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Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection
Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection is a release by radio disc jockey Dr. Demento to celebrate 20 years since the beginning of his radio career and novelty song show. It covers many of the novelty and comedy songs from the 1950s to the 1980s, such as “ Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight)” by Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group, to “Eat It” by "Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ..., whose popularity was boosted by Demento. Track listing Disc one Disc two Notes {{Authority control Novelty albums 1991 compilation albums Comedy rock compilation albums ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Rock
Comedy rock is rock music that is comedic in nature. Oftentimes it is mixed with satire or irony.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul'' (Backbeat Books, 3rd Edition., 2002), pp. 126. Bands and songs Early Early American examples include Stan Freberg, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and the Platters, and Sheb Wooley. The latter's "Purple People Eater" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart in 1958 and stayed there for six weeks. In Britain during the 1950s and early 1960s comedians such as Charlie Drake and the Goons frequently appeared in the top ten with humorous rock 'n' roll records—the latter, along with Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, were to influence the word-play of John Lennon's lyrics. Later British groups specialised in comedy: these included the Scaffold, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias. Later in Britain, in the 2000s, M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darrell Hammond
Darrell Clayton Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer since 2014. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history. Hammond has made more ''SNL'' appearances than any other cast member and impersonated more than 107 celebrities, with Bill Clinton as his most frequent impression. On September 19, 2014, Hammond was announced as the new announcer of ''SNL,'' replacing Don Pardo, who had died the month before. Early life Hammond was born in Melbourne, Florida, the son of Margaret and Max Hammond. Hammond was severely abused by his mother, contributing to his lifelong struggles with depression and substance abuse. Hammond's father, dealing with his own psychological issues resulting from his military service during World War II, often drank heavily and acted out violently. Hammond found as a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Freberg
Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, radio personality, puppeteer and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet", '' Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America'', his role on the television series ''Time for Beany'', multiple characters in the Looney Tunes such as Pete Puma and Bertie, and a number of classic television commercials. Early and personal life Freberg was born Stanley Friberg on August 7, 1926 in Pasadena, California, the son of Evelyn Dorothy (née Conner), a housewife, and Victor Richard Friberg (later Freberg), a Baptist minister. Freberg was of Swedish and Irish descent. He was drafted in the US Army from 1945 to 1947 where he served in Special Services attached to the Medical Corps aMcCornack General Hospitalin Pasadena, California. Freberg's work reflected both his gentle sensitivity (despite his liberal use of biting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Playmates
The Playmates were an American late 1950s vocal group led by the pianist Chic Hetti (born Carl Cicchetti, 26 February 1930), drummer Donny Conn (born Donald Claps, 29 March 1930 – September 2, 2015), and Morey Carr (31 July 1932 – 1987), all from Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. Career The Playmates—Donald Claps (a.k.a. Donny Conn), drummer and lyricist; Carl Cicchetti (a.k.a. Chic Hetti), pianist music composer; and Morey Cohen (a.k.a. Morey Carr), lead vocalist—were an instrumental and vocal trio, from Waterbury, Connecticut, and, in the early 1950s, at the University of Connecticut. After graduation in 1952, they began touring small lounges and night clubs in the United States and Canada, originally as "the Nitwits", later as the Playmates. Signed to Roulette Records in 1958 as the label's first vocal group, and anticipating a Calypso craze, the group recorded an album called ''Playmates Visit the West Indies''. They then released two notable Top 40 singles&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beep Beep (song)
"Beep Beep" is a novelty single by the Playmates, released in 1958 by Roulette Records (catalog number 4115) as the B-side to "Your Love". The song describes an unintended road race between two mismatched cars. Production "Beep Beep" was written by Carl Cicchetti and Donald Claps, also known as Chic Hetti and Donny Conn, the band's arranger/pianist and drummer, respectively. The song is built around accelerando: The tempo of the song gradually increases commensurate with the increasing speed of the drivers. In his book ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'', Ray B. Browne lists "Beep Beep" as an example of "motoring music ..in the chase mode". It is a tortoise-and-the-hare race, substituting the drivers of two unequal cars, originally a Nash Rambler and Cadillac, respectively. Roulette Records did not want to release the song as a single, because the song changed tempo, it explicitly named contemporary products on the market, and was not danceable; when disc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Drake
