{{Short description|Musical genre}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Novelty songs | stylistic_origins = [[Popular music]] | cultural_origins = 1910s, United States | derivatives = [[Wizard rock]] | subgenrelist = | subgenres = | fusiongenres = | regional_scenes = | other_topics = {{hlist|[[Parody music]]|[[comedy rock]]}} }} [[File:K-K-K-Katy Cover.jpg|thumb|A poster for "[[K-K-K-Katy]]," a popular novelty song released in 1918]] {{listen | type = music | filename = Billy Murray - K-K-K-Katy.ogg | title = "K-K-K-Katy" | description = Performed by [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]] recorded in 1918 | format = ##Ogg## }} [[File:OhByJingoCoverParlor.jpg|thumb|[[Charlotte Greenwood]], "Oh By Jingo!" (1919)]] [[File:Sheik of Araby.pdf|thumb|"The Sheik of Araby" (1921)]]
A '''novelty song''' is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a [[gimmick]], a piece of [[Comedy music|humor]], or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with [[Comedy music|comedy songs]], which are more explicitly based on humor, and with [[musical parody]], especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>Axford, ''Song Sheets to Software'', p. 20: "As sentimental songs were the mainstay of Tin Pan Alley, novelty and comical songs helped to break the monotony, developing in the twenties and thirties as signs of the times."</ref><ref>Tawa, ''Supremely American'', p. 55: "... in the 1920s, novelty songs offset the intensely serious and lachrymose ballads. nonsensical novelty songs, reproducing the irrational and meaningless side of the twenties, made frequent appearances."</ref> They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waybackattack.com/top100-noveltyhits.html|title=Way Back Attack – Top 100 Novelty Hits of the '50s and '60s|website=Waybackattack.com|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> The term arose in [[Tin Pan Alley]] to describe one of the major divisions of [[popular music]]; the other two divisions were [[Ballad (music)|ballads]] and [[dance music]].<ref>Hamm, ''Irving Berlin Early Songs'', p. xxxiv: "The text of a novelty song sketches a vignette or a brief story of an amusing or provocative nature. ... noted for portraying characters of specific ethnicity or those finding themselves in certain comic or melodramatic situations, ..."</ref> Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.
Novelty songs are often a [[Parody song|parody]] or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a [[novelty and fad dances|dance]] or TV program. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "[[They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!]]", by [[Napoleon XIV]], has little music and is set to a rhythm tapped out on a [[snare drum]], a [[tambourine]], and the bare sides of the musicians' legs.
A book on achieving an attention-grabbing novelty single is ''[[The Manual|The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)]]'', written by [[The KLF]]. It is based on their achievement of a UK number-one single with "[[Doctorin' the Tardis]]", a 1988 dance remix mashup of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Doctor Who theme music|theme music]] released under the name of 'The Timelords'. It argued that (at the time) achieving a number one single could be achieved less by musical talent than through [[market research]], [[sampling (music)|sampling]] and gimmicks matched to an underlying danceable groove.<ref name="Words and Music: Our 60 Favorite Music Books">{{cite web|title=Words and Music: Our 60 Favorite Music Books|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7967-words-and-music-our-60-favorite-music-books/2/|website=Pitchfork Music|date=July 11, 2011 |access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name="The Manual (how to have a number one the easy way)">{{cite book|last1=The KLF|title=The Manual (how to have a number one the easy way)|date=1988|publisher=KLF|location=[Great Britain]|isbn=0-86359-616-9}}</ref>
Novelty songs are, by their nature, among the most ephemeral songs in popular music and seldom achieve enduring popularity, being described in 2025 as "popular culture’s most disposable art form".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Schimkowitz |first=Matt |date=October 12, 2025 |title=Dr. Demento ends 55-year run as radio's weirdest DJ |url=https://www.avclub.com/dr-demento-final-show |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref>
==History== ===Late 19th century – 1960s=== Novelty songs were a major staple of [[Tin Pan Alley]] from its start in the late 19th century. They continued to proliferate in the early years of the 20th century, some rising to be among the biggest hits of the era.{{sfn|Russell|1997|pp=105–120}} Varieties included songs with an unusual gimmick, such as the stuttering in "[[K-K-K-Katy]]" or the playful boop-boop-a-doops of "[[I Wanna Be Loved By You]]", which made a star out of [[Helen Kane]] and inspired the creation of [[Betty Boop]]; silly lyrics like "[[Yes! We Have No Bananas]]"; playful songs with a bit of double entendre, such as "Don't Put a Tax on All the Beautiful Girls"; and invocations of foreign lands with emphasis on general feel of exoticism rather than geographic or anthropological accuracy, such as "[[Oh By Jingo!]]", "[[The Sheik of Araby]]", and "The Yodeling Chinaman". These songs were perfect for the medium of [[Vaudeville]], and performers such as [[Eddie Cantor]] and [[Sophie Tucker]] became well known for such songs.
