MACK AND MYER FOR HIRE: MONSTROUS MERRIMENT

LAUREL & YANNI

LAREDO: THE FORGOTTEN WESTERN COMEDY SPINOFF

Working on a possible novel, based on an earlier post on this and the previous long, I've been doing some research into the year 1966, that included some binge watching of the TV shows of that era. One old TV show I'm binge watching is a now obscure Western called Laredo, which ran from 1965 -1967. A few years ago, I posted list of what I considered the Top 10 Westerns. Laredo didn't make the list (because I wasn't familiar with it), but it is now one of my personal favorites.

From the 50s to the early 70s, Westerns ruled the television airwaves.  It started with the "kiddie" Westerns, which were carry overs from radio and the Saturday matinees. The rise of the "adult" Western boom (which coincided with the rise of rock & roll) in the late 50s lead to nearly every show on TV being a Western. Eventually there was a shake out in the early 60s, where many of the new Westerns were, pardon the pun, shot down the minute they rode into town. From then on, the big guns (another bad pun) stuck around for several years, but there were occasional waves of new Westerns.

In the early 60s, there was a trend toward heavy dramas involving doctors, teachers, detectives, lawyers, psychiatrist, military members and one show, Route 66, was about two guys cruising around the country. The Westerns started fading, until 1962, when NBC launched The Virginian, a 90 minute long, color Western, inspired by the book and previous movie versions.

As the drama trend began to fizzle out, the industry decided to try again, with Westerns in 1965. The fall season saw several new Westerns, but by the next year, many had rode off into the sunset (another pun). Three Westerns were the exception. One, Big Valley, was a copy of the top rated Western and TV show, Bonanza, only with a white haired mother, instead of a white haired father. Then there was Wild, Wild West, which combined the Western with the current spy show trend. The other Western to survive that season was Laredo.

I mentioned The Virginian because Laredo was a spin off of that show. In an episode, that aired in March of 1965, The Virginian (James Drury) sends Trampas (Doug McClure) to Mexico to buy a bull for the Shiloh Ranch. Trampas manages to get into a fight over a woman with three Texas Rangers: Reese Bennett (Neville Brand, a W.W. 2 Silver Star recipient), Joe Riley (William Smith) & Chad Cooper (Peter Brown). This episode was later released to movie theaters under the title Backtrack.

That fall, Laredo debuted on NBC. It was a hour long and in color. The producers wanted the show to be a sort of Western version of the Three Musketeers and Gunga Din, with a dash of Three Stooges. In regards to the later, some of the fight scenes were punctuated by cartoon sound effects. Laredo took a cue from another NBC show, The Man from UNCLE, and was rather tongue-in-cheek. Much of the humor was derived from Chad and Joe constantly making jokes about Reese's age, weight and looks.   

Reese Bennett

Reese Witherspoon

A little side story here: my sister laughs every time some one names a baby girl Reese. She knows they had Reese Witherspoon in mind, but she always, in the back of her mind, she pictures Neville Brand.

L to R: Brand, Brown, Smith, Carey

The main characters included the aforementioned Reese, a slovenly, dimwitted, hot-headed, middle-aged, former Union soldier with a face that only a mother could love and the voice that sounded like he gargled Draino, Chad the handsome, womanizing, gambling smart-ass, Joe the soft-spoken, muscular, reformed gunfight that was raised by Native Americans (explains the beads & buckskin he wears) and their stern, often frustrated boss, Captain Parmalee (Phillip Carey). 

In the second season, a forth Ranger, Erik Hunter (Robert Wolders, above), was added. Probably the most unusual character on a Western since Dr. Loveless of Wild, Wild West.  Erik, like Joe & Chad, was a young hunk. He looked like a cross between Michael Landon and Lee Majors, spoke like a cross between Cary Grant and Charles Boyer and dressed like a cross between Prince and Porter Wagoner. Erik is good at two things: plotting to ways to capture the criminals and stealing the woman Chad is interested in.  

Unlike other TV Texas Rangers such Jace Peason and Cordell Walker, these guys tend to screw up constantly or get sidetracked by a card game, bar fight or sex. Unlike those other shows, there isn't a heavy handed moral, but more of a off - the - wall tone, closer to 70s films like Animal House and Caddyshack. Pearson and Walker were like knights, the Laredo boys behave more like high school jocks or frat boys.

The show was placed on the prime time schedule opposite some of the most popular shows of the time. Another problem the show had was Neville Brand's drinking caused problems during production.

Laredo was not rerun until the advent of cable station with exclusive Western or nostalgic programming. However, fans seemed to have a fondness for the show. The DVD sets have come fast sellers.

I actually prefer the second season shows, because they seem to be satirizing Western lore, the dialogue is funnier, schemes are more outrageous (Reese in drag) and the traditional Western score is replaced with a jazz score.

