1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,439 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will? 3 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 2: What's that Mango? 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: Do you know that one of the most popular songs 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: of the nineteen twenties was inspired by an outbreak of 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: banana blight? Wait what the song is called? Yes, we 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: have no bananas. Actually I do know this song, if 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,040 Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken. You've mentioned this on the show before, right, yeah, 9 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: a super long time ago, in our episode about copyrights. Okay, 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: because the sheet music has finally entered the public domain. 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 3: Okay, you know I was hoping you met you were 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 3: going to record your own version of it and turn 13 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 3: it into a hit single. 14 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:44,520 Speaker 2: But what happened with that song? 15 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: Well, the good news is that the original recordings of 16 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: the song from nineteen twenty three are also in the 17 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: public domain right now, which means that this time I 18 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: actually get to play you a clip of it. So 19 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: take a listen. 20 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 4: We have no bananas. 21 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 2: We have no bananas. To day. 22 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: We bring means and honions and unions and all kinds 23 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 1: of rum and. 24 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 3: Say, you know, it sounds like most of the lyrics 25 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 3: are just a guy listing produce items. 26 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:17,400 Speaker 2: Am I not mistaken on this. 27 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, so the song's origin is pretty fun. Bananas were 28 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: a hot commodity in New York at the turn of 29 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, and the most popular variety at the 30 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: time was the Gross Michelle or the big mic But 31 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen twenties, a fungal disease had begun 32 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 1: to spread through the crops, resulting in all these shortages. 33 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: So the story goes this lyricist to his name was 34 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: Frank Silver. He was trying to buy banana in New 35 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: York in nineteen twenty two and he stopped at a 36 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: fruit stand. It was owned by a Greek immigrant, and 37 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: he's looking around, looking around, can't find the fruit, so 38 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: he asked the man if he has any bananas, and 39 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: of course the owner didn't have any, you know, thanks 40 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: to this blight, But he didn't want to say no 41 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: to a customer, so he answers in the affirmative. He goes, yes, 42 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: we have no bananas, and then he proceeds to rattle 43 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: off a long list of all the fruits and vegetables 44 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: he does have. I like it, And Frank Silver was 45 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: so abused by this encounter that he wrote lyrics about it, 46 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: and then had his friend Irving Cohne, set all of 47 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: this to music, and in nineteen twenty three it spent 48 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: five straight weeks, five weeks at the top spot of 49 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: hit Parade. 50 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 2: That is pretty ridiculous. 51 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 3: I love that the number one song in the country 52 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 3: is a novelty song about a grocer having no bananas. 53 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's totally bananas. But the nineteen twenties and thirties 54 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: were actually chock full of these novelty songs. They were lighthearted, 55 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: silly songs that cover offbeat subjects, and back then recording 56 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: music was still kind of this new phenomena, so in 57 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: a way, every song was kind of a novelty Artists 58 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: were just having fun and trying out different sounds and 59 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: styles to see what people responded to. But novelty songs 60 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: never really went away. They continue to crop up over 61 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: the years and became more prominent than ever in the 62 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties and sixties, a time that many music historians 63 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: now called the Golden Age of novelty music. So with 64 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: all of that in mind, I thought it'd be fun 65 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: to explore the history of one of the world's most 66 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: enduring but least respected music genres. 67 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 3: I love that that's right. That's exactly what we're gonna do. 68 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 3: We're gonna chart the rise and fall of the novelty 69 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 3: song's popularity. We'll dig into the backstories of some of 70 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 3: the weirdest hits, and we'll try to get a sense 71 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 3: for why people were more open to silly songs back 72 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 3: then than they seem to be today. It's a lot 73 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 3: to cover, so let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, 74 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 3: welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as 75 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 3: always I'm joined by my good friend Mangesh how Ticketter 76 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 3: on the other side of that soundproof glass. 77 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: This is an interesting day today. 78 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 3: He's modeling a pair of and I'm not kidding, the 79 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 3: shortest shorts I think I have ever seen. Also just 80 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 3: showing some incredible ankles. I did not know that Dylan 81 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 3: had these ankles. That is our friend, the producer of 82 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 3: Dylan Fagan. Now, at first I thought he was just 83 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 3: flouting the office dress code for the fun of it, 84 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 3: But now I'm thinking it must be a tribute to 85 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 3: that old short short song by the Royal Teens. 