[[Zez Confrey]]'s 1920s instrumental compositions, which involved gimmicky approaches (such as "Kitten on the Keys") or maniacally rapid tempos ("Dizzy Fingers"), were popular enough to start a fad of [[novelty piano]] pieces that lasted through the decade. The fad was brought about by the increasing availability of audio recordings by way of the [[player piano]] and the phonograph; whereas much of Tin Pan Alley's repertoire was sold in the form of [[sheet music]] and thus had to be simple enough for an amateur pianist to play, novelty piano brought ''[[virtuoso]]''-level performance to the home and to those who would not normally attend classical concerts.
At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, "[[Hitler Has Only Got One Ball]]" (set to the tune of British Army [[bandmaster]] [[Kenneth J. Alford|F. J. Ricketts]]'s popular World War I{{ndash}}era "[[Colonel Bogey March]]") was sung by British troops.<ref>{{Wikicite |ref={{sfnref|Kelley|2020}} |reference=Greg Kelley (2020), "Colonel Bogey's Parade of Parody", Chapter 1 in ''Unruly Audience'', [[Utah State University Press]], pp. 27, {{ISBN|9781607329909}}, previously published as "Colonel Bogey's March through Folk and Popular Culture", Chapter 10 in Eric A. Eliason and Tad Tuleja, eds., ''Warrior Ways: Explorations in Modern Military Folklore'' (2012), Utah State University Press, {{ISBN|9781492000426}}.}}</ref> A 1940s novelty song was [[Spike Jones|Spike Jones']] 1942 "[[Spike Jones#"Der Fuehrer's Face"|Der Fuehrer's Face]]", which included [[blowing a raspberry|raspberries]] in its chorus. [[Tex Williams]]'s "[[Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)]]" topped the ''Billboard'' best-sellers chart for six weeks and the [[Hot Country Songs|country music chart]] for 16 weeks in 1947 and 1948. [[Hank Williams Sr.]]'s "[[Move It On Over (song)|Move It On Over]]", his first hit song, has some humor and novelty elements (about a man having to share the doghouse when his lover kicks him out of the house), but contemporaries (among them [[Jerry Rivers]]) disputed this and noted that many men had been faced with eviction under similar circumstances.<!-- there's a source cited for this on the Move It On Over article, but it's incomplete --> The 1953 #1 single "[[(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?]]" became notable both for its extensive airplay and the backlash from listeners who found it increasingly annoying.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} Satirists such as [[Stan Freberg]], [[Allan Sherman]], and [[Tom Lehrer]] used novelty songs to poke fun at contemporary pop culture in the 1950s and early 1960s.
In 1951, [[Frank Sinatra]] was paired in a CBS television special with TV personality [[Dagmar (American actress)|Dagmar]]. [[Mitch Miller]] at [[Columbia Records]] became intrigued with the pairing and compelled songwriter [[Dick Manning]] to compose a song for the two of them. The result was "[[Mama Will Bark]]", a novelty song performed by Sinatra with interspersed spoken statements by Dagmar, saying things like "mama will bark", "mama will spank", and "papa will spank". The recording even includes the sound of a dog yowling. It is regarded by both music scholars and Sinatra enthusiasts to be perhaps the worst song he ever recorded. Sinatra would record a few others before he left Columbia and joined [[Capitol Records]] in 1952.
[[Dickie Goodman]] faced a lawsuit for his 1956 novelty song "[[The Flying Saucer (song)|The Flying Saucer]]", which [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] snippets of contemporary hits without permission and arranged them to resemble interviews with an alien landing on Earth.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-case-for-old-napster-dickie-goodmans-son-reveals-fathers-legacy-in-book-and-fights-for-it-in-lawsuit-73270132.html |title=New Case for Old 'Napster'; Dickie Goodman's Son Reveals Father's Legacy in Book and Fights for It in Lawsuit|publisher=[[PR Newswire]] |access-date=November 25, 2014}}</ref> Goodman released more hit singles in the same vein for the next two decades including his gold record RIAA certified hit "[[Mr. Jaws]]" in 1975, which charted #1 in ''Cash Box'' and ''Record World'' and was based on the movie ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]''.
Among the more far out songs of this genre were the two released in 1956 by [[Nervous Norvus]], "Transfusion" and "Ape Call".
The Coasters had novelty songs such as "Charlie Brown"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailydoowop.com/the-coasters-charlie-brown/|title=The Coasters Charlie Brown | Daily Doo Wop}}</ref> and "[[Yakety Yak]]". "Yakety Yak" became a [[Hot 100 number-one hits of 1958 (USA)#Hot 100|#1 single on July 21, 1958]], and is the only novelty song (#346) included in the [[Songs of the Century]]. "Lucky Ladybug" by [[Billy and Lillie]] was popular in December 1958. [[Lonnie Donegan]]'s 1959 cover of the 1924 novelty song "[[Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)]]" was a transatlantic hit, reaching #5 on the ''Billboard'' charts two years after its release; it was one of the earliest top-5 hits to come from the United Kingdom in the rock era, preceding the [[British Invasion]].
