Web Page No 2338
21st January 2017
Top Picture: An icon of the 1960s The Readers Digest
Second Picture: Teresa
Brewer,
Third Picture: Bernard Breslow’s record of ‘ You need feet’.
Bottom Picture: Alma Cogan
Novelty Songs
In the 1950s and the
1960s one of the staple form of song was the Novelty Song. So how many can you
remember. I will start in the 1030s as some of these songs were popular for
years and years and then go on through to the 1960s pop era, but ignoring the
rock ‘n roll ones.
Bee Song (Arthur
Askey, 1938)
The Big Rock Candy Mountain (Burl
Ives, 1949)
Buckingham Palace (“They’re
Changing Guard at”) (Anne Stephens, 1941)
I Know an Old Lady (Burl
Ives, 1949)
I’m a Lonely Little Petunia in an Onion Patch (Arthur
Godfrey, 1940s)
The Laughing Policeman (Charles
Penrose, 1922, but still going strong in the 1950s)
Mairzy Doats (Merry Macs,
1944)
My Grandfather’s Clock (Radio
Revellers, ?1940s)
Puffin’ Billy (Melodi
Light Orchestra, 1940s?)
Sparky’s Magic Piano (Henry
Blair, 1947)
Swinging On A Star (Bing
Crosby, 1944)
The Teddy Bears’ Picnic (Henry
Hall & His Orchestra, 1932)
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Frank
Luther, 1933?)
Tubby the Tuba (Danny Kaye,
1945)
Woody Woodpecker (Kay
Kyser with Gloria Wood, 1948)
Now the 1950s
A — You’re Adorable (The
Alphabet Song) (Perry Como, 1950?)
Any Old Iron (Peter
Sellers, 1957)
Baby It’s Cold Outside (Dean
Martin,1959)
Ballad of Bethnal Green (Paddy
Robert, 1959)
The Ballad of Davy Crockett (Bill
Hayes, 1955)
Beep Beep (“His Horn
went Beep Beep Beep”) (The Playmates, 1958)
Big Rock Candy Mountain (Burl
Ives, 1950s)
Catch a Falling Star (Perry
Como, 1957)
Charlie Brown (The
Coasters, 1959)
The Chipmunk Song (David
Seville & the Chipmunks, 1958)
The Clapping Song (“Clap-pat
clap-slap”) (Shirley Ellis, 1965)
Come On-a My House (Rosemary
Clooney, 1951)
The Deadwood Stage (“Whip
Crack Away”) (Doris Day, 1953)
Delaware (“What did
Della Wear, Boys?”) (Perry Como, 1959)
Freight Train (Chas
McDevitt skiffle group with Nancy Whiskey, 1957)
Ghost Riders in the Sky (Burl
Ives, 1950s)
Giddy-Up-A Ding-Dong (The
Bell Boys, 1956)
Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea (The
Four Lads, 1954)
Happy Wanderer (Obernkirchen
Children’s Choir, 1953)
Hernando’s Hideaway (“I
know a dark secluded place”) (Archie Bleyer, 1954)
High Hopes (Frank
Sinatra, 1959)
How Do You Like Your Eggs in the Morning (Dean
Martin & Helen O’Connell, 1951)
How Much is that Doggie in the Window? (Beverley
Sisters, after Lita Roza, 1953)
I Am a Mole and I Live in a Hole (The
Southlanders, 1958)
I Can’t Tell A Waltz From A Tango (Patti
Page, 1954)
If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake (Eve
Young & The Homesteaders, 1950)
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (The
Four Lads, 1953)
I Taut I Taw a Puddy Cat (Mel
Blanc, 1951)
It’s Illegal or Immoral or It Makes you Fat (The
Beverley Sisters, 195?) (after an earlier hit by Edmundo Ros)
I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (Billy
Cotton, 1950)
Kookie Kookie (“Lend me
your comb”) (Edd Bynes with Connie Stevens, 1959)
Last Night On The Back Porch (Alma
Cogan, 1959)
Last Train to San Fernando (Johnny
Duncan & Bluegrass Boys,1957)
Lay Down Your Arms (“Come
to the station, jump on the train”) (Anne Shelton, 1956)
Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries (Jaye
P. Morgan, 1953)
Lipstick On Your Collar (Connie
Francis, 1959)
Little White Bull (Tommy
Steele, 1959)
The Little White Cloud That Cried (Johnny
Ray, 1951)
Mad Passionate Love (Bernard
Bresslaw, 1958)
The Man from Laramie (Jimmy
Young, 1955)
Me And My Teddy Bear (Rosemary
Clooney, 195?)
