Novelty song

A novelty song is a musical composition built upon a novel concept. This concept often takes the form of a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample from popular culture. These songs frequently overlap with comedy songs, which focus explicitly on humor. They also overlap with musical parody, especially when the gimmick involves mimicking another popular song. While they can be highly entertaining, novelty songs are often described as "popular culture’s most disposable art form." This is because they are typically ephemeral, meaning they are enjoyed for a short time but seldom achieve enduring popularity.

To create a novelty song, artists use various mechanisms to grab attention. Some rely on unusual lyrics, strange subjects, or unexpected instrumentation. For instance, the 1966 song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV contains very little traditional music. Instead, it uses a rhythm produced by a snare drum, a tambourine, and musicians tapping on the bare sides of their legs. Other artists use vocal techniques, such as the sped-up recording method used by David Seville. Seville used this to create the voices for his famous characters, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Some songs even use "sampling," which involves taking snippets of existing hits to create something new. Dickie Goodman used this in his 1956 song "The Flying Saucer" to mimic alien interviews.

Novelty songs can be categorized into several distinct types. One type involves a vocal or musical gimmick, such as the stuttering heard in the 1918 hit "K-K-K-Katy." Another type uses silly or nonsensical lyrics, like the song "Yes! We Have No Bananas." Some songs rely on "exoticism," which uses the feel of foreign lands without being geographically or anthropologically accurate. Examples include "Oh By Jingo!" and "The Sheik of Araby."

There are also parody songs that spoof existing tracks, such as Sheb Wooley’s "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." There is even a subgenre known as "Scrumpy and Western," which was a brief fad in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.

The history of the novelty song is closely tied to Tin Pan Alley. In the late 19th century, Tin Pan Alley was a major music center that divided popular music into three parts: ballads, dance music, and novelty songs. During the 1920s and 1930s, novelty songs became very popular. They helped break the monotony of the intensely serious and lachrymose, or sad, ballads of the era.

The rise of the player piano and the phonograph also changed things. Before this, most music was sold as sheet music for amateur pianists. The new technology allowed for novelty piano pieces with virtuoso-level speeds, like Zez Confrey’s "Dizzy Fingers," to be heard in homes.

Throughout the 20th century, specific numbers and dates highlight the impact of these songs. In 1947 and 1948, Tex Williams’s "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" topped the Billboard best-sellers chart for six weeks. In 1958, The Coasters’ "Yakety Yak" became a number one single and is the only novelty song included in the "Songs of the Century." In 1975, Dickie Goodman achieved a gold record certified by the RIAA with "Mr. Jaws," which reached number one in both Cash Box and Record World. Even in the 1980s, the group The KLF used market research and sampling to achieve a UK number-one single with "Doctorin' the Tardis."

Notable examples show how these songs can influence broader culture. The song "I Wanna Be Loved By You" featured playful "boop-boop-a-doop" sounds. This helped make Helen Kane a star and inspired the creation of the cartoon character Betty Boop. In the 1950s, satirists like Stan Freberg and Tom Lehrer used the genre to poke fun at pop culture. Even Frank Sinatra recorded a novelty song called "Mama Will Bark" with Dagmar. Although it included sounds of a dog yowling, music scholars consider it one of the worst songs he ever recorded.

Novelty songs connect to many different fields, from technology to social trends. The development of audio recording technology was essential for the spread of complex novelty piano pieces. In the 1960s, an underground scene emerged involving different themes and styles. The genre also intersects with comedy, as seen in the musical bits recorded by the act Cheech & Chong. Finally, the genre shows how music can react to current events, such as the songs sung by British troops during World War II. Whether through a holiday theme or a sudden fad, novelty songs capture the specific energy of their time.