Ah! the good old days - novelty singles
I was idling away Friday afternoon trying to identify the best and worst years for music according to the singles charts. Lest we believe that "ee it were better in the old days" the list below is 1972:
8th Jan New Seekers I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)
5th Feb T Rex Telegram Sam
19th Feb Chicory Tip Son Of My Father
11th Mar Nilsson Without You
15th Apr The Pipes & Drums & Military Band of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Amazing Grace
20th May T Rex Metal Guru
17th Jun Don McLean Vincent
1st Jul Slade Take Me Back 'Ome
8th Jul Donny Osmond Puppy Love
12th Aug Alice Cooper School's Out
2nd Sep Rod Stewart You Wear It Well
9th Sep Slade Mama Weer All Crazee Now
30th Sep David Cassidy How Can I Be Sure
14th Oct Lieutenant Pigeon Mouldy Old Dough
11th Nov Gilbert O'Sullivan Clair
25th Nov Chuck Berry My Ding-A-Ling
23rd Dec Little Jimmy Osmond Long Haired Lover From Liverpool
I'm suprised by the number of 'novelty' singles in there. The two top selling singles were "Amazing Grace" and "Mouldy old dough".
Do we still have novelty singles any more or are they another casualty of the "new record market paradigm" as I heard it called somewhere recently (Not in The Word - happily)
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Solid Gold Easy Action
almost the entire year! Only six clunkers from New Year to Crimble. Class. 1972 was a good 'un.
These days, isn't a novelty single one that isn't by a gamine young thing from Welsh Wales/Deepest Devon/Cockernee Lahndahn?
Speaking as someone who was born in Dec 1971
The No 1 before this list begins was, I believe, Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West by Benny Hill...
ernie
Brilliant song, fantastic arrangement with smart laugh out loud lyrics by a real craftsman. By the way I am not kidding. "Ernie's ghostly goldtops a rattlin' in his crate" Top that Mr Dylan or Costello.
Rolf
Not a patch on 2 Little Boys though is it?
David Cameron
Chose Ernie as one of his Desert Island Discs.
What further comment is required? (Not that my remark would stop it).
Bob...
the builder.
Crazy frog.
Enough.
Case proven M'Lud.
It was TONS better in the old days.
Even the crap was good crap, if you know what I mean.
Favourite 'novelty' single of that period - Johnny Reggae by one of Jonathan King's incarnations - The Piglets? "Two-tone tonic strides" indeed!
Not quite ALL the crap was good crap....
Wheres your mama gone? (Wheres your mama gone?)
Little baby Don (Little Baby Don)
Wheres your mama gone? (Wheres your mama gone?)
Far, far away
Wheres your papa gone? (Wheres your papa gone?)
Little baby Don (Little baby Don)
Wheres your papa gone? (Wheres your papa gone?)
Far, far away
Far, far away
Last night, I heard my mama singing a song
Ooh-We, Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep
Woke up this morning and my mama was gone
Ooh-We, Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep
Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep, Chirp
I rest my case.
Sorry if I've polluted anyone's short term memory, causing them to repeatedly find themselves humming this bastard for the next fortnight.
Thanks VV
Now that song is going to be running round my head all weekend.
I like novelty singles
Simply because they are mostly ephemeral and disposable. We seem to be so obsessed with preserving stuff and the only stuff that is great, apparently, is the stuff that lasts forever. It comes with having computers and the internet that allows you to store and search for anything. Why can't we occaisionaly produce throwaway stuff that amuses us for a week or two and then dissapears so we can forget all about it? I just don't have enough brain space to remember and take in all the stuff which I seem to be expected to, there's too much.
Novelty, throw away, worthless and ephemeral singles
have these days simply been replaced with novelty, throw away, worthless and ephemeral bands. It's an improvement, apparently.
Mind Pollution....
Funnily enough the one image that I can effortlessly call to mind from the '72 list is the the face of the old lady who played the piano on Mouldy Old Dough. Looked like my Gran.
Now why has my brain decided to store that?
When did pop music get serious?
This list just shows how a catchy tune wins over trite lyrics every time and nobody cared in the good old days! Music was esacpism, now, everything is overwrought with fake sincerity (take a bow James Blunt). I bet we'll still remember Mouldy Old Dough in 20 years time but nothing in this weeks chart.
Hear Hear
"Groovin' With Mr Bloe" or "American Boy"?
No contest.
Play it Mr B.