Jerrold "Jerry" Samuels (born May 3, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Under the pseudonym Napoleon XIV, he achieved one-hit wonder status with the

Top 5 ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" is a 1966 novelty record written and performed by Jerry Samuels (billed as Napoleon XIV), and released on Warner Bros. Records. The song became an instant success in the United States, peaking at No. 3 o ...

" in 1966. Samuels has occasionally revisited the Napoleon XIV character to record other songs, usually comedy records with an insanity theme. Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he co-wrote "As If I Didn't Know" with

Larry Kusik Larry Kusik (also known as Larry Kusic) is a lyricist. He is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics for the tune " Speak Softly Love", the love theme from the 1972 film ''The Godfather''. He has also written lyrics to many other movie themes, inc ...

, a top 10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote "

The Shelter of Your Arms ''The Shelter of Your Arms'' is a 1964 album by Sammy Davis Jr. The title track reached No. 3 on the R&B singles, No. 7 on the Easy Listening chart, and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Track listing # "Bee-Bom" (Les Vandyke) – 2:22 # ...

", a top 20 hit for

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in 1964.

Biography

Samuels began his recording career in 1956 when he cut the single "Puppy Love"/"The Chosen Few" for the

Vik Records Vik Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor Records established in April 1953. In the '' Billboard'' issue of the 11th of that month, it was announced that RCA was launching, namelessly, a new label that was the company's first to be distributed ind ...

subsidiary of

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. In 1966, Samuels concocted "

" while working at

Associated Recording Studios Associated Recording Studios, familiarly known as Associated, was based in the music district of New York City from 1946 to 1985, near the famous Brill Building. As New York's major independent recording studio for almost 40 years, Associated was ...

in New York. The public found out his true identity when Cousin Brucie of WABC outed him. The record quickly climbed the charts, reaching the Top Ten nationally in just its third week on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at No. 3 and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. In the

Cash Box Top 100 The Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles (also known as the Cash Box Top 100) was a record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Cash Box'' magazine, which began publication in 1942. As a close competitor to ''Billboard A billb ...

the record even climbed to No. 1 for one week in its second week on the charts. The success of the single inspired a Warner Bros. album of the same name in 1966 (reissued by

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

in 1985), most of which continued with the mental illness theme (for example: "Bats In My Belfry" and "Split Level Head" which features different vocal parts in each stereo speaker). A second single of two recordings from that album was relatively unnoticed. His manager was Leonard Stogel. Currently, Samuels works as a singer and agent who books various performers. He works the Delaware Valley area.

Discography

Singles

* 1966 "

" / "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" Warner Bros. (5831) * 1966 "I'm in Love with My Little Red Tricycle" / "Doin' The Napoleon" Warner Bros. (5853) * 1973 "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" / "!aaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" Warner Bros. (WB 7726) (re-issue of WB 5831) * 1990 "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" (1966 recording) / "They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha-Haaa!" (Recorded in 1988) Collectables (3859) * They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! / Photogenic, Schizophrenic You (Eric Records single, 1970s)

Albums

1966 ''They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!''

Warner Bros. LP W 1661/WS 1661

=Side 1

= # "I'm in Love with My Little Red Tricycle" # "Photogenic, Schizophrenic You" # "Marching Off To Bedlam" # "Doin' The Napoleon" # "Let's Cuddle Up in My Security Blanket" # "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"

=Side 2

= # "Bats in My Belfry" # "Dr. Psyche, The Cut-Rate Head-Shrinker" # "I Live in a Split Level Head" # "The Nuts on My Family Tree" # "The Place Where The Nuts Hunt The Squirrels" # "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" (by Josephine XV)

1985 Reissue

Reissue of above on Rhino LP 816. NOTE: The backwards version of the album title track does not appear on either the original or reissue albums, although the backwards title is listed on the front cover.

1996 ''The Second Coming''

Rhino / WEA/Rhino R2 72402 # "Ode To A Farmer Boy" (New Recording 1995) # "The Explorer" (previously unreleased, recorded in 1968 for second unissued album, ''For God's Sake, Stop The Feces'') # "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" # "I'm In Love With My Little Red Tricycle" # "Photogenic, Schizophrenic You" # "Marching Off To Bedlam" # "Doin' The Napoleon" # "The Place Where The Nuts Hunt The Squirrels" # "Let's Cuddle Up In My Security Blanket" # "Goofin' On The Job" (Recorded in 1968) # "Bats In My Belfry" # "Dr. Psyche, The Cut-Rate Head-Shrinker" # "I Live In A Split Level Head" # "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" – Josephine XV # "The Nuts On My Family Tree" # "I Owe A Lot To Iowa Pot" (New Recording – 1995) # "Can You Dig It?" (Recorded in 1968) # "The Song I Wrote For Robert Goulet" (New recording – 1995) # "They're Coming To Get Me Again, Ha-Haaa!" # "It May Appear Ridiculous" (New recording – 1995) # "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" (unlisted bonus track)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon 14 1938 births Living people American male singers Singers from New York City American comedy musicians Record producers from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) American male songwriters