Results: Goofy Greats and the Nearly Last Gasp of Novelty (That Is, Funny) Pop Music
Published on 12/19/2023
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
Comments
1.
1.
In 1975, K-Tel Records, that giant among television-advertised albums chocked with previous released hits of the time, issues Goofy Greats. The collection brought together 24 novelty (as intended to be funny, or at least light-hearted) songs from, mostly, the 1950's and '60's. Do you recall the release of Goofy Greats, or barring that, heard of the album?
Yes
14%
316 votes
Unsure
16%
342 votes
No
65%
1439 votes
Heard of it? I own(ed)n it!
5%
103 votes
2.
2.
Goofy Greats appeared at a time when the kind of music it collected was on the decline in so far as pop (and country and soul) radio was concerned. Arguably, with VERY few exceptions, novelty songs became wholly absent on commercial radio from within a decade of Goofy Greats' release. Do you recall the time when songs intended to be purposefully funny--or goofy, anyway--were in regular rotation on any radio stations to which you listened regularly?
Yes (whether I enjoyed them or not)
30%
649 votes
Undecided/I came of age musically just as that era ended, so I vaguely recall that era at best.
18%
398 votes
No (whether I may enjoy any of them or not)/I didn't listen to any radio stations that would play such songs at the time they were popular.
52%
1153 votes
3.
3.
Why funny songs no longer populate radio...and Spotify, etc,. ..playlists as they once did probably falls to myriad reasons. One of them, however might be the heightened (or over-?) sensitivity to stereotypes, however good natured, and certain types of shaming on which some of the humor in some novelty songs is based. Which of the following songs on Goofy Greats do you think wouldn't pass muster were they released today?
Ahab The Arab-Ray Stevens (poking fun at Middle Eastern culture)
29%
646 votes
Mr. Custer-Larry Verne (joking about...let's politely call it a real estate dispute?)
12%
266 votes
Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie, Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini-Brian Hyland (implications of body shaming)
25%
548 votes
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron-The Royal Guardsmen (bad-rapping German folk)
19%
417 votes
Simon Says and 1, 2, 3 Red Light-both by 1910 Fruit Gum Company (at least one of those songs could probably be interpreted as being about sexual consent)
13%
277 votes
All of the above
14%
299 votes
Not Applicable
41%
898 votes
4.
4.
Whether by deign born of its success or happenstance, Goofy Greats set off both a series of K-Tel's sequels full of silly songs and other TV-advertised record companies issuing similar collections to mine the same market (a couple of which may awaiting release when Greats' was released?). Which of the following albums to have hit stores' shelves in Greats'; wake do you recall &/or own?
Don Kirschner Presents Fun Rock (Ronco, 1975)
6%
131 votes
Kookie Klassics (Columbia House, 1975 [a 4-LP set (!) with some not entirely obvious song choices)
5%
117 votes
Wacky Westerns (K-Tel, 1976[all country &/or rital or Western-themed songs] )
4%
98 votes
Looney Tunes (K-Tel, 1976)
13%
278 votes
Dumb Ditties (K-Tel, 1977)
4%
94 votes
Funky Favorites (Ronco, 1977)
4%
77 votes
Funny Bone Favorites (Ronco, 1978)
3%
63 votes
Fun Rock (no relation to the first-listed album) (Heartland Music/Warner Special Products)
3%
71 votes
Mairzy Doats: 44 Wacky Hits (1989, The Good Music Record Co./MCA/RCA [focus on pre-rock & roll funny songs])
3%
61 votes
All
4%
93 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
15 votes
Not Applicable
69%
1521 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.46% | 5 | |
| don't recall | 0.18% | 2 |
| jlrake here!; "rural," NOT "rital" in the Wacky Westerns option above--& the second Fun Rock's from '89. Apologies!! A l s o, there's a CD release entitled Goofy Greats that has nothing to do with the album that inspired this survey | 0.09% | 1 |
| None of the above! | 0.09% | 1 |
| "Not Applicable" is your friend. Please include it as an optional answer for EVERY question you create. Thank you, and carry on... | 0.09% | 1 |
| Don't remember any of them | 0.09% | 1 |
| Soupy Sales | 0.09% | 1 |
| None | 0.09% | 1 |
| Dr. Demento's Greatest Novelty Songs from the '39s - 80s | 0.09% | 1 |
| Not my era of music, so not familiar with the options listed | 0.09% | 1 |
5.
5.
unless you're listening to Dr. Demento's current online radio show, are hip to The FuMP (Funny Music Project, a website dedicated to new music by a cadre of like-minded acts) or have another source to hear new novelty songs, you're likely not hearing any on commercial radio near you. But would you welcome hearing any?
Yes
19%
411 votes
Uncertain
25%
556 votes
No
23%
507 votes
Not Applicable
33%
726 votes
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