5. Ridiculous Trio – TV Eye b/w Not Right + IWBYD
First up on this list is a modern 45 originally released in 2007. And it’s a truly ridiculous one! The Ridiculous Trio is a band made up of a drummer, trombone player and a trumpet player and they only play instrumental covers of The Stooges songs. Absolute insanity that works surprisingly well!
4. Stan Freberg – St. George and The Dragonet
Stan Freberg was a recording artist, comedian and author. Spoofing the 50s cop show Dragnet, this track shows off his mastery of puns and excellent wordplay. It tells the story of a cop trying to catch a dragon for “devouring maidens”. Produced in 1951, St George and The Dragonet eventually hit #1 for four weeks in October of 1953.
3. Dance The Slurp
This 45 was originally released in 1967 as part of a give-away at 7-11 stores with the purchase of a Slurpee. It gained some notoriety in the 90s when DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist sampled and also featured it on the cover of their Brainfreeze album. A truly whacked out track most likely conceived by some marketing and ad executives that features a pretty killer drum break and that terrible sound of someone sucking on their straw way after their drink is gone, but they don’t want to get another so they just keep making sucking on the straw until you get annoyed enough to slap the straw out of their mouth. Anyway it’s pretty cool.
2. The Lifeguards – Everybody Out’ta The Pool
A rocker released in 1959, this one features members of Bill Haley’s Comets and an excessive use of whistles and cowbells! I still haven’t figured out why we need to get outta the pool, but you better do as they say or we will need to listen to that damn whistle again.
1. Swamp Dogg – Total Destruction To Your Mind
A funky monster by the master of amazingly bad album covers (Just check out his album Rat On!) that will blow your mind! Jerry Williams Jr. is a soul singer that got his start in the 1960s recording for the labels Loma and Calla before taking on the pseudonym Swamp Dogg in 1970 and releasing the album named for this track. Since then he has continued to record soul records, but this is the 45 I keep going back to due to its catchy hook!
If you are interested in listening to these and more novelty tracks, check out my radio show from April 1 HERE
By Tom Kay