86 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, who wears short shorts? I guess Dylan. 87 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 2: He wears short shorts. 88 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 3: He certainly does today, and you know, I guess back 89 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 3: in the late nineteen fifties, so did a lot of people. 90 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 3: The song was inspired by youth fashion trends of the era, 91 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 3: and in particular by the increasingly common side of girls 92 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 3: wearing scandalously short shorts, so Royal teens wrote a song 93 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 3: about it. 94 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 2: Now. 95 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 3: Incredibly, pianist Bob Gaudio was only fifteen years old when 96 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 3: he wrote this hit, but it tapped into the zeitgey 97 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 3: so effectively it ended up spending two weeks at number 98 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 3: three on the bill Bord Hot one hundred. 99 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: I mean, I think the reason I know the song 100 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: is because it was in a commercial for Nair. Was 101 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: going to say hair removal product, but I thought it 102 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: was just written as a jingle. 103 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 3: It was reused in those nineteen eighty seven commercials back 104 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 3: when we were kids watching commercials. 105 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 2: All the time. 106 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 3: That kind of longevity is impressive for a novelty song, 107 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 3: because so many of them are designed really just to 108 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 3: be disposable. 109 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: I have no idea what you mean, which doctor? My 110 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: boomerang won't come back? A have the Arab You know 111 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: all those songs, they're timeless. 112 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 3: I think you might have had a cheat sheet of 113 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 3: these days, those songs were canceled. 114 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: Mego, yeah, I always got timeless and canceled. 115 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 3: I mean, all three of those songs are offensive by 116 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 3: today's standards, but that's the thing. None of them were 117 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,880 Speaker 3: meant to stay relevant forever. Those songs were written during 118 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 3: the post war period when exoticism was really trendy in 119 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 3: America and the public was fascinated by the idea of 120 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 3: distant places and sort of like foreign customs. So musicians 121 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,640 Speaker 3: capitalized on that feeling by writing novelty songs meant to 122 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,400 Speaker 3: meet the moment. But they didn't expect these songs to 123 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 3: have much of a life beyond that moment. But of course, 124 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 3: there are exceptions to this, like splitch splash, I was 125 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 3: taken a bath. Wasn't inspired by an uptick in people 126 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,359 Speaker 3: taking baths, I don't think at least. 127 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 2: But most novelty songs were. 128 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 3: Inspired by some new trend or current event, like the 129 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 3: boundary pushing shorts that were on everybody's mind when Short 130 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 3: Shorts was. 131 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: Written, right, or the banana blate song that led to 132 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,200 Speaker 1: Yes we have no bananas. I mean, it kind of 133 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: makes sense, and it also helps us nail down kind 134 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: of the wonky definition of what exactly a novelty song is. 135 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: And of course we're getting pretty technical here, and music 136 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: historians disagree about this a little bit, but it's not 137 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: really accurate to equate just funny songs with novelty songs, 138 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: Like there are a lot of comedy songs that aren't 139 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: categorized as novelties, like if you consider like The Flight 140 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: of the Conquers or Bo Burnham, like they tell jokes 141 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: through mut but that's a little different from a novelty song, 142 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: which is mostly just funny because of its subject matter. Yeah. 143 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a good point actually, also thinking about what 144 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 3: we do with Weird Al's songs, because they're parodies and funny, 145 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 3: but you know, there's also a sense of timeliness there. 146 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, people actually have disagreements about these classifications, 147 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: but just going by the definition, something novel is something 148 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: new or original, and parodies of existing works don't really 149 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: hit that mark. But you could maybe make a case 150 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: for parodies being a subgenre of novelty songs, I guess though. 151 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: Of course, you know, weird Al does have original songs 152 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:37,760 Speaker 1: as well, so for him it's a little tricky. But uh, 153 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: I am glad you brought up the idea of newness 154 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: because the novelty in novelty songs isn't just a reference 155 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: to their humor. The term also has the connotation of 156 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: being new and different, whether it's comical or not. And 157 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: I think the comedy connection comes from the fact that 158 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: many of their early novelty songs got their start in 159 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: British music halls and also at American vaudeville sh where 160 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: they were strictly played for laughs. In fact, one of 161 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: the very first hit novelty songs was George W. Johnson's 162 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: The Laughing Song or Laughing Policeman Songs. Hook was unusual 163 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: and slightly unsettling. It's a chorus which consists entirely of 164 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: the performer's own laughter. And just to give you a 165 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: sense of how weird it is, here's a clip from 166 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: a nineteen twenty two recording by Charles Penrose. 