Check out Laredo. It is a fun and overlooked Western that dared to be different. I think it defiantly needs a reboot or big screen adaptation. What better way to end this post than the front and back covers of the only Laredo comic book produced.

  

R.I.P DON RICKLES

Click to enlarge

I wish I knew the story behind these issues.

DESDINOVA'S 20 FAVORITE SONGS BY THE MONKEES

This September is also the debut of not just another television show on NBC, but a rock band: The Monkees.

I mentioned a few post ago how I feel they are the most underrated American pop group of the 60s. Since I have listed favorite songs by other bands, I'll now give you my favorite songs by The Monkees.

1. "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone"
2. "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
3. "Words"
4. "The Door Into Summer"
5. "Daily Nightly"
6. "Heart and Soul"
7. "Mommy & Daddy (the unreleased version)"
8. "Randy Scouse Git"
9. "Girl I Knew Somewhere"
10. "For Pete's Sake" (this was the closing theme for the second season)
11. "Last Train to Clarksville"
12. "Saturday's Child"
13. "She"
14. "Listen To the Band"
15. "Valerie" - original version
16. "Love Is Only Sleeping"
17. "The Monkees Theme"
18. "Goin Down"
19. "That Was Then, This is Now"
20. "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You"

There are more, but I decided to stop at twenty.

GARY MARSHALL'S FORGOTTEN CLASSIC - EVIL ROY SLADE

Most news stories about the late Gary Marshall are mentioning his many successes in television, such as Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy and The Odd Couple, as well as movies such as Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Beaches and The Princess Diaries. However, one of his biggest failures has become a cult classic.

In 1967, Marshall and his long time collaborators, Jerry Belson and Jerry Paris, came up with an idea for a Western comedy called Sheriff Who?. The show would feature a different guest star hired to be the sheriff, with the job of bringing to justice a outlaw named "Evil" Roy Slade, played by John Astin. At the end of the show, Slade would kill the new sheriff. Needless to say, NBC refused it because of violence. They re-wrote and filmed four different pilots of Sheriff Who? and each one was voted down by NBC. After the had a hit on ABC with The Odd Couple, the trio gave up on the comedy Western.

Then, in 1972, the four pilots were edited into a two hour movie for television called Evil Roy Slade. It aired on the network several times during the 70s and then was syndicated to local TV stations in the 80s. It became a cult favorite. At one point, rocker Alice Cooper was photographed wearing a T-shirt reading "Evil Roy Slade for President." In his autobiography, Marshall said it was one of his favorite projects of all time.

The plot revolves around a railroad, telegraph and bank magnate (Mickey Rooney) trying to bring Evil Roy Slade to justice. During a bank robbery, Slade meets a beautiful, idealistic schoolmarm named Betsy (Pamela Austin, the Dodge Girl). They fall in love and Betsy decides to reform Roy. She eventually takes him to Boston, where he is treated by a psychiatrist (Dom DeLuise). When he is cured he goes to work in the shoe store of her uncle (Milton Berle). Eventually, the railroad magnate hires a retired singing lawman (Dick Shawn) to hunt down Slade and marry Betsy.

The dialog in this movie is great. The funniest lines stay with you long after you watch the film. At one point, Betsy tries to teach Roy math with the problem of having six apples and a neighbor takes three. When she asked what he would have, Roy replies "A dead neighbor and all six apple." The absurdity of the humor takes the edge off of the idea that this is a movie about a vicious killer. The portion where Roy works at the shoes store has to be the funniest part.

Also the well-known cast make this film a fun experience. Of all of the stars involved, John Astin is the one who makes this work. He is perfect as the deranged but likable Slade. Throw in the narration by Western sidekick and Green Acres star Pat Butram and you have a great comedy package. Also look for Gary Marshall's sister, Penny Marshall, as a bank teller.

The movie is available on DVD as well as on YouTube.








 







      

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band Sing "Monster Mash" on Do Not Adjust Your Set

CRAZY KNIGHTS: THREE OFF-KILTER MEDIEVAL MOVIES

You silly, English, bedwetting types.

There have been films about medieval times since the beginning of film. Knights have managed to stay popular into modern times. You will find more sets of toy knights in a toy store over the once popular toy cowboys. The films, usually, fall into the categories of Arthurian legend, Chaucer based, Sir Walter Scott based, and historically accurate (read: boring).

I've selected three films, two from the 70s and one from 2001 that uses rock songs from the 70s, that veer off from the typical medieval film into their own little kingdoms.

He told them about how he wanted to try a threesome.

