"Weird" Songs That Were Hits

[bassliner50]

Not exactly formulaic:

 

[HardNHeavy]

surfin bird

 

[guitarflinger]

I heartily recommend Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection!

40 or so wacko songs about every subject. My favorite - "I've Heard the Screams of the Vegetables" - and why not to be a vegetarian.

 

[5StringBlues]

Well everybody knows about the Bird........

 

[Michedelic]

Well, that theme goes way way way back. Think "Mary of the Wild Moor", "Jimmy Brown the Newsboy", "Hobo Bill's Last Ride", "Katie Dear", "The Banks of the Ohio", "Footprints in the Snow", "Long Black Veil", "Green Grass of Home", "Wreck of the Old 97", and how many others?

Yes, most of those were folk songs, many classified as “murder ballads” as mentioned, or laments. And you could add “Miss Otis Regrets” to that list. But the “teen death” thing was a particular, peculiar trend, back in the Donna Reed/Leave It To Beaver era when anything unpleasant was to be avoided. Here’s an interesting take on it all…
Teenage tragedy song - Wikipedia

 

[Lance Bunyon]

RIP Dr Demento... he lives on in You Tube
This was in heavy rotation on Mtv in the 1980s

Dr. Demento is not dead, sir.

 

[Michedelic]

They're Coming to Take Me Away, HaHa

Not exactly formulaic:

You haven’t read the entire thread, have you?

 

[Hahaha]

I don't know where this ended up on the charts, but it got tons of airplay on the FM stations. It's certainly weird. I wish they had mixed the monster guitar solo a bit louder.

(3084) Focus - Hocus Pocus - YouTube

 

[Crater]

I remember "Brand New Key" being on the radio when I was an innocent and unknowing kid, and that's the genius of the lyrics - if you don't know about "ess ee ex" then the lyrics seem rather innocent, if odd. "..around the world" on her bicycle? really?

Once I had the chance to re-hear the song as an adult I was a little shocked. I think part of the shtick was that "Melanie" had a girlish innocent sounding voice but was singing these racy lyrics. Must have been a thing because Maria Mauldar's "Midnight at the Oasis" has a similar vibe. There was also similar song that's even more cringey and overtly sexual than "Brand New Key" called "Telephone Man."

I'd consider Frank (and Moon) Zappa's "Valley Girl" to be a novelty song, did it break into the top 40?

 

[Wyrdlow]

Also overlooked is the sub-genre of “teen death” songs(with the attached ghost story variant)of the very early 60’s. While adolescents go through some sort of obsession with death, these songs tapped the subconscious fear of the nuclear annihilation concerns of the time period, Cuban missile crisis and all that. Dickie Lee was the king of such stuff, “Patches”, “Laurie”, and more, plus J. Frank Wilson’s “Last Kiss”. Later on, there was maudlin stuff like Bobby Goldsboro’s “Honey”. Then, ‘recitation’ records, like Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”(more death), Red Sovine’s “Phantom 309”(another ghost story), and sappy stuff like Walter Brennan’s(an actor who portrayed crotchety farm hand types)record, “Old Rivers”.

In England we had Twinkle with the classic "Terry." ("Don't do it! Don't do it!)

 

[ThudThudThud]

I remember "Brand New Key" being on the radio when I was an innocent and unknowing kid, and that's the genius of the lyrics - if you don't know about "ess ee ex" then the lyrics seem rather innocent, if odd. "..around the world" on her bicycle? really?

Once I had the chance to re-hear the song as an adult I was a little shocked. I think part of the shtick was that "Melanie" had a girlish innocent sounding voice but was singing these racy lyrics. Must have been a thing because Maria Mauldar's "Midnight at the Oasis" has a similar vibe. There was also similar song that's even more cringey and overtly sexual than "Brand New Key" called "Telephone Man."

From Wiki: "In 1976, the Wurzels released a cover version of "The Combine Harvester", a rework of the song "Brand New Key", by Melanie, which became a UK hit, topping the charts for 2 weeks." (my bolding for emphasis...because...wow...)
Taste was never an option. And no. Not listening to it, or finding the video.

 

[lOmnivore S]

French, you say?

Ok I like that Peuple de l'Herbe music, althought it's quite standard acid jazz, yet well done. The Brits did throw some good stuff in the 90's in the genre. Nothing particulary French. But good.

As for Plastic Bertrand I've never liked his "Ca plane pour moi" hit, although I do love the Sex Pistols.
However his follow-up thing is a highly enjoyable cover of the late 50's hit of Dalida "Bambino" (a very middle of the road song.) The original was a huge and lasting hit, and historicaly introduced in France the radio "let's hammer this thing" way of promoting a record, so I've been told (wasn't born.) A method "that worked in the Usa". Like very many many airplays a day, for weeks, and then months.. Our elders did suffer. The song itself is "une scie" (a saw) as they say in the show business, meaning it's steel-guaranteed to work anytime anyplace. Any number of times...
It's about a youngish Italian boy who pretends he can get the beautiful lady, but of course, he cannot. (it's physical.) Bambino, or bambin in French, means smthg like 'childo'.
Well the Plastic B wild thing is a very tastful 'Ramonesque' rendering of it, both musically and spiritually (yes!), and should have deserved a much better fate than the silly flop like this very silly video linked below (the sound is fun.) Probably the bad reward of "Ca plane pour moi"...
Yet I love it.
Should fit in this "Weird" thread just alright.



ps : In the mid 80's with my band we did a likewise (very) Ramonesque cover of Lio's "Bébé vampire", the girly-girlish thing (she did "Banana Split" big hit in the same album.) Was fun.

 

[Wyrdlow]

​

Brilliant! That's going in the set!

 

[Wyrdlow]

From Wiki: "In 1976, the Wurzels released a cover version of "The Combine Harvester", a rework of the song "Brand New Key", by Melanie, which became a UK hit, topping the charts for 2 weeks." (my bolding for emphasis...because...wow...)
Taste was never an option. And no. Not listening to it, or finding the video.

 

[bassfran]

I don’t know what any of these charted, but I’d consider them “weird” by pop radio standards of their times;
Wooly Bully, Alley Oop, and The Flying Lizards version of Money.

 

[Spectrum]

 

[Lance Bunyon]

First time I heard this was 45 minutes after I had placed a psychedelic stamp on my tongue;

 

[Wyrdlow]

Few in the US know of it, but there was a British singer, Twinkle, who had a doomed boyfriend song, “Terry”.

But those others, I wouldn’t count as weird/novelty, it was just where a certain section of Euro youth culture was at that time. Remember Grebo? The point of SSS was to be obvious hype and no substance, as commentary on how plastic things were(and still con the public while they were doing it).

Ah! Beat me to it!

 

[Wesley R]

Jeez, novelty songs were almost a genre of their own, and Ray Steven’s was the King. Ahab the Arab, Gitarzan, The Streak, Yakety Yak, and many more.

Gitarzan, man, thanks for the memories!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

The author apparently has never heard the term "novelty songs." What a load of pretentious nonsense. And as I was there at the time, I can say I do not remember anyone suggesting "Brand New Key" was about sex.

Invalid Link Removed

I have acknowledged that Brand New Key was about sex. Now get off my case.

Well everybody knows about the Bird........