167 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's fair to say that is unsettled. 168 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 3: It is funny, but it's definitely unsettled. 169 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: Well, what's interesting is that while novelty songs tend to 170 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: be written off as you know, less artistic or meaningful 171 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 1: and quote normal songs, it's their experimental qualities that often 172 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: point the way towards new musical styles, you know, many 173 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: of which are later put to use in more serious works. 174 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: What do you mean by that, Well, it's actually something 175 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,959 Speaker 1: you see a lot with the novelty music of the 176 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: late nineteen fifties and early sixties. That period was this 177 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: weird transitional period in popular music when early rock acts 178 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,839 Speaker 1: like Elvis had become passe, but the British Invasion was 179 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: still years away from breathing new life into the genre. 180 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: So in the meantime, all these creators started experimenting with 181 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: new production techniques, hoping to find the next hit sound, 182 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: and the result was a slew of really oddball novelty 183 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: songs that incorporated unusual instruments and sound effects for the 184 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 1: very first time. In fact, the earliest examples of vocal 185 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: manipulation were in songs like the Chipmunk Song, where voices 186 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: sing at half speed were played back at normal speed 187 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: to make them sound high pitched and squeaky, and a 188 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: few years later things like sampling and voice modulation became 189 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: standard industry techniques, especially when you get into like psychedelic rock. 190 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: You know, it's weird and kind of wild to think 191 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,520 Speaker 1: that these novelty song ungs actually pave the way for that. 192 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 3: So if you're a big Sergeant Pepper's fan, you kind 193 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 3: of have the Chipmunks to thank for it. But you know, 194 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,280 Speaker 3: there's actually another unexpected benefit that we owe to novelty songs, 195 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 3: which is that listening to them can help improve our 196 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 3: brain function. 197 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: Are you sure about that, because when I hear something 198 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: like shaving Cream, I usually feel a little dumber or 199 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: not smarter. 200 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, but even a silly song like that can be 201 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 3: good for you. And that's because sense of novelty has 202 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 3: been proven to activate the dopamine system. 203 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 2: In our brains. 204 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 3: So when we see or hear something new or unusual, 205 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 3: our dopamine level spikes and we feel this rush of 206 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,240 Speaker 3: happy emotions. And so what's really amazing is that the 207 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,839 Speaker 3: positive reinforcement trains our brains to seek out novelty as 208 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 3: much as possible, And that kind of explains why novelty 209 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 3: songs became so popular in the first place. 210 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 2: You know, our brains are hardwired. 211 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: To light up when we hear them, but I'm guessing 212 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: that only happens the first time we hear them, right, Like, 213 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:56,679 Speaker 1: the novelty probably wears. 214 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 3: Off that is true, but novelty songs have another trick 215 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 3: up there. So recent studies have shown that novelty also 216 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,199 Speaker 3: stimulates the parts of the brain related to memory and learning. 217 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 3: So if a song lights up your pleasure center the 218 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 3: first time you hear it, you'll remember it more easily 219 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,520 Speaker 3: for a long time after. I mean, think about all 220 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 3: the jingles and things like that we know from our 221 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 3: younger years. They stick around forever. And because nostalgia also 222 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 3: triggers the release of those same feel good chemicals like dopamine, 223 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 3: revisiting a novelty song a few years after you hear 224 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 3: it it has the potential to lift your mood all 225 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 3: over again. 226 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 2: Huh. 227 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: I guess I would explain why some of these songs 228 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: really have such amazing staying power, right even though they 229 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: were kind of flashing the pen hits when they were 230 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 1: first released, They just stick around. 231 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's true, all right. 232 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 3: Well, now that we've worked out what a novelty song 233 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 3: is and what makes them popular, I'm glad we worked 234 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 3: our way that. 235 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 2: We nailed it. 236 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 3: I think we should take a closer look at a 237 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 3: few of the ones that have left the strongest impressions 238 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 3: on us. 239 00:11:55,520 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 2: But before we do that. Let's take a quick break. 