1. TORTURE DUNGEON (1970):  All I need to say here is this is a knock-off of the Tower of London, directed by Andy Milligan. Of course, that wouldn't be much fun. Would it? This is the story of Norman, Duke of Norwich, a one-armed, tantrum-throwing, self-proclaimed "tri-sexual" (because he will "try anything"), who tries to take the throne of the kingdom of Terragon by killing everyone of the heirs to the throne ahead of him. Norman (Milligan regular Jeremy Brooks a.k.a Gerald Jacuzzo) looks like a cross between Freddie Mercury and Sonny Bono, while Terragon looks suspiciously like Staten Island.

(L to R) Peter the Ear, Peter the Eye & the nose of Peter the Nose

As with any Milligan film, the dialog is filled with snippy remarks and mentions of gang rape, incest, necrophilia, child abuse, and sadism of all sorts. Add to this a collection of characters such as the kingdom's council made up of Peter the Eye (Milligan regular Neil Flanagan), Peter the Ear and Peter the Nose. The last two characters are played by two uncredited brothers, wearing Beatle wigs, who would fit in more in an episode of The Sopranos than a Medieval drama. The most outrageous character is Magda the marriage councilor. She dresses like a butterfly and sings and dances, while trying to explain how to have sex to the young heroine (Susan Cassidy). The top portion of Cassidy's costume does come together, so her boobs tend to flop out during a chase scene.

She's giving advice on sex and she picked out that outfit.

TORTURE DUNGEON in many ways could be called Milligan's masterpiece, but I prefer to see it as Milligan's twisted fairy tale of Medieval England.

The late Heath Ledger

2. A KNIGHT'S TALE (2001): I realize some will say a movie from 2001 doesn't belong on a retro blog, but the director of this film felt that the 1370s were probably similar to the 1970s, so I think it can be reviewed here. Not only is this loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer's A Knight's Tale, but Chaucer is a character (often buck naked) in this movie. This comedy-adventure not only spins a engaging yarn of a young man's quest to achieve his dream of becoming a knight, but satirizes the sports culture. The film is filled with turn of the Millennium pop culture references and a great soundtrack made up of 70s classic rock.

He looks like Carson and Letterman would throw him off

The film stars the late Heath Ledger as William, who has dreamed of being a knight since childhood. He comes of age as the squire for a knight. When the knight dies before a tournament, he takes his place using a phony birthright written by Geoffrey Chaucer. He not only befriends Chaucer (Paul Bettany), but Prince Edward and the feisty widow blacksmith, Kate, who makes him armor with a Nike swoosh on it. William falls in love with a noble woman, Jocelyn. He also makes an enemy of a arrogant knight named Count Adhemar, who is sort of a Medieval version of a 80s teen comedy preppy jock, but baring an uncanny resemblance to actor Oliver Reed.

One fun thing to watch for is a flashback, where an old man, who mocks young William's desire to be a knight. It is actor Berwick Kaler, who appeared in several of Andy Milligan's films (not TORTURE DUNGEON though) including, The Rats Are Coming, The Werewolves Are Here, The Body Beneath and as Tobias in The Bloodthirsty Butchers.

A KNIGHT'S TALE is fun and exciting, once you get past the fact that it doesn't take Medieval history very serious.

3. MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1974): Only the Monty Python guys could take King Arthur and stand it on it's head. To tell much about this movie would give away this best gags before some people would see it. Everyone should see this before they die. If you don't watch it or rewatch it, we will be forced to say "NEE" to you.        

R. I. P FIRESIGN THEATER's PHIL AUSTIN

Among the many characters Phil Austin performed on the Firesign Theater LPs, most people will always think of him as old time radio gumshoe Nick Danger. Here is the complete "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye" from their second LP.


 

DESDINOVA'S PODCAST 2

Here is the second podcast mix of retro mayhem. Featuring the music of Marshall Hain, Teegarden & Van Winkle, Diesel and Lighthouse. Enjoy!

PHONE YOUR NEIGHBORS AND WAKE THE KIDS: HOW DAVID LETTERMAN INFLUENCED ME

It has been a curse through out my life that the things I like are the things that are frowned upon by Ozarkers. I prefer heavy metal, punk,  urban and psychedelic rock over country music. I'm more interested in horror movies and comic books than hunting or sports (except golf). I also like comedy, whereas Ozarkers have absolutely no sense of humor. One of my favorite comedians has always been David Letterman and, according to several opinion polls taken by our local media outlets, Ozarkers hate David Letterman. My thought has always been, "Tough luck, you dumb rednecks!"

My first recollection of seeing David Letterman on TV was when he substituted for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. I remember he came out and said, "I was watching the monitor backstage and there was a commercial on for Preparation H. At the end of the commercial, the announcer said "Use only as directed." Like you would spread it on crackers."