Three songs using a sped-up recording technique became #1 hits in the United States in 1958–59, [[Sheb Wooley]]'s "[[The Purple People Eater]]" and two by [[Ross Bagdasarian|David Seville]]: "[[Witch Doctor (song)|Witch Doctor]]" and "[[The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]]". Seville sped up his voice on his two number-one tracks to invent the title characters to each song, the latter of which would introduce the [[breakout character]]s that came to dominate Seville's career, [[Alvin and the Chipmunks]].<ref name=Hoffman>The first [[Best Comedy Performance#1950s|Best Comedy Recording]] Grammy was awarded to David Seville's {{cite web|last=Hoffman|first=Dr Frank|url=http://www.jeffosretromusic.com/novelty.html|title=Novelty Songs|work=Jeff O's Retro Music|access-date=2008-02-23|publisher=Jeff O'Corbett|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225053723/http://www.jeffosretromusic.com/novelty.html|archive-date=February 25, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The technique (which Dickie Goodman had also used on "The Flying Saucer") would inspire a number of other knockoffs, including [[The Nutty Squirrels]] and [[Russ Regan]]'s one-off group Dancer, Prancer and Nervous.
In 1960, 16-year-old [[Brian Hyland]] had a novelty hit with the song "[[Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini]]", by [[Paul Vance]] and [[Lee Pockriss]], which topped the ''Billboard'' single chart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=6099|title=Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland Songfacts|website=Songfacts.com|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> The Trashmen reached the top 5 with "[[Surfin' Bird]]", a [[surf rock]] medley of two novelty songs originally recorded by [[The Rivingtons]]. In 1964, the [[Grammy Award for Best Country Album#1960s|Grammy for Best Country and Western Album]] was awarded to [[Roger Miller]]. Miller was known to sing novelty songs.
The British actor [[Bernard Cribbins]] had multiple novelty hits, starting with a [[satire|satirical]] song from the revue ''And Another Thing'' entitled "Folk Song", written by [[Ted Dicks]] and [[Myles Rudge]].<ref name="rudgeobit">{{cite web |last1=Laing |first1=Dave |title=Myles Rudge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/05/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |website=The Guardian |date=5 November 2007 |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728082853/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/05/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |url-status=live }}</ref> The show brought Cribbins to the attention of [[Parlophone]] head [[George Martin]], who signed Cribbins to the label to record a single. Subsequently, Rudge and Dicks were asked to provide new material for Cribbins; their compositions "[[The Hole in the Ground (song)|The Hole in the Ground]]", about an annoyed workman who eventually buries a harasser, and "[[Right Said Fred (song)|Right Said Fred]]", about three workmen who struggle to move an unspecified heavy and awkward object into or out of a building (later also the [[Right Said Fred|name of a pop novelty band]] who named themselves after the song<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sweatlodgeradio.com/what-does-the-saying-right-said-fred-mean/ |title=What does the saying Right Said Fred mean? |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728220420/https://www.sweatlodgeradio.com/what-does-the-saying-right-said-fred-mean/ |url-status=live }}</ref>), were top ten hits on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1962.<ref name="GavBark"/><ref name="Dennis"/>
In 1965, "[[A Windmill in Old Amsterdam]]", a song written by [[Ted Dicks]] and [[Myles Rudge]], became a UK hit for [[Ronnie Hilton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Ronnie-Hilton-A-Windmill-In-Old-Amsterdam-Dear-Heart/release/1733514|title=Ronnie Hilton – A Windmill In Old Amsterdam / Dear Heart|website=Discogs.com|date=1965 |access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref> The song spent a total of 13 weeks on the [[UK Singles Chart]] peaking at No. 23 in the chart of 17 February 1965.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/a%20windmill%20in%20old%20amsterdam/ |title=A Windmill In Old Amsterdam |website=Officialcharts.com |access-date=20 December 2017}}</ref> The song's composers were granted an [[Ivor Novello Awards|Ivor Novello Award]] in 1966 for [[List of Ivor Novello Award winners|the Year's Outstanding Novelty Composition]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theivors.com/archive/1960-1969/the-ivors-1966/|title=The Ivors 1966|website=Theivors.com|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815072315/http://theivors.com/archive/1960-1969/the-ivors-1966/|archive-date=August 15, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===1970s–2000s===