240 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 1: And you're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking 241 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: about the strangest one hit wonders from the golden age 242 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: of novelty music. Okay, Well, so we've established that novelty 243 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,680 Speaker 1: songs are part of a long tradition that dates back 244 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: to the very beginnings of recorded music. But the genre 245 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: truly hits its stride in the post Elvis pre Beatles 246 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: days of the late fifties and early sixties. So why 247 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: don't you take it from here? 248 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 2: All right, happy to do that. 249 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 3: So the late fifties and early sixties period is when 250 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 3: dozens of novelty songs start popping on the Billboard Hot 251 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 3: one hundred, with a few of them managing to climb 252 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 3: all the way to the very top spot. 253 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, it feels like people were really chasing that dopamine 254 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: from one novelty track to the next, just waiting for 255 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: the Beatles to show up. 256 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 2: No, that's exactly right. 257 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 3: And you know, while there are way too many hits 258 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 3: from that era to cover them all, there is one 259 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 3: that we abbs absolutely have to talk about, and that's 260 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 3: Monster Mash. 261 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 2: Think about it. 262 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 3: Every Halloween, Monster Mash comes back around that was by 263 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 3: Bobby Boris Pickett and the crypt Kickers. Could you have 264 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 3: named that either? It took the research from this episode. Now, 265 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 3: if you've somehow never heard that song before, it tells 266 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 3: the story of a group of monsters who attend to 267 00:13:20,559 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 3: party at Frankenstein's castle. Now it sung from the perspective 268 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 3: of the doctor himself, who happens to sound a lot 269 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 3: like Boris Karlov, and it recounts how his famous monster 270 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 3: came to life one night and immediately sparked a dance craze. 271 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,319 Speaker 3: The monster Mash. 272 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,959 Speaker 1: I love how you're describing in detail like the most 273 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: popular kids Halloween party song of all time. 274 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 2: That's right. 275 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 3: Now, we've got listeners from all over the world, Mango, 276 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,440 Speaker 3: so we don't get judging here. In fact, it's so 277 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 3: much better just hear these songs. So for the uninitiated, 278 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 3: here is a taste of Monster Mash. 279 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 4: I was looking at the love late modlight. Would my 280 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 4: eyes be heldy height? How my mom stood from his 281 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 4: flab began to rise, and suddenly, to my surprise, he 282 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 4: did the mons Tom. 283 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: I mean, we have obviously heard the song over and 284 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: over since we were kids, but like I actually remember 285 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: being eight at my neighbor Kristin Long's house and wondering 286 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: why do people play the song? 287 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 2: They don't just play it Magno. 288 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 3: It became the hottest track in the country, and the 289 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 3: reason is it's because one of those stars aligned type moments. 290 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 3: Like a lot of things had to go right to 291 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 3: make this happen. The first factor in the song's success 292 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 3: was that there was a monster movie revival going on 293 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 3: America in the early nineteen sixties. Universal Studios had recently 294 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 3: dusted off its classic Monster catalog. This was back from 295 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 3: the thirties and forties, and what they did was they 296 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 3: repackaged them for TV syndication. So that introduced a whole 297 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 3: new generation of characters like Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Mummy, 298 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 3: the Wolfman, which in turn kicked off this monster craze 299 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 3: that would last the rest of the decade. So a 300 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 3: dozen companies cranked out Monster branded merchandise, and it was 301 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 3: really only a matter of time before the music industry 302 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 3: got in on the act as well. But the other 303 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 3: trend that played directly into the song's success was the 304 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,680 Speaker 3: series of twist inspired dance crazes that hooked the country 305 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 3: in the early nineteen sixties. This was in the spring 306 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 3: of nineteen sixty two. The hot new novelty dance was 307 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 3: called the Mashed Potato and the song that went along 308 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 3: with it was Mashed Potato Time by D. D. 309 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 2: Sharp. 310 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 3: So weirdly, the mash in Monster Mash was taken from 311 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 3: Sharp song. 312 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 1: That is so weird. I didn't know the mash actually 313 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: meant something. 314 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's more than that. 315 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 3: Monster Mash's chords, it's melody, lyrical structure are all kind 316 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 3: of pulled from that song. So the story goes. In 317 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,040 Speaker 3: nineteen sixty two. Bobby Pickett was an aspiring actor who 318 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 3: made his living singing as the front man in a 319 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 3: local du wop band called the Cordials. 