One of the reasons why I liked David Letterman was he didn't take things too seriously. On his NBC shows, he wore a jacket, dress shirt and tie like other TV show host, except he wore blue jeans and sneakers with it. If a bit went wrong or a prop didn't work he would say, "Screw it!" and move on to something else. Even funnier was when a prop didn't get a laugh, he would throw it in a corner and break it. Dave was always quick to let you in on the fact that, especially in the early days, the segments were probably not going to be great television. In introducing those segments he would say, "Phone the neighbors and wake the kids! It is time for Stupid Pet Tricks!" and then midway through, he would look into the camera and say, "We are having more fun now than humans should be allowed."

Dave did strange things like drop light bulbs and bags of jello off of a building or let the audience give nicknames to former presidents like "Old Beanie Weenies" and "Old Scratch N Sniff." The first show gave aging monster kids a thrill with Larry Bud Mellman/Calvert DeForrest giving a introductory warning like Edward Van Sloan at the beginning of Frankenstein on the first show and ending the first show with a guy reciting dialog from a Bela Lugosi movie called Bowery After Midnight. He interrupted a live Today Show broadcast by yelling out a widow with a bullhorn that he was a major NBC executive and he wasn't wearing pants.
  
Like Ernie Kovacs before him, David Letterman knew that the medium of television itself could be part of the joke. In the early days of his show, NBC ran reruns of the show on Monday night (just like they did with The Tonight Show). At the time, I was a media major at Missouri State University (then it was Southwest Missouri State University) and most of my media classmates would watch these reruns because you never knew what was going to happen. One week they would be dubbed into French or Spanish or re-dubbed in a phony voice over like a Giallo film or Japanese monster movie. Once the voices were sped up. During one show Dave kept popping in and making comments like, "Don't worry folks, Bob Hope (the guest) will eventually talk about someone who is still living."

He used transitional wipes as windshield wipers to "wipe away the snow." Flashback sequences were introduced, as on many shows, with a wavy screen effect and Dave saying, "It is coming back to me like a flashback sequence we filmed yesterday." Of course, we can never forget The Late Night Monkey Cam, which was a camera mounted on the back of a roller skating chimpanzee. One of the trademarks of his show was the breaking glass sound effect as he threw a pencil or an index card through the window.

I was hoping to get to do some of the same kind of things David Letterman did, but unfortunately, as I stated above, I live in the most humorless state in the union. However, Letterman's influence is in this blog with every post. Something that, as a nation, we should be thankful for.

That is why I'm closing this post with a cover of an LP by a Scottish guy, who looks like David Letterman. Dave would want it that way.

 




 

R.I.P B.B. KING

Besides playing great music, B.B. King supported worthy causes like this one.

FOUR YEARS LATER I LAUNCH MY PODCAST

Today marked four years, since I changed to the retro blog format. While I miss some of the satirical commentary and mischief I created on the old blog, this retro blog has been more fun and less hassle in my personal and professional life.

One thing I have always wanted to try was a podcast, like the ones on other retro blogs like Retrospace.

It's a mix of retro hits you don't hear on commercial radio and some comedy bits and commercials from the past.

As a nod to the original Desdinova - Super Villain of the Ozarks blog, I introduce it as a megalomaniac, mad scientist/super-villain persona that I used when writing post on the old blog. It will be interesting to see how many of the KSGF crowd reports me to Springfield PD or the FCC.

This is just a test. Not sure how many of these I will do.

ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK:

DESDINOVA'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

DID NICHOLS & MAY RECORD A SUPERMAN ROUTINE?

Every media outlet has mentioned the passing of Mike Nichols. Most focused on his work as a movie director, but only mentioned his comedy LPs with Elaine May. In their time, they were extremely popular, even appearing in commercials for General Electric. Above is a cover from a Lois Lane comic book from that era. I'm wondering if there was in fact a Nichols & May comedy record featuring a Superman routine. Several comedians did Superman routines, notably Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby. I cannot find a verification of this existing. Maybe someone at DC comics thought this would be a funny idea for a story (For some of the crazy stories in Lois Lane comics, check out this post on Flashbak by Yeoman Lowbrow).

MONSTER PHOTO FUN Part 5

R.I.P JOAN RIVERS

Remember "The Adventures of Letterman" cartoons on The Electric Company? The narrator was Joan Rivers, who passed away yesterday (Letterman's voice is Gene Wilder and Spellbinder's voice is Zero Mostell).

Also, she was part of a folk comedy trio called Jim, Jake and Joan. Here is a short clip from a film called Once Upon a Coffee House. The guy with the glasses is Jake Homes, who wrote such commercial jingles as "Be a Pepper" for Dr. Pepper, "Be All That You Can Be" for the U.S Army, "Raise You Hand If You're Sure" for Sure Deodorant and, won a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin for swiping his song "Dazed and Confused."