[[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[My Ding-a-Ling]]" reached #1 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in 1972,<ref name="AM">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic |class=artist|id=p3664|tab=charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} |title=Chuck Berry: Charts & Awards – ''Billboard'' Singles |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[Rovi Corporation]] |location=[[United States]] |access-date=March 28, 2011}}</ref> and [[Ray Stevens]], known for such novelty hits as "[[Ahab the Arab]]", "[[Gitarzan]]", and "[[Mississippi Squirrel Revival]]", had a #1 hit with "[[The Streak (song)|The Streak]]" in 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1974-05-18|title=Music: Top 100 Songs – Billboard Hot 100 Chart|publisher=Billboard|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> Comedy act [[Cheech & Chong]] recorded a number of musical bits that can be classified as novelty songs, including "[[Basketball Jones]]"(1973) and "[[Earache My Eye]]" (1974). [[Warren Zevon]]'s lone chart hit was the novelty number "[[Werewolves of London]]".<ref name="Medium">George Plasketes (June 15, 2016). [https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-secret-inspiration-behind-warren-zevons-werewolves-of-london-4a5fa337a7f1 The Secret Inspiration Behind Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London’], Medium.com, accessed 30 July 2018</ref> Other novelty songs in the '70s are Jimmy Castor Bunch's "[[Troglodyte (Cave Man)|Troglodyte]]" (and its sequel "[[The Bertha Butt Boogie]]"), [[Rick Dees]]' "[[Disco Duck]]" (1976) and [[The Fools]]' "Psycho Chicken"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dangerousminds.net/comments/psycho_chicken|title='Psycho Chicken': Plucked-up Talking Heads parody, 1979|date=February 3, 2015|website=Dangerousminds.net|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> (1978). [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] would emerge as one of the most prolific parody acts of all time in the 1980s, with a career that would span four decades; he would join [[Cliff Richard]] in being one of the few acts to have at least one top-40 hit in the U.S. in four consecutive decades (1950s through the 1980s for Richard, 1980s to 2010s for Yankovic).
In the United Kingdom, the novelty country genre [[Scrumpy and Western]] became a brief fad in the 1970s. [[Sheb Wooley]]'s parody "[[D.I.V.O.R.C.E.]]" (a spoof of the Tammy Wynette song of the same name that Wooley had recorded under his "Ben Colder" persona) reached number one in 1975 with [[Billy Connolly]]'s cover of it;<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=[[British Hit Singles & Albums]] |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |edition=19th |location=London |page=320}}</ref> a year later, "[[The Combine Harvester]]" (a spoof of [[Melanie Safka|Melanie's]] "[[Brand New Key]]") became a number-one hit for [[Brendan Grace]] in Ireland and [[The Wurzels]] in the UK.<ref name="Dub">{{citation |author=Audrey Healy |title=Dubliners: What's the Story? |page=67 |year=2002 |publisher=Currach Press |isbn=9781856079006}}</ref>
Randy Brooks wrote a Christmas novelty song and it was originally recorded by the duo [[Elmo Shropshire]] and his then-wife Patsy in 1979, called "[[Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer]]". It tells the tragic-comic story of a family grandmother (loosely based on Brooks's uncle [[Foster Brooks]]) who meets her end on Christmas Eve. After having drunk too much eggnog and forgetting to take her medicine, she staggers out of her family's house late Christmas Eve, is run over by Santa Claus' entourage, and found trampled at the scene the next morning. It has become a staple of [[Christmas music]] playlists on American radio since its original release.<ref name="nottohearthatsong">{{Cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121302192.html |title=All I Want for Christmas Is Not To Hear That Song |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 14, 2007 |access-date=December 24, 2017 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name=holidaygag>{{Cite magazine |last=Knopper |first=Steve |date=2022-12-20 |title='Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer': How a Holiday Gag Became a Christmas Standard |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/grandma-got-run-over-christmas-song-history-taylor-swift-link/ |access-date=2023-10-28 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>
An underground novelty music scene began to emerge in the 1960s, beginning with the homosexually themed songs of [[Camp Records]] and the racist humor of [[Johnny Rebel (singer)|Johnny Rebel]], then in the 1970s and 1980s with X-rated albums by [[David Allan Coe]] and [[Blowfly (artist)|Clarence "Blowfly" Reid]].
Novelty songs have been popular in the UK as well. In 1991, "[[The Stonk]]" novelty song raised over £100,000 for the [[Comic Relief (charity)|Comic Relief]] charity. In 1993, "[[Mr Blobby (song)|Mr Blobby]]" became the second novelty song to reach the coveted [[List of Christmas number one singles (UK)|Christmas number one]] slot in the UK, following [[Benny Hill]]'s 1971 chart-topper "[[Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)]]".<ref>Bromley, Tom ''We Could Have Been the Wombles: The Weird and Wonderful World of One-Hit Wonders'' p.51. Penguin books ltd, 2006</ref> Many popular children's TV characters would try to claim the Christmas number one spot after this. In 1997, the [[Teletubbies]] who reached number one the previous week failed to gain it with their single "[[Teletubbies say Eh-oh!|Say Eh-oh!]]".{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} They came second in the charts to [[The Spice Girls]] second of three consecutive Christmas number ones, with "[[Too Much (Spice Girls song)|Too Much]]".{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} Later on at the turn of the [[millennium]], [[Bob the Builder]] was successful in achieving a Christmas number one in 2000, with "[[Can We Fix It?]]". However, Bob the Builder did have another number one single a year later with a cover of [[Lou Bega]]'s "[[Mambo No.5]]", and also had another less successful single in 2008 with "[[Big Fish Little Fish (song)|Big Fish Little Fish]]".
