Legendary ROCKSTAR Got Paid 10 Bucks to SING on CHEESY Song…Became His BIGGEST HIT-Professor of Rock
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Published 2024-06-08
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So today we’re returning to a show on the channel that we haven’t done in a long time. It’s a program that covers the history of the odd, the kitschy, and sometimes the truly awful songs of the rock era. Usually based around songs that are a bit of a novelty, a bit of the bizarre, and somewhat gimmicky, the show is called NOVELTY MY DEAR WATSON? But on today’s episode, instead of covering just one song, I’m going to countdown five… That’s right, it’s my personal five cringiest novelty tracks of the 80s. Admittedly, I might actually like some of these. Songs that are so bad they’re good… See if you can guess which ones.
So first up at #5, it’s the song that took advantage of the phenomenon that swept arcades in the early 80s… it’s Pac Man Fever by Buckner and Garcia. Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia were a parody-slash-novelty song duo from Akron, Ohio who began recording in the early 70’s. Their first musical success came with a local rock group they formed called Wild Butter. However, the band never got more than a bit of regional attention. After Wild Butter broke up, Buckner and Garcia relocated to Georgia. There they put together a successful run, writing commercials and ad jingles. By 1980 they were back to their roots writing and producing original songs… just in time for the latest pop culture sensation… Pac-Man.
Pac-Man was developed in Japan and released there in May 1980. The following October, it hit American arcades and started gobbling up quarters. As Pac-Man gripped the nation, Buckner and Garcia likewise became addicted to the game. Said Jerry, “Everybody was playing it so we started playing it too. Well, we got hooked and we ended up sitting in there for two hours instead of going back and working. We did this for a while and I said, 'Hey, let's do a song about this,' … Because we were doing a lot of jingles and making pretty good money, we thought we could get play here in Atlanta and get our names out there…” The song Pac-Man Fever describes a guy that spends all his time at the arcade with a pocketful of quarters. Just about every part of the game is mentioned in the lyrics like getting chased by ghosts and chomping up cherries.
All Comments (21)
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Poll: What is your pick for the BEST or WORST Novelty song EVER?
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The McKenzie brothers also did a parody of The Twelve Days of Christmas that was pretty popular at the time. “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… a beer”
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Like Geddy said, “Ten bucks is ten bucks”
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I work in a warehouse on the day shift which is all grizzled older fellas, like me, who don't have much of a sense of humor anymore. One guy is a joker though and he came into the break room at lunchtime one day and said loudly "Hey, hosers! How's it goin', eh?" and the whole shift lost it! Even the most miserable guys were quoting the McKenzie Brothers the rest of the day! Pure gold!
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I never thought of Somebody's watching Me, as a novelty song.
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When I would give my children a bath I used to sing to them “I always feel like, somebody’s washing me…”
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How could you forget Julie Brown classic songs "Homecoming Queen's got a gun" and "I like 'em big and Stupid". Fun times.
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I can't believe "The Curly Shuffle" didn't make your list. #15 in early 1984.
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Five gold touques, four pounds of back bacon, three french toast, two turtle necks, and a beer under the tree. Hoser. You're welcome eh?
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DUDE 🫤 U missed “RAPPIN’ RODNEY” - Rodney Dangerfield, 1983
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Whether it was intended as a JOKE or not, Bob and Doug McKenzie's music got a lot of air play in the early 1980's. This was years before Rick Moranis' movie career took off. Geddy Lee's recognizable voice certainly helped Take Off. But their "Canadian version" of The 12 Days of Christmas must have been played almost every hour on most radio stations during the holidays. They may have been novelty tracks, but they were definitely classics!
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I never thought Party all the Time or Somebody's Watching Me were novelty songs. And I didn't consider Pac Man Fever or Take Off as cringe-Worthy.
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Don't forget Cheech and Chong, Adam! "Born in East L.A." had moderate airplay on MTV in 1985.
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At the time, there was a Bloom County strip mocking "the recent trend of actors hiring a band and recording an album". Opus and Milo's band Deathtongue asked, "Well who's on the phone?" "Don Knotts"
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The MacKenzie brother put the word “hoser” into our vocabulary
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Literally heard Somebody’s Watching Me in the grocery store yesterday. Couldn’t help but groove to it. That MJ sung hook is still 🔥
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I heard Dave Thomas say in an interview that Canada's national broadcaster wanted something more "authentically Canadian" so he and Moranis decided to do a parody of what most people think Canadians are like, which is why they over-used a lot of Canadian slang, drank Molson Canadian, wore toques n winter clothes all year, etc. It was meant to be a "fuck you" to the "Canadian Content" regulators who demanded a certain type of "art" in order to be considered Canadian Content.
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I grew up listening to Dr. Demento with my older brother. Parody was just such a normal part of our lives. In fact, my cat just caught a gopher and he didn't eat it. It just sat there until I finally disposed of it. Everytime I passed it, I'd sing "Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts."
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Sam Kinison's Wild Thing featuring a who's who of 80's talent.
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In Geddy's autobiography, he actually features a class picture that has him, Alex and Rick in it and he naturally talks about "Take Off." What makes that song great is how Canadian all three become and to me sets the stage for all of the funny films that would be included as part of Rush live shows. It may be a novelty track, but it has Geddy Lee, so that makes it great in my book.