DESDINOVA'S FAVORITE SONG PARODIES

The big talk in the music industry recently was Weird Al Yankovic hitting the number one position on the album chart. Weird Al has been creating parodies of popular songs since the early 80s. Song parodies were not new when Weird Al starting recording. There are four styles of song parodies and Weird Al has recorded all but one of these styles.

Crazy version or "Tearing it up": This was the style preferred by Spike Jones and his City Slicker. The Hoosier Hotshots and early Homer and Jethro records took pop song and turned them into country swing/bluegrass numbers. Since his In 3-D LP, Weird Al has recorded a medley of popular songs performed as polkas. While we're mentioning the polka medleys, we should also point out that while Weird Al was parodying the then popular medley craze of the early 80s, he probably continued these as a tribute to both Spike Jones (gunshots and gargling turn up in these frequently) and Alan Sherman, who included medleys of shorter parodies on his LPs. Classical parody artist P.D.Q Bach would fall into this category.

Sound alike: For the most part this was the forte of Stan Freberg, I can only think of one other recording like this.  Freberg didn't change the words (the exception is his "Cry" parody) and barely changed the arrangement. However, he made the joke out of the singer's delivery or the musician's flair or the record's production. While Weird Al has credited Stan Freberg as an influence, he has never recorded a parody of this style.

Stylistic or homages: The masters of this kind of parody were performers of The National Lampoon Radio Hour. The architects of these parodies were usually Christopher Guest and Paul Shaffer. They even recorded one whole LP of parodies entitled Goodbye Pop. Before The National Lampoon, Benny Hill was creating these for his TV show, later releasing them on record. Sometimes these are best with the visual image of Hill pretending to be Mick Jagger or Kenny Rogers. Weird Al has parodied or paid homage to performers such as Bob Dylan, Devo and They Might Be Giants, as well as 70s soft rock, 90s hair bands and 50s rock and roll.

Same tune/different lyrics: This is the style of parody used most by Weird Al. It was also the style used most by Allan Sherman and Homer and Jethro. Sheb Wooley recorded several LPs of this style of parody under the name Ben Colder. Basically these artist took a popular song and rewrote the lyrics, but left the tune the same.

Here is a list of some of my favorite song parodies. Some are well-known and some are obscure, but can probably be found by Googling the title.

1) "Eat It" - Weird Al Yankovic (Parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat It")   This not only made Weird Al a household name but it legitimized song parodies as an art form. Weird Al benefited from the music video revolution because he could parody both the song "Beat It" as well as the video.

2) "Try" - Stan Freberg (Parody of Johnny Ray's "Cry")  Before he was name dropped in British pop songs of the 80s, Johnny Ray was the singer who shook up the music world before Elvis. He wore a back brace and two hearing aids. His singing would go from an overly drawn-out enunciated (which Bob Dylan admits to imitating) soft voice to a screaming mournful wail with in a few seconds. On stage, Ray grabbed and jerked his clothes like he had a bad itch beneath them. This is one of the few Freburg parodies where he changed the lyrics to Ray's hit "Cry" and even mentions Ray's other big hit "The Little White Cloud the Cried" before he begins sounding like an emergency vehicle siren.

3) "The Art Rock Suite" & "Goodbye Pop" - National Lampoon (Parody of art/prog rock genre and Elton John respectfully) The National Lampoon LP Goodbye Pop 1952 -1975 is comprised of several great parodies of different artist and styles, as well as parodies of FM radio and documentaries. I listed these two together because of the songs on the LP, these are great as rock songs on their own. According to the liner notes, "there are 28 groups wrong with this song." Even if you don't want to guess who is being parodied, this song is a fun rocker. According to the intellectual narrator, Roger DeSwans (voiced by Christopher Guest), this is a song by a British rock band called The Dog's Breakfast. We hear an interview from a member of the group, who sounds suspiciously like Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap (Guest does this voice too). The song changes tempo, vocals and styles with pokes at Queen, the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, Focus, Genesis, Pink Floyd and Yes.

"Goodbye Pop" is a dead-on homage to early 70s Elton John, written and sung by David Letterman's bandleader, Paul Shaffer. The song is not a much of a comedy piece as it is a great tribute to rock and roll history. Someone should remake this song, because this is just a great song.