Some novelty music draws its appeal from its unintentional novelty; so-called "[[outsider music]]ians" with little or no formal musical training often will produce comical results (see for instance, [[Florence Foster Jenkins]], [[Mrs. Elva Miller|Mrs. Miller]], the [[Portsmouth Sinfonia]], [[The Shaggs]], and [[William Hung]]).
After the fictitious composer [[P.D.Q. Bach]] repeatedly won the "[[Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album|Best Comedy Album]]" Grammy from 1990 to 1993, the category was changed to "Best ''Spoken'' Comedy Album".{{cn|date=November 2023}} When "Best Comedy Album" was reinstated in 2004, [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] won for ''[[Poodle Hat]]''.{{cn|date=November 2023}}
Novelty songs were popular on U.S. radio throughout the 1970s and 1980s, to the point where it was not uncommon for novelty songs to break into the [[top 40]]. [[Freeform (radio format)|Freeform]] and [[album-oriented rock]] stations made use of novelty songs; some of the best-known work from progressive rocker [[Frank Zappa]], for instance, is his extensive body of mostly adult-oriented novelty music. Zappa's "[[Bobby Brown (Goes Down)]]" was a smash hit in Europe despite its sexually explicit storyline, and "[[Valley Girl (song)|Valley Girl]]" was a [[Top 40]] hit in the US, while his "[[Don't Eat the Yellow Snow]]" and "[[Dancin' Fool]]" also reached the top 100 in his native United States. Beginning in 1970, [[Dr. Demento]]'s nationally syndicated radio show gave novelty songs an outlet for much of the country; this lasted through the mid-2000s, when the show (mirroring trends in the genre) faded in popularity until its terrestrial cancellation in June 2010. Dr. Demento continued to host a self-produced pay-to-listen Internet radio broadcast of the series for the next 15 years until his retirement in October 2025.<ref name=":0" />
===2010s to date===
In the 21st century, novelty songs found a new audience online; the hit song "[[The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)]]" by Norwegian comedy duo [[Ylvis]] was featured on the kids compilation album ''So Fresh Pop Party 13'' in 2014. Likewise, rapper Big Shaq<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/52279/big-shaq/|title=Big Shaq | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref>'s 2017 hit "[[Man's Not Hot]]", which depicts a man who refuses to take off his jacket, received widespread attention and inspired countless [[memes]] as a result of its success, with the man behind the song being British comedian [[Michael Dapaah]]. The children's novelty song "[[Baby Shark]]" received widespread attention when Korean education brand [[Pinkfong]]'s [[cover version]] from an online [[viral video]] reached the top 40 in the U.S. and several other countries.
In the United Kingdom, the novelty hit has mainly become a feature of the "[[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|Christmas chart battle]]"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/46546117|title=Christmas number one: Why is the festive chart-topper such a big deal? – CBBC Newsround|newspaper=BBC Newsround |date=December 13, 2018 }}</ref> (apart from a few viral hits found earlier in a year), with novelty act [[LadBaby]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/20/ladbaby-i-love-sausage-rolls-christmas-no-1|title=LadBaby takes Christmas No 1 with I Love Sausage Rolls|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|newspaper=The Guardian |date=December 20, 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/music-nightlife/ladbaby-release-new-novelty-sausage-3622378|title=LadBaby to release new novelty sausage roll song in bid for second Xmas No. 1|first=Rachel|last=Gorman|date=December 9, 2019|website=NottinghamshireLive}}</ref> reaching Number One five times in a row,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2018-12-21/ladbaby-claims-christmas-number-one-with-novelty-song-about-sausage-rolls|title=LadBaby claims Christmas number one|date=December 21, 2018|website=ITV News}}</ref> with all five songs being parodies of other popular songs reworked to incorporate a [[running gag]] that revolves around [[sausage roll]]s. More often than not, the UK Christmas novelty records were recorded for charity, with LadBaby's Christmas chart rivals in 2020 also including The Dancing Binmen (Jack Johnson, Henry Wright and Adrian Breakwell) with their song "Boogie Round The Bins At Christmas Time",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2020/11/13/wolverhamptons-famous-binmen-swap-dancing-for-singing-with-shot-at-christmas-number-one/|title=Wolverhampton's famous binmen swap dancing for singing with shot at Christmas number