laundromat  -  Detergents  - Lee Pockriss  - Paul Vance
30. They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!  -  Napoleon XIV  - Jerry Samuels

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Stan Freberg   Primary Artist
Spencer and Spencer   Primary Artist
Bobby Hendricks   Primary Artist
Barry Mann   Primary Artist
Edd "Kookie" Byrnes   Primary Artist
David Seville   Primary Artist
Jesse Lee Turner   Primary Artist
Jimmy Cross   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
The Playmates   Primary Artist
Buzz Clifford   Primary Artist
Bob McFadden   Primary Artist
Sheb Wooley   Primary Artist
The Five Blobs   Primary Artist
The Dyna-Sores   Primary Artist
The Ivy Three   Primary Artist
Connie Stevens   Primary Artist
The Detergents   Primary Artist
Larry Verne   Primary Artist
The Devotions   Primary Artist
Gene Simmons   Primary Artist
Johnny Cymbal   Primary Artist
Linda Laurie   Primary Artist
Jim Backus & Friend   Primary Artist
Ray Stevens   Primary Artist
Napoleon XIV   Primary Artist
Nervous Norvus   Primary Artist
The Ran-Dells   Primary Artist
Murray Kellum   Primary Artist
Brian Hyland   Primary Artist
Buchanan & Goodman   Primary Artist
The Four Preps   Primary Artist
Sonia Pryor Choir   Primary Artist
Spencer & Spencer   Primary Artist
Edward Brynes   Primary Artist
Kiss   Primary Artist
Jim Backus   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Barry Mann   Composer
Stan Freberg   Composer
Charles Koppelman   Composer
Dickie Goodman   Composer
Jesse Lee Turner   Composer
Henry Strzelecki   Composer
Lou Sprung   Composer
Steve Rappaport   Composer
Chris Popham   Package Design
Sheb Wooley   Composer
Paul Vance   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Glen A. Larson   Composer
Fred Darian   Composer
Lee Pockriss   Composer
Robert Geddins   Composer
Rod McKuen   Composer
Johnny Cymbal   Composer
Jacque Cascales   Composer
Tom Galzer   Arranger
Carl Cicchetti   Composer
Dennis Frazier   Composer
John Spirt   Composer
Bruce Belland   Composer
Donald Claps   Composer
Robert Rappaport   Composer
Ray Sanchez   Composer
Sid Jacobson   Composer
Wes McWain   Composer
Johnny Parker   Composer
Jimmy Oliver   Composer
Irving Taylor   Composer
Clyde McPhatter   Composer
Mack David   Composer
DeWayne Blackwell   Composer
Rob Finnis   Annotation
Lou Stallman   Composer
Perry Botkin, Jr.   Composer
Jerry Samuels   Composer
Ray Stevens   Composer
Ross Bagdasarian   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Otto Harbach   Composer
Buddy Kaye   Composer
Dave Guard   Arranger
Mort Garson   Composer
Al DeLory   Composer
Phil Smee   Cover Art
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Gerry Goffin   Composer
Gil Garfield   Composer
Gene Roland   Composer