Middle of the House (Alma
Cogan, 1956)
Mocking Bird Hill (Burl
Ives, 1950s)
Music, Music, Music (“Put
Another Nickel In”) (Teresa Brewer, 1950)
The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane (The
Ames Brothers, 1954) – also a hit for the Beverley Sisters
Nellie the Elephant (Mandy
Miller, 1956)
Never do a Tango with an Eskimo (Alma
Cogan, 1955)
O my Papa (Eddie
Fisher, 1950s)
Poppa Piccolino (Diana
Decker, 1953); also Petula Clark version, 1953
Pretty Little Black Eyed Susie (Guy
Mitchell, 1953)
A Pub With no Beer (Slim
Dusty, 1959)
Put Your Shoes on, Lucy (Anne
Shelton, 1952)
The Purple People Eater (Sheb
Wooley, 1958)
Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be) (Doris
Day, 1956)
Ragtime Cowboy Joe (The
Chipmunks, 1959)
Rock and Roll Waltz (Kay
Starr, 1956)
The Roving Kind (Guy
Mitchell, 1951)
The Runaway Train (Michael
Holliday, 1956)
St George and the Dragonet (Stan
Freberg, 1953)
Seven Little Girls (The
Avons, 1959)
Sh-Boom (The Chords,
1954)
She Wears Red Feathers (Guy
Mitchell, 1952)
Sing Little Birdie (Teddy
Johnson & Pearl Carr, 1959)
Sixteen Tons (Tennessee
Ernie Ford, 1955)
Somebody Bad Stole de Wedding Bell (Eartha
Kitt, 1954)
Sparrow in the Treetop (Guy
Mitchell, 1951)
Sugartime (Alma Cogan
with Mike Sammes Singers, 1958)
Takes Two To Tango (Dean
Martin, 1952)
Thank you very much (The
Scaffold, 1967)
This Ole House (Rosemary
Clooney, 1954)
Two Lovely Black Eyes (Stanley
Holloway, 1950s, originally recorded by him in 1934)
(there was another version, however, with the line “Only for kissing another man’s wife”)
(there was another version, however, with the line “Only for kissing another man’s wife”)
The Typewriter (Leroy
Anderson, 1950)
Ugly Duckling (Danny Kaye,
1952)
Veni Vidi Vici (Ronnie
Hilton, 1954)
Victory Calypso (“Cricket
Lovely Cricket”) (Egbert Moore (Lord Beginner), 1950)
The Wayward Wind (Tex
Ritter, 1956) (Also a hit for Jimmy Young)
The Wheel of Fortune (Kay
Starr, 1952)
Where Will the Dimple Be? (Alma
Cogan, 1955)
Why Does Everybody call Me Bighead? (Max
Bygraves, 1953)
Yakety Yak (The
Coasters, 1958)
Yes, We Have No Bananas (Spike
Jones, xxxx)
The Ying Tong Song (The
Goons, 1956)
You Need Hands (Max
Bygraves, 1958)
You’re a Pink Toothbrush (Max
Bygraves, 1954)
The 1960s
Ahab the Arab (Ray
Stevens, 1965)
Ally Oop (The
Hollywood Argyles, 1960)
Baby Sitting Boogie (Buzz
Clifford, 1961)
A Boy Named Sue (Johnny
Cash, 1969)
The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde (Georgie
Fame & The Blue Flames, 1968)
The Ballad of Jed Clampett (The
Beverley Hillbillies theme) (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, 1962)
Bangers and Mash (Sophia
Loren & Peter Sellers, 1960)
Big Bad John (Jimmy Dean,
1961)
The Birds And The Bees (Alma
Cogan, ?1965)
Boom Oo Yata-Ta-Ta (Morecambe
and Wise, c.1964)
Come Outside (Mike Sarne
& Wendy Richard, 1962)
The Court Of King Caractacus (Rolf
Harris, 1965)
D-I-V-O-R-C-E (Tammy
Wynette, 1968) (Billy Connolly also had a hit with a parody on Tammy’s song)
Do the Funky Chicken (Rufus
Thomas, 1969)
Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour on the
Bedpost Overnight? (Lonnie Donegan, 1961)
Donald, Where’s Your Troosers? (Andy
Stewart and the White Heather Group, 1961)
Don’t Jump Off the Roof, Dad (Tommy
Cooper, 1961)
Down Came the Rain (Mitch
Murray, 1965)
English Country Garden (Jimmie
Rodgers, 1962)
Fings Ain’t What They Used to Be (Max
Bygraves, 1960)
Folk Song (Bernard
Cribbins, 1960)
Football Results (Michael
Bentine, 1960)
Going to the Zoo (Julie
Felix, 1960s)
Goodbye (Peter Cook
and Dudley Moore, 1965)
Goodness Gracious Me (“O
doctor, I’m in trouble”) (Sophia Loren & Peter Sellers, 1960)
Gossip Calypso (Bernard
Cribbins, 1962)
Harvest of Love (Benny Hill,
1961)
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp) (Allan
Sherman, 1963)
Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy? (The
Singing Postman, 1966)
Hold Out Your Hand You Naughty Boy (Alma
Cogan, 1963)
Hole in My Shoe (Traffic,
1967)
Hole in the Ground (Bernard
Cribbins, 1962)