one|first=Thomas|last=Parkes|website=www.expressandstar.com|date=November 13, 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/wolverhampton-entertainment/2020/11/20/wolverhamptons-famous-dancing-binmen-release-christmas-song/|title=Wolverhampton's famous dancing binmen release their Christmas song|first=Thomas|last=Parkes|website=www.expressandstar.com|date=November 20, 2020 }}</ref> and "Merry Christmas, Baked Potato" from comedian Matt Lucas, with fellow chart contender "Raise The Woof!" being promoted as the first ever Christmas record for dogs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/christmas-number-1-2020-the-contenders-revealed__31728/|title=Christmas Number 1 2020: The contenders|website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref>
==Top 10 chartings in the U.S.== ===1930s and 1940s=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title ! Artist ! Highest<br>charting ! Date |- | “[[Three Little Fishes]]” | [[Kay Kyser]] | 1 | 1939 |- | “[[The Hut-Sut Song]]” | [[Freddy Martin]] | 2 | May 1941 |- | "[[Spike Jones#"Der Fuehrer's Face"|Der Fuehrer's Face]]" | [[Spike Jones]] | 3 | October 1942 |- | "[[Mairzy Doats]]" | [[the Merry Macs]] | 2 | February 1944 |- | "[[Cocktails for Two]]" | [[Spike Jones]] | 4 | January 1945 |- | “[[Chickery Chick]]” | [[Sammy Kaye]] | 1 | October 1945 |- | “[[Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti)]]” | [[Alvino Rey]] | 6 | May 1946 |- | “[[Open the Door, Richard!]]” | [[Count Basie]], vocals by [[Harry "Sweets" Edison]] and [[The Funk Brothers#Detroit musicians|Bill Johnson]] | 1 | February 1947 |- | "[[Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)]]" | [[Tex Williams]] | 1 | August 1947 |- | “[[Civilization (Bob Hilliard and Carl Sigman song)|Bongo, Bongo, Bongo (I Don't Want to Leave the Congo)]]” | [[Danny Kaye]] and [[The Andrews Sisters]] | 3 | September 1947 |- | “[[Too Fat Polka]]!” |[[Arthur Godfrey]] | 2 | October 1947 |- | “[[Temptation (Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed song)|Temptation (Tim-Tayshun)]]” |[[Red Ingle]] and The Natural Seven and [[Jo Stafford]] (under the name "Cinderella G. Stump") | 2 | October 1947 |- | “[[Feudin' and Fightin']] | [[Jo Stafford]] | 10 | October 1947 |- | “[[Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)]]” | [[Peggy Lee]] | 1 | January 1948 |- | “[[Woody Woodpecker#The Woody Woodpecker Song|Woody Woodpecker Song]]" | [[Kay Kyser]] vocals by [[Gloria Wood]] & [[Harry Babbitt]] | 1 | May 1948 |- | “Woody Woodpecker Song" | [[Mel Blanc]] & the [[Sportsmen]] | 2 | July 1948 |- | "[[All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth]]" | [[Spike Jones]] | 1 | November 1948 |- | "[[I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas]]" | [[Harry Stewart|Yogi Yorgesson]] | 5 | December 1949 |- | "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"]] | [[Gene Autry]] | 1 | December 1949 |- |}
===1950s=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title ! Artist ! Highest<br>charting ! Date |- | “[[If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake]]” |[[Eileen Barton]] | 1 | March 1950 |- | "[[The Thing (song)|The Thing]]" | [[Phil Harris]] | 1 | December 1950 |- | “[[Aba Daba Honeymoon]]” |[[Debbie Reynolds]] & [[Carleton Carpenter]], first recorded in 1914 by the comic duo team of [[Collins & Harlan]] | 3 | February 1951 |- | “[[I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus]]” | [[Jimmy Boyd]] | 1 | November 1952 |- | “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” | [[Spike Jones]] | 7 | December 1952 |- | "[[(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?]]" | [[Patti Page]] | 1 | January 1953 |- | “[[Eh, Cumpari!]]” |[[Julius La Rosa]] | 2 | September 1953 |- | “[[Santa Baby]]” | [[Eartha Kitt]] | 4 | November 1953 |- | “[[Nuttin' for Christmas]]” | [[Barry Gordon]] with the [[Art Mooney|Art Mooney Orchestra]] | 6 | December 1955 |- | “[[Blue Suede Shoes]]” | [[Carl Perkins]] ([[Elvis Presley]] reached number 20 with the song later in 1956) | 2 | March 1956 |- | "[[The Flying Saucer (song)|The Flying Saucer]]" | [[Bill Buchanan (songwriter)|Buchanan]] & [[Dickie Goodman|Goodman]] | 3 | August 1956{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=72}} |- | “[[Searchin']]” | [[The Coasters]] | 3 | May 1957 |- | “[[Young Blood (The Coasters song)|Young Blood]]” | The Coasters | 8 | May 1957 |- | "[[Short Shorts]]" | [[The Royal Teens]] | 3 | February 1958{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=398}} |- | "[[Witch Doctor (song)|Witch Doctor]]" | [[Ross Bagdasarian|David Seville]] | 1 | April 1958{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=411}} |- | "[[Splish Splash (song)|Splish Splash]]" | [[Bobby Darin]] | 2 | May 