4)  "The Chicken Song" - Spitting Image (Parody of Black Lace "Agadoo") The one thing hard lesson of song parodies: malicious and animosity towards the artist can be unfunny and, often, deadly to a career. For instance, Don Bowman's "Other Ringo" is just plain horrible and Allan Sheman's "Pop Hates the Beatles" helped kill his career. Of course, Spitting Image picked on a group that was a flash in the pan, mainly a sensation in Great Britain and sort of irritating to begin with. The British duo called Black Lace's hits really don't show up on compilations with Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Style Council or Culture Club as "great hits of the 80s," but on CDs with the Countdown Kids, Sharon, Lois and Bram, Raffi and Barney the Dinosaur. In the early to mid 80s, they had major hits in Britain and Europe with their silly, off-kilter dance hits. The biggest was "Agadoo" which featured the often repeated chorus of "Ag-a-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, shake the tree. Aga-doo-doo-doo, push pineapple, grind coffee.To the left, to the right, jump up and down and to the knees, Come and dance every night, sing with a hula melody."

BLACK LACE aka THOSE TWO WET GITS

The satirical British TV show Spitting Image frequently parodied popular songs and performers. They decided a parody of Black Lace's goofy dance hits would be a hit with the audience. "The Chicken Song" had not only strange dance direction but some rather prophetic lines: "Hold a chicken in the air, Stick a deckchair up your nose, Buy a jumbo jet, And then bury all your clothes. Skin yourself alive, Learn to speak Arapaho, Climb inside a dog, And behead an Eskimo, Now you've heard it once, Your brain will spring a leak and though you hate this song, You'll be humming it for weeks."  The joke backfired because "The Chicken Song" turned out to be more successful than any of the Black Lace songs and, in the end, became more annoying as well. The writers of the TV show at one point apologized for "inflicting that song on the innocent public." Unlike any of Black Lace's songs, "The Chicken Song" received airplay in the United States thanks to Dr. Demento and its use in three Spitting Image TV specials
.

5) "Great Men Repeat Themselves" - Homer & Jethro (Parody of Buddy Starcher "History Repeats Itself")  I'm not sure at what point after the assassination of  President John F. Kennedy people began compiling list of coincidences in the lives of President Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy. This list is still circulated today and even has a listing on Snopes that analyzes these facts. In 1966, a country singer named Buddy Starcher recorded a spoken word record entitled "History Repeats Itself." Never missing a chance to parody a country hit, Homer and Jethro came up with "Great Men Repeat Themselves," which compares then then current President Lyndon Johnson with then popular TV character Batman (above). Sheb Wooley also recorded a version under his Ben Colder persona that also parodied Senator Everette Dirksen's "Gallant Men" spoken word record. The Homer & Jethro recording is best because it pokes fun at the excessive numerology and mathematics in Starcher's record and the original list, leading Jethro Burns to conclude that "There is only one Batman."

6) "Suspicion" - Vivian Stanshall & his Gargantuan Chums (Parody of "Suspicion" by Terry Stafford)  This falls into the sound alike category like many of Stan Freburg's parodies. Former Bonzo Dog Band lead singer Vivian Stanshall (above) recorded this in after the break up of the Bonzo Dog Band (Some are confused because it appeared on a Bonzo Dog Band greatest hits CD in the 80s). While Stanshall actually sounded like the songs original performer, Elvis Presley, the record parodies the 1964 number one hit version by Terry Stafford, which featured an early synthesizer imitating a horn section and a backing chorus of girls cooing "Ooooohhh." Stanshall had a synthesizer imitating horns, but substituted the girls with his friends, Keith Moon of The Who and Screaming Lord Sutch.

7)  "I Lost On Jeopardy" - Weird Al Yankovic (Parody of the Greg Kihn Band "Jeopardy") You have to list a parody that is responsible for reviving a game show. Before becoming a horror/mystery novelist and classic rock DJ, Greg Kihn put out some great moody power pop songs in the 80s. The biggest was "Jeopardy" with its infectious guitar riff, pulsating bass line and great video about a wedding that turns into a cross between Carnival of Souls and It Came From Beneath the Sea. Weird Al figured the song had to be turned into a song about the game show Jeopardy. At the time this video was released, Jeopardy had been off the air for three years (the second run of the show was cancelled in 1979). Besides the satiric jokes about the show, it ends with Jeopardy's announcer,  the late Don Pardo, reading a list of stuff Weird Al "didn't win" such as Turtle Wax and Rice A-Roni. Merv Griffin was trying to bring back the game show at the time this song and video came out. It's popularity helped spur renewed interest in the TV show and the revived syndicated version is still on the air today.

8) "You Went the Wrong Way, Ole King Louie" - Allan Sherman (Parody of "You Came Along Way From St. Louis" performed here by Rosemary Clooney)  For the most part, Allan Sherman (above) used American folk songs and pop standards for parodies that satirized Jewish suburban life. He made two that poked fun at history. "Won't You Come Home, Disraeli" (Based on "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey") and this ditty about the French Revolution. Part of what makes the one fun is an arrangement that the piano playing the riff from the theme to Peter Gunn.

