Latest Articles by Sarah Canice Funke
I found this top ten list of the novelty song, a topical or parody number that sky-rockets to an all-too-brief fame. Quite a few Tin Pan Alley songs fell into this category (songs about telephones were extremely popular in the early 1900s; songs about new music styles such as jazz and swing were equally popular in subsequent decades). The songs on this list all date post-WWII, but the themes haven't really changed: quite a few are still about new advances in technology, pop culture references, or new dance crazes. All of them seem a bit bizarre after-the-fact. Scarily enough I was able to find ALL of the songs on the list (arranged alphabetically by artist's last name, rather than in order of merit)...
1. Buckner and Garcia: Pac-Man Fever
2. Rick Dees: Disco Duck
3. Steve Martin: King Tut
4. C. W. McCall: Convoy
5. Adam Sandler: The Hannukah Song
6. David Seville: The Chipmunk Song
7. Allen Sherman: Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah. (This is a classic with my family.)
8. Ray Stevens: The Streak
9. Weird Al Yankovic: Eat It
10. Zappa: Valley Girl (Is this an example of East coast snobbery against West Coast Nouveau Riche? Regional stereotypes are fascinating...)