1958<ref>Whitburn, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004, Record Research, 2004 p. 145</ref> |- | "[[The Purple People Eater]]" | [[Sheb Wooley]] (sax solo by [[Plas Johnson]])<ref> Otfinoski, Steve, The Golden Age of Novelty Songs, Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2000 p.31-32</ref> | 1 | June 1958{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=502}} |- | "[[Yakety Yak]]" | The Coasters (sax solo by [[King Curtis]]) | 1 | June 1958<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits |publisher=Billboard Books |location=New York |year=1992 |page=104}}</ref> |- | “[[Chantilly Lace (song)|Chantilly Lace]]” | [[The Big Bopper]] | 6 | August 1958 |- | "[[Beep Beep (song)|Beep Beep (The Little Nash Rambler)]]" | [[The Playmates]] | 4 | November 1958{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=361}} |- | “[[The All American Boy]]” | [[Bobby Bare]] | 2 | December 1958 |- | "[[The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)]]" | [[The Chipmunks]] | 1 | December 1958 |- | “[[Charlie Brown (The Coasters song)|Charlie Brown]]” | The Coasters (sax solo by [[King Curtis]]) | 2 | February 1959 |- | “[[Alvin's Harmonica]]” | Alvin and the Chipmunks | 3 | February 1959 |- | "[[Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)]]" | [[Edd Byrnes|Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes]] & [[Connie Stevens]] | 4 | April 1959 |- | “[[Pink Shoe Laces]]" | [[Dodie Stevens]] | 3 | April 1959 |- |"[[The Battle of New Orleans]]" |[[Johnny Horton]] |1 |April 1959<ref>{{Cite magazine |last= |date= |title=Billboard Hot 100™ |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1959-06-08/ |url-status=live |access-date=2024-07-18 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> |- | “[[Along Came Jones (song)|Along Came Jones]]” | The Coasters | 9 | June 1959 |- | “[[Poison Ivy (song)|Poison Ivy]]” | The Coasters | 7 | September 1959 |}
===1960s=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title ! Artist ! Highest<br>charting ! Date |- | "[[Alley Oop (song)|Alley Oop]]" | [[The Hollywood Argyles]] | 1 | June 1960{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=223}} |- | "[[Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini]]" | [[Brian Hyland]] | 1 | August 1960 |- | “[[Yogi (song)|Yogi]]” | [[The Ivy Three]] | 8 | August 1960 |- | "[[Mr. Custer]]" | [[Larry Verne]] | 1 | September 1960 |- | “[[Baby Sittin' Boogie]]” | [[Buzz Clifford]] | 6 | January 1961 |-
| “[[Mother-in-Law (song)|Mother-In-Law]]” | [[Ernie K-Doe]] | 1 | April 1961 |- | “[[Boll Weevil (song)|Boll Weevil Song]]” | [[Brook Benton]] | 2 | June 1961 |- | "[[Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor]]" | [[Lonnie Donegan]] | 5 | August 1961{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=146}}{{efn|Donegan's version was recorded live at the [[New Theatre Oxford]] on December 13, 1958, and was first released in his native U.K. in 1959.}} |- | “[[Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)]]” | [[Barry Mann]] | 7 | August 1961 |- | “I'm Married to a Striptease Dancer” | [[Stubby Kaye]] | | 1962 |- | “[[Lydia the Tattooed Lady]]” | [[Stubby Kaye]] | | 1962 |- | “[[Speedy Gonzales (song)|Speedy Gonzales]]” | [[Pat Boone]] | 6 | June 1962 |- | "[[Ahab The Arab]]" | [[Ray Stevens]] | 5 | August 1962 |- | "[[Monster Mash]]" | [[Bobby "Boris" Pickett]] & the Crypt-Kickers | 1 | September 1962{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=357}} |- | "[[Pepino the Italian Mouse]]" | [[Lou Monte]] | 5 | December 1962<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.recordresearch.com/books/top-pop-singles-1955-2018/ |title=Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2018 |website=Recordresearch |access-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001015030/https://www.recordresearch.com/books/top-pop-singles-1955-2018/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> |- | "[[Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport]]" | [[Rolf Harris]] | 3 | June 1963{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=326}} |- | "[[Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah]]" | [[Allan Sherman]] | 2 | August 1963{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=414}} |- | "[[Surfin' Bird]]" | [[The Trashmen]] | 4 | December 1963{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=361}} |- | “[[Dang Me]]” | [[Roger Miller]] | 7 | July 1964 |- | “[[Chug-a-Lug (Roger Miller song)|Chug-a-Lug]]” | Roger Miller | 9 | October 1964 |- | “[[Love Potion No. 9 (song)|Love Potion No. 9]]” | [[The Searchers (band)|The Searchers]] | 3 | December 1964 |- | "[[The Name Game]]" | [[Shirley Ellis]] | 3 | January 