9) "Just Wanna Be In Your Band" - Benny Hill (Parody of "Lucille," "The Gambler" and "Coward of the County" by Kenny Rogers)  My regret is that I couldn't find video of Benny Hill doing this stylistic parody of Kenny Rogers country story songs on his show in the 80s. The version TV was longer and featured different lyrics (Including a line about a midget). Hill has Rogers voice down to a tee and the song is filled with Hill trademark bad puns.

HOMER & JETHRO

10) "Gone" - Homer & Jethro (Parody of "Gone" by Ferlin Husky) I have two things in common with Homer & Jethro. Homer & Jethro and myself have both worked at KWTO radio in Springfield, Missouri. The other is we think the backing vocals on Ferlin Husky's 1957 hit "Gone" are some of the worst backing vocals ever (Dickie Goodman did too - listen to the end of "Flying Saucer The 2nd"). I have always pictured a group of people culled from the streets of Nashville and told "Ya'll wanna sing on a country record. Stand in front of the mic and when I point to ya sing 'Now you've gone." That's all ya gotta do." Besides the obvious pokes at the vocals, this song contains lyrics like, "You can take your heart back now, I ordered liver anyhow" and "You wore a newspaper dress to the ball, it caught on fire and you started to squawl, burnt yer front page, sports section and all." You have to wonder what these guys would have done to Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan and Taylor Swift. Then again...

HOMER & JETHRO IN BEATLE WIGS

11) "She Loves You" - Homer & Jethro (Parody of "She Loves You" by the Beatles)   After recording a bad anti-Beatle novelty song called "Gonna Send Them Home," Homer & Jethro made up for it ten-fold with two great parodies of Beatles songs that are perfect copies of the instrumentation on the original Beatle hits. The truth is Homer & Jethro (and producer Chet Atkins) were closet jazz fans and talented musicians.  Of the two songs, "I Want to Hold You Hand" and "She Loves You," I prefer the B-side "She Loves You."  After the 'yeah-yeah-yeah' open, Homer & Jethro sings "You think you lost yer love, well I think that is mighty fine, and now that she is gone, you can have this gal of mine, cause she loves you and I just don't know what fer. She loves you and now you're stuck with her."

12) "Waste of Money" - Allan Sherman (Parody of "Taste of Honey" by Herb Alpert) After "Pop Hates The Beatles" and "Crazy Downtown" drove away the kids who fell in love with him with "Hello Mutha, Hello Fatha," he got back to poking fun at one of his favorite subjects, consumer culture. A guy tries to attract women by going into debt buying cars, pearl necklaces and tight pants. He winds up dating a girl from Household Finance Loans.

13) "Mother Goose's Sweet Potato Sparkling Wine" - National Lampoon (Parody of James Taylor) This is not just a great parody of early James Taylor (imitation by Christopher Guest again) but a great poke at that teenage rite of passage known as Boone's Farm Wines. "I'm a wino at fourteen" and "It taste like Cheracol" are truer than anything ever written in a straight pop song. If you drank Boone's Farm in high school, this song will bring back memories. It also beats the heck out of hearing "You've Got a Friend" for the millionth time.

14) "Chow Mein and Bowling" & "Rodan" - Mike Nesmith (Parody of Jimmy Webb and "Joanne" by Mike Nesmith, respectively) It takes a big man to parody another artist, but it takes a bigger man to parody himself. The first song was written by a member of Mike Nesmith's band. Nesmith said on his Television Parts show that it was what it sounded like when "Richard Harris sings a Jimmy Webb song." The images of things that really don't go together, while spinning a tale of memories of young love, flowers, rare wine, food in the rain and playgrounds. It ends with a dramatic end like "MacArthur Park." Nesmith also made a short parody of "Joanne" for Elephant Parts about Rodan. "Her name was Rodan and she lived in the ocean off Japan."

15) "Detroit City #2" - Ben Colder (Sheb Wooley) (Parody of "Detroit City" by Bobby Bare) Singer/actor Sheb Wooley released parodies of popular country music songs under the name Ben Colder. I was close to listing the monster kid friendly parody of Jerry Wallace's "Shutters and Boards," but the more I think about it this parody works on two levels: Musically and lyrically. Bobby Bare, Tom Jones and Dean Martin all recorded the original song with the same twangy guitar part that almost sound like the guitar is coming untuned. Ben Colder berates the guitar player about not having the guitar properly tuned. In the original song, the singer regrets leaving his family farm in Tennessee to work at an automobile factory in Detroit. The singer also laments his drinking with the line "During the day I make the cars, at night I make the bars." The chorus is "I want to go home." Ben Colder on the other hand sings "I don't want to go home." He enjoys his job in the shock absorber division, going to bars after work and telling the girls that he is "the number one washer crammer in the whole shock absorber division."