I’m Henery the Eighth, I Am (Herman’s
Hermits, 1965)
I’ve Been Everywhere (Rolf
Harris, 1963)
I’ve Lost My Mummy (Rolf
Harris, 1963)
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka-dot Bikini (Brian
Hyland, 1960)
I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman (Whistling
Jack Smith, 1967)
Jake the Peg (Rolf
Harris, 1965)
King of the Road (Roger
Miller, 1965)
Lah de Dah (Jake
Thackray, 1967)
Lily the Pink (The
Scaffold, 1968)
Little Boxes (Peter
Seeger, 1963)
The Lumberjack Song (Monty
Python, 1969)
Mambo Italiano (Rosemary
Clooney, 1965 in UK)
Mr Custer (Charlie
Drake, 1960)
My Boomerang Won’t Come Back (Charlie
Drake, 1961)
My Old Man’s a Dustman (Lonnie
Donegan, 1960)
On Top of Spaghetti (Tom
Glazer with the Do-Re-Mi Children’s Chorus, 1963)
Pop Goes The Weasel (Anthony
Newley, 1961)
Puff the Magic Dragon (Peter,
Paul and Mary, 1963)
Right Said Fred (Bernard
Cribbins, 1962)
Seven Drunken Nights (The
Dubliners, 1967)
Shame and Scandal in the Family (Lance
Percival, 1964)
Thank U Very Much (The
Scaffold, 1960s)
There’s a Hole in the Bucket (Harry
Belafonte & Odetta, 1960)
They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! (Napoleon
XIV, aka Jerry Samuels, 1966)
Three Wheels on My Wagon (The
New Christy Minstrels, 1965)
Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport (Rolf
Harris, 1960)
Tiptoe Through the Tulips (Tiny
Tim, 1968)
Transistor Radio (Benny Hill,
1961)
When I’m Cleaning Windows (George
Formby, re-released in 1960)
Where Did You Get That Hat? (Stanley
Holloway, 1960; first recorded by him in 1940)
Who Do You Think You are Kidding
Mr Hitler (Dad’s Army theme) (Bud Flanagan,
1968)
Windmill in Old Amsterdam (“I
saw a mouse”) (Ronnie Hilton, 1965)
World Cup Willie (Lonnie
Donegan, 1966)
You’re Driving me Crazy (The
Temperance Seven, 1961)
Right, how many did you
remember? And of those how many could you remember the words?
Keep in touch
Peter
gsseditor@gmail.com
YOU WRITE:
David writes:- you made me smile when I remember "borrowing" workman's paraffin lamps to place alongside my car and often forgetting it was there leaving it in the middle of Chatsworth Ave when I went to work the next day.
YOU WRITE:
David writes:- you made me smile when I remember "borrowing" workman's paraffin lamps to place alongside my car and often forgetting it was there leaving it in the middle of Chatsworth Ave when I went to work the next day.
On this Day 23th January 1960-1965
On 23/01/1960
the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash
was North by Northwest. A pound
of today's money was worth £13.68
and Burnley were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was First Rome Synod.
On 23/01/1961
the number one single was Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson. The top rated TV show was The Russ Conway Show (ATV) and the box
office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's
Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada).
On 23/01/1962
the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard &
the Shadows and the number
one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis
Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1
champions. The big news story of the day was Film Jules et Jim premieres in Paris.
On 23/01/1963
the number one single was Dance On -
The Shadows and the number one album was Out of the Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's
money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming
the Season's Division 1 champions.
On 23/01/1964 the number one single was Glad All Over
- Dave Clark Five and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles.
The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1
champions.
On 23/01/1965
the number one single was Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The
top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's
money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to
becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Winston Churchill dies.
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