1965{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=159}} |- | “[[The Jolly Green Giant]]” | [[The Kingsmen]] | 4 | January 1965 |- | “[[King of the Road (song)|King of the Road]]” | Roger Miller | 4 | February 1965 |- | “[[I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am]]" | [[Herman's Hermits]] | 1 | July 1965 |- | “[[England Swings]]” | Roger Miller | 8 | November 1965 |- | "[[They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!]]" | [[Napoleon XIV]] | 3 | August 13, 1966{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=326}} |- | “[[Winchester Cathedral (song)|Winchester Cathedral]]” | [[The New Vaudeville Band]] | 1 | November 1966 |- | "[[Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (song)|Snoopy vs. the Red Baron]]" | [[The Royal Guardsmen]] | 2 | December 1966{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=397}} |- | “[[Gitarzan]]” | Ray Stevens | 8 | May 1969 |- | “[[A Boy Named Sue]]” | [[Johnny Cash]], written by [[Shel Silverstein]] | 2 | August 1969 |- |}
===1970s through 2020=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Title ! Artist ! Highest<br>charting ! Date |- | “[[Gimme Dat Ding]]” | [[The Pipkins]] | 9 | June 1970 |- | “[[Amos Moses]]” | [[Jerry Reed]] | 8 | January 1971 |- | “[[When You're Hot, You're Hot]]” | Jerry Reed | 9 | May 1971 |- | “[[Hot Rod Lincoln]]” | [[Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen]] | 9 | April 1972 |- | “[[Coconut (Harry Nilsson song)|Coconut]]” | [[Harry Nilsson]] | 8 | July 1972 |- | "[[My Ding-a-Ling]]" | [[Chuck Berry]], first recorded by [[Dave Bartholomew]] in 1952 | 1 | September 1972{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=51}} |- | “[[The Cover of "Rolling Stone"]]” | [[Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show]], written by [[Shel Silverstein]] | 6 | March 1973 |- | “[[Uneasy Rider]]” | [[Charlie Daniels]] | 9 | July 1973 |- | “[[Spiders & Snakes (song)|Spiders and Snakes]]” | [[Jim Stafford]] | 3 | December 1973 |- | "[[The Streak (song)|The Streak]]" | Ray Stevens | 1 | April 1974{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=438}} |- | “[[Wildwood Weed]]” | Jim Stafford | 7 | July 1974 |- | "[[Convoy (song)|Convoy]]" | [[C. W. McCall]] | 1 | January 1976 |- | “[[Junk Food Junkie]]” | [[Larry Groce]] | 9 | February 1976 |- | "[[Disco Duck]]" | [[Rick Dees]] and his Cast Of Idiots | 1 | September 1976{{sfn|Whitburn|1992|p=132}} |- | “[[Short People]]” | [[Randy Newman]] | 2 | December 1977 |- | “[[Rock Me Amadeus]]” | [[Falco (musician)|Falco]] | 1 | March 1986 |- |[[I'm Too Sexy|"I'm Too Sexy"]] |[[Right Said Fred]] |1 |February 1992<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-05 |title=The Number Ones: Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' |url=https://stereogum.com/2171852/the-number-ones-right-said-freds-im-too-sexy/columns/the-number-ones/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=stereogum.com |language=en}}</ref> |- | “[[Barbie Girl]]” | [[Aqua (band)|Aqua]] | 7 | April 1997 |- | “[[White & Nerdy]]” | [[“Weird Al” Yankovic]] | 9 | September 2006 |- | “[[The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)]]” | [[Ylvis]] | 6 | October 2013 |- |}
==See also== *[[Novelty]] *[[Comedy]] *[[Wizard rock]]
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==Sources== * Otfinoski, Steve, ''The Golden Age of Novelty Songs'', Billboard Books, New York, NY, 2000
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *Aquila, Richard, ''That Old-time Rock & Roll: A Chronicle of an Era, 1954–1963''. University of Illinois Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-252-06919-6}} *{{citation|last=Arias|first=Enrique Alberto|title=Comedy in Music: A Historical Bibliographical Resource Guide|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313299803}} *Axford, Elizabeth C. ''Song Sheets to Software: A Guide to Print Music, Software, and Web Sites for Musicians''. Scarecrow Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8108-5027-3}} *Hamm, Charles (ed.). ''Irving Berlin Early Songs''. Marcel Dekker, 1995. {{ISBN|0-89579-305-9}} *{{citation|last=Russell|first=Dave|title=Popular music in England, 1840–1914|year=1997|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=9780719052613}} *Tawa, Nicholas E. ''Supremely American: Popular Song in the 20th Century ''. Scarecrow Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8108-5295-0}} *Otfonoski, Steve, ''The Golden Age of Novelty Songs''. Billboard Books, 2000 {{ISBN|0-8230-7694-6}}
{{Songwriting}} {{Comedy footer}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Comedy songs]] [[Category:Novelty songs| ]] [[Category:Popular music]] [[Category:Song forms]] [[Category:1950s fads and trends]] [[Category:1960s fads and trends]]