Recently, someone asked me how many songs I know. I can honestly say I don’t know. I’ve learned hundreds of songs over the years and evidently, there are some in my head that I don’t even know that I know. A couple nights ago, I had a crazy dream. I was enjoying a jam with some of my favorite CBA people and when it was my turn I started singing:
Now I’ve got a guy and his name is Dooley
He’s my guy and I love him truly
He’s not good lookin’, heaven knows
But I’m wild about his crazy clothes
He wears, tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A polka dot vest and man, oh, man
He wears tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A big Panama with a purple hatband!
Where did that dream come from? I’ve never sung that song that I can remember. That is a novelty song that came out in 1959. How is it that I not only came up with those lyrics after all these years, but I remembered another verse about Dooley enlisting in a fighting corps, and landed in the brig for raisin’ such a storm, when they tried to put him in a uniform. Well, the bluegrass police were not there in my dream, I sang the whole song and no one thought it was odd. I think Marcos even came in with some harmony parts on the chorus.
It amazes me that songs like these can catch on and become top ten hits when there are so many more beautiful songs done by wonderful singers that never make the charts. True, many of these are “one hit wonders,” but there are a few singers who have done quite well by doing “novelty” songs. Ray Stevens comes to mind, with songs like “The Streak,” “Mississippi Squirrel Revival,” “Ahab the Arab,” etc. He actually is a skilled musician and has written and recorded some good serious songs such as “Misty,” and “Everything is Beautiful,”(which won him a Grammy) but the novelty songs obviously made him a lot of money.
Homer and Jethro were also good musicians who could do straight songs but were known for doing parodies. They won a Grammy in 1959 for their song “The Battle of Kookamonga,” a parody of Johnny Horton’s, “Battle of New Orleans.” My personal favorite was their parody of “It was Fascination,” one of the lines was; “She had nine buttons on her night gown but she could only fasten eight.”
With the hard times that we’re living in, where the future is worrisome for many, it’s obvious that we need a little light heartedness and comic relief. I guess that is why and occasional novelty song becomes a big hit. Remember Bobby McFerrin’s song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy?” That is a classic novelty song that was done a cappella and was a happy, little “feel good” tune.
In the Bluegrass Genre, we have The Cleverlys who do some comedy along with their music. It adds some variety but none of us would want a steady diet of it. If I had to choose between a song like “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose it’s Flavor,” and Russell Moore singing “She’s Walking Through My Memory,” I would choose Russell Moore every time.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the Spring Camp-Out, I promise not to sing “Pink Shoelaces” if you won’t sing “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.” See you in Turlock, God bless.