16) "I've Got You Under My Skin" - Stan Freberg and "On Top of Spaghetti" by Tom Glazer & the Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus (Parody of "On Top of Old Smokey" by the Weavers)
The Weavers released a version of the folk song "On Top of Old Smokey" in the early 50s which featured Pete Seeger speaking the lyrics of the song before the other members of the group sang them. It sounded like he was telling them what to sing next. Stan Freberg wondered what it would sound like if a pop standard was sung this way. Freberg also wondered what would happen if the person speaking the lyrics messed up. Would the singers stop or would they sing whatever the song leader said? The later was what happened and the group suddenly burst into "On Top of Old Smokey."

Folk singer Tom Glazer made a children's LP with a group of children singing a parody of "On Top of Old Smokey." Like Seeger, he speaks the lyric with the children singing it afterward. Legend has it that children at an elementary school in Lodi, California came up with the parody lyrics.

17) "You Always Hurt the One You Love" - Spike Jones and his City Slickers (Parody of the Ink Spots)  This parody has lead to a misconception that the Ink Spots had a hit with "You Always Hurt the One You Love." The Mills Brothers had the hit, but Spike Jones decided to show the world what would happen if The Ink Spots, another pioneer R&B group, recorded the song. Both groups had a distinct style. The Mills Brothers songs started slow, then picked up to become jazzy and uptempo. The Ink Sports were slow with the same four-bar acoustic guitar accompaniment and the tenor voice of Bill Kenny. Mid-way through the song, bass sing Hoppy Jones would give a little talk to the lady Kenny was singing too. Jones would usually call this woman "Honey chile' or Honey lamb." Of course, after the Ink Spots imitation, Spike Jones and the boys let it rip with their typical musical mayhem.

BONZO DOG BAND AND A GROUPIE

18) "Kama Sutra" - Bonzo Dog Band (Parody of "Handy Man" by Jimmy Jones and "Calendar Girl" by Neil Sedaka) This song is the missing link between Jimmy Jones 1960 hit song "Handy Man" and Culture Club's 1984 hit "Karma Chameleon." It also has to be one of the shortest songs ever recorded (49 seconds). Bonzo Dog Band mashed up the tune of "Handy Man" with the tune of Neil Sedaka's "Calender Girl" for a quick risque rhyme.

 
19) "My Old Flame" - Spike Jones and his City Slickers  (Parody of "My Old Flame" by Mae West and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Billie Holliday, Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman Orchestra) A monster kid favorite that still gets airplay at Halloween on some hipper radio stations. The more ironic thing about this is that this parody version is the most successful recording of this song and the one that made this song popular. Mae West introduced this song in a movie called Belle of the Nineties. Carl Grayson sings it straight at the beginning, but is soon interrupted by Spike and fire engines. The song slows back down and the song is then turned over to famous voice artist Paul Frees, who recites the lyrics as Peter Lorre, "My old flame, I can't even remember her name...I'll have to look through my collection of human heads." In the end, the Lorre-character douses his lover in gasoline and sets fire to his "old flame." Creepy fun.

20) "Cantata: Iphigenia in Brooklyn" & "Classical Rap" P.D.Q Bach - Peter Schickele (Parody of Cantatas, classical music, rap, respectively)  Of the artist I'm featuring in this list, P.D.Q Bach is probably the artist that you either love or hate. Some people don't get the joke or feel it is above their head. Truth is the works of fictional P.D.Q Bach (above) that Professor Peter Schickele, of the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, "discovers" often sound as if they could have been an influence on Spike Jones. They are filled with bike horns, doorbells, kazoos and sour notes, while the compositions veer into bits of "Beautiful Dreamer," "Shenandoah," "Peggy Sue" or "Batman." The two pieces I list here were recorded twenty-five years apart (1965 & 1990, respectfully), but are probably the most accessible to the casual listener. "Iphigenia in Brooklyn" is a parody of Gluck's Iphigenia in Aulis, but you need not have ever heard Gluck's opera to find this funny. Tenor John Ferrante sings about exorbitantly worded lyrics about a fish market and running noses.

"Classical Rap" is what happens if Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" and Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" was created with the audience that listens to classical music on the radio in mind, complete with samples of other famous classical pieces. Besides parodying the popular music trend of the day, it is a vicious but hilarious satire of the upper income set that listens to classical music.  They must not be as touchy listeners to talk radio listeners, who believe you shouldn't make fun of them. NOTE: I linked to a recording of this track on YouTube. For some reason the video is a manga cartoon of some sort.

This has been an epic post and I could have listed several other great parodies. This also isn't a ranking (Which is why I put two on some of these), just a mix of some of my favorites that I wanted to feature in hopes that readers would discover these songs. My hope is you hunt these down and have a good laugh.