Jimmy Drake (March 24, 1912 – July 24, 1968), known professionally as Nervous Norvus, was an American musician known for the controversial novelty song "Transfusion". Early life He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived for a few years in Ripley, Tennessee. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to California when he was seven, eventually settling in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Career When he was 29, he moved to Oakland, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a truck driver for a time, and in 1953, looking for a way to get off the roads, he began to get his feet wet in the recording industry. He bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a cheap second-hand piano, and a baritone ukulele. With these accessories, he started supplementing his truck driving income in earnest by recording demos of his fellow amateur songwriter's offerings. His novelty song "Transfusion", recorded for the Dot Records label, was a top-ten hit in May 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nervous Norvus
Jimmy Drake (March 24, 1912 – July 24, 1968), known professionally as Nervous Norvus, was an American musician known for the controversial novelty song "Transfusion". Early life He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived for a few years in Ripley, Tennessee. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to California when he was seven, eventually settling in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Career When he was 29, he moved to Oakland, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a truck driver for a time, and in 1953, looking for a way to get off the roads, he began to get his feet wet in the recording industry. He bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a cheap second-hand piano, and a baritone ukulele. With these accessories, he started supplementing his truck driving income in earnest by recording demos of his fellow amateur songwriter's offerings. His novelty song "Transfusion", recorded for the Dot Records label, was a top-ten hit in May 1956, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Coslow
Sam Coslow (December 27, 1902 – April 2, 1982) was an American songwriter, singer, film producer, publisher and market analyst. Coslow was born in New York City. He began writing songs as a teenager. He contributed songs to Broadway revues, formed the music publishing company Spier and Coslow with Larry Spier and made a number of recordings as a performer. With the explosion of film musicals in the late 1920s, Hollywood attracted a number of ambitious young songwriters, and Coslow joined them in 1929. Coslow and his partner Larry Spier sold their publishing business to Paramount Pictures and Coslow became a Paramount songwriter. One of his first assignments for the studio was the score for the 1930 film ''The Virtuous Sin''. He formed a successful partnership with composer Arthur Johnston and together they provided the scores for a number of films including Bing Crosby vehicles. Coslow became a film producer in the 1940s and won the Academy Award for Best Short Film for hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Johnston (composer)
Arthur James Johnston (January 10, 1898 – May 1, 1954) was an American composer, conductor, pianist and arranger. Life and career Born in New York City, he began playing piano in movie houses, and went to work for Fred Fisher's music publishing company at the age of 16. He met, and was soon hired by, Irving Berlin, becoming Berlin's personal arranger, and director of early '' Music Box Revues''. His first hit song was "Mandy Make Up Your Mind", co-written with George W. Meyer, Roy Turk and Grant Clarke for Florence Mills to sing in the show ''Dixie to Broadway''. Biography by Jason Ankeny, ''Allmusic.com'' Retrieved 12 January 2021 In 1929, he moved to Hollywood, where he o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and toured the United States and Canada as "The Musical Depreciation Revue". Biography Lindley Armstrong Jones was born in Long Beach, California, the son of Ada (Armstrong) and Lindley Murray Jones, a Southern Pacific railroad agent. Young Lindley Jones was given the nickname 'Spike' for being so thin that he was compared to a railroad spike. At the age of 11 he got his first set of drums. As a teenager he played in bands that he formed himself; Jones' first band was called Spike Jones and his Five Tacks. A railroad restaurant chef taught him how ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocktails For Two
"Cocktails for Two" is a song from the Big Band era, written by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow. The song debuted in the movie ''Murder at the Vanities'' (1934), where it was introduced by the Danish singer and actor Carl Brisson. Duke Ellington's version of the song was recorded in 1934 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The song alludes to Repeal, the ending of Prohibition in the United States. The introduction begins with: Oh what delight to Be given the right to Be carefree and gay once again. No longer slinking, Respectably drinking Like civilized ladies and men. The song was written in 1934, and the 21st Amendment, which ended Prohibition, was ratified in December of the previous year. Renditions Early recordings in 1934 of "Cocktails for Two" were also made by Johnny Green and Will Osborne, but possibly its best known version is the comedic sound effects-laden version by Spike Jones and His City Slickers. The Slickers first recorded it in 1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby "Boris" Pickett
Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007), known also by the name Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and comedian known for co-writing and performing the 1962 hit novelty song "Monster Mash". Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Pickett watched many horror films as a result of his father's position as a local movie theater manager. He started improvising impressions of Hollywood film stars at a young age. At a turning point in his career, Pickett was a vocalist for local swing band Darren Bailes and the Wolf Eaters. He would later serve from 1956–1959 in the United States Army, stationed in Korea for a period of time. He co-wrote his signature song, "Monster Mash", with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962 as a spoof of popular contemporary dance crazes. Pickett's performances include impersonations of Boris Karloff (''The Mummy'' (1932)) and Bela Lugosi (''Dracula'' (1931)), and although major labels declined to distribute the song, Gar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
