Novelty, comedy and offbeat recordings.

Okay, so this isn't technically a comedy recording, but I think it's close enough to qualify.

Reunion was a studio group fronted by Joey Levine, of "Yummy Yummy Yummy" fame (or infamy).  The verses of 1974's "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" are pretty much unintelligible unless you have the lyrics right in front of you, and even then it's easy to get lost.

I have a tape of a radio interview with Levine where he admits that it's impossible to sing the verses in one breath.  He had to do some editing.  He said that, at one point, you can hear him take a deep breath as if he was thinking, "Oh boy, here we go again."

"Hey Rocky" by Boris Badenough was released on the tiny "Trax" label back in 1986, and was quite popular on the "Dr. Demento" radio show.  Boris was a record producer named Dean Anderson.

I have a copy of this 45.  I bought it from a guy who had all kinds of obscure oddities like this.

This came on the TV last night and I wanted to share it. It's 'I like trucking' from Not The Nine O'Clock news (which can be read about here). As you can see, it was the first TV show to feature a certain Rowan Atkinson.



A little background; it makes fun of both stereotypical bad trucker habits and the Yorkee Bar advents of the time (which featured big roaring 'manly' songs like that, and also explains the line about eating chocolate when it's cold. Yorkee Bars are basically big chocolate bricks, and when they get cold, they turn into actual bricks).

Because it's a poor recording and the audience is laughing, here are the lyrics in word form:

I like trucking, I like trucking,
I like trucking and I like to truck.
I like trucking, I like trucking,
If you don't like trucking, tough luck.

On the road, you must be brave and tireless,
On the road, you can listen to the wireless,
On the road, you eat café food with pride,
You can throw it up outside.

The greatest kick in trucking comes from knocking down a biker,
Or swinging round a roundabout and picking up a hiker,
You're chatting up that piece of skirt who's sitting by your side,
Then pop the crucial question - a ride for a ride?

I like trucking, I like trucking,
I like trucking and I like to truck.
I like trucking, I like trucking,
If you don't like trucking, tough luck.

Perhaps the greatest laugh of all, that makes this life worthwhile,
Is waving on the car behind, giving him a smile,
With glasses and with gratitude, he revs his little load,
And meets another trucking truck, a-trucking down the road.

On the road, you must be tough and ruthless,
And the rumours that we're gay are truthless,
On the road, you can wear your shirtsleeves rolled,
You eat chocolate when it's cold.

From behind, we like to sneak up on you from behind,
Never mind, if you hit 'em never mind.

We like trucking, we like trucking,
We like trucking and we like to truck.
We like trucking, we like trucking,
If you don't like trucking, tough luck.

It's probably not that funny...I just think it's really catchy.

Brilliant!

Refresh my memory, he was supposed to be (properly) dead wasn't he?

Todd Rundgren's "You Left Me Sore," from 1972, is about...well, just listen.