320 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 2: Now. 321 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 3: He was also a lifelong monster movie fan, and one 322 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 3: night during a gig, he did an impression of Frankenstein's 323 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 3: star Boris Karloff during one of their songs, and the 324 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 3: gag went over so well with the crowd that Pickett's bandmate, 325 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 3: Leonard Kapeasi he suggested that they write a song about 326 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 3: monsters to showcase his impression. So Pickett agreed, and later 327 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 3: that summer that duo sat down and they wrote Monster 328 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 3: Mash using the current trendy song mashed Potato Time as 329 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 3: their template. It's so cool, mash potato does right, mashed 330 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 3: Potato Time. And so the resulting song was something of 331 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 3: a monster in itself. It was a do wop parody 332 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 3: about dancing ghouls, sung by a Boris Karloff impersonator and 333 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 3: loaded with haunted house sound effects. Now it doesn't sound 334 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 3: like the recipe for a hit song, I'll give you that, 335 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 3: but in the fall of nineteen sixty two, that's exactly 336 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 3: what it wound up being. But the crazy part is 337 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,280 Speaker 3: that the songwriters somehow knew that it could be a hit. 338 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 3: You know, Like we talked about earlier. Pickett and Kapezi 339 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 3: were tapping into the cultural zeitgeist with their novelty song, 340 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 3: so they realized that classic monsters and dance fads were 341 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 3: both having a moment. So by Frank and signing them together, 342 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 3: they wrote a song that really captured the weird, campy 343 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,119 Speaker 3: spirit of that era. I like that, but there's no 344 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 3: way to have realized just how big a hit it 345 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 3: would be. So the song hit number one on the 346 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 3: Billboard Singles Chart on October twentieth, nineteen sixty two. This 347 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 3: was in the lead up to Halloween, and it stayed 348 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 3: there for two full weeks, all the way into mid November. 349 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 3: Of course, just like Mashed Potato before it, the Monster 350 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 3: Mash eventually fell out of fashion, but unlike most other 351 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 3: novelty songs, it returned to the charts more than a 352 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 3: decade after its debut. 353 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 2: This was in nineteen seventy three. 354 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,880 Speaker 3: The song clawed its way back into the Billboard top ten, 355 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 3: and not even at Halloween time either. 356 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 2: It actually recharted in early August. 357 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,199 Speaker 3: It's crazy, and while a one time revival would have 358 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 3: been impressive enough, Monster Mash has managed to live on 359 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 3: for much much longer, rising from the grave every single October. 360 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's basically a Halloween anthem at this point, right, definitely. 361 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,919 Speaker 3: But but you know, while we're speaking about monster themed 362 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 3: novelty songs. 363 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 2: There's another one that I want to cover. 364 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 3: It's a bounty little number called The Purple People Leader. 365 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 3: This is so much fun, the nostalgia piece of all 366 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,880 Speaker 3: of this. Now, many listeners are probably familiar with it already, 367 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 3: but just in case you've never had the pleasure, here's 368 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 3: a clip. 369 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 2: Well, I saw the. 370 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 4: Thing coming out of the sky at a one long horn, 371 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 4: one big guy, right, come, mister shaken in the sit 372 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 4: it looks like a purple people eater. To me, it 373 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 4: was a one eyed, one horn fy and purple people leader. What. 374 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: I honestly can't be leave like songs like this hit 375 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,159 Speaker 1: the music charts. It's just so insane to me. It 376 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: actually wasn't just on the charts. 377 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 3: It dominated Billboard for six straight weeks back in nineteen 378 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 3: fifty eight. And the song was written and performed by 379 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 3: Chev Woolley, and its kooky premise was inspired by goofy 380 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 3: riddle that Wooey heard from his friend and fellow songwriter 381 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 3: Don Robertson. Now, apparently Robertson's son had overheard this joke 382 00:18:58,840 --> 00:18:59,919 Speaker 3: at an elementary school. 383 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: I feel like our listeners don't know how much you 384 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: love bad monster jokes, like it's actually a thing, but 385 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: you should lay this on me. 386 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,719 Speaker 2: I literally have books of monster jokes. They're just so 387 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 2: dumb and so wonderful. So here's one. 388 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,679 Speaker 3: What has one eye one horn flies and eats people? 389 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 3: And of course the answer was a one eyed, one 390 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 3: horn flying purple people eater. 391 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: So dumb, but the monster wasn't originally purple right. 392 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 2: Now, this is going to blow your mind, mango. But 393 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 2: the monster was never purple. 394 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 3: And Willie added the word purple to the chorus to 395 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 3: better fit the rhythm, and because the literation is, of 396 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 3: course fun, but he never meant to suggest that the 397 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 3: creature itself was purple. The alien eats purple people. The 398 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 3: song doesn't actually say what color the creature is. 399 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: That is so insane. Are you sure about this? 400 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:51,640 Speaker 3: So Gabe fact check this, and he pointed out that 401 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 3: this is explicitly spelled out. And the song's third verse 402 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 3: and it says, and I quote, get ready for this. 403 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,400 Speaker 3: I said, mister purple people leader, what's your line? And 404 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 3: he said eating purple people? And it sure is fine. 405 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,399 Speaker 3: But that's not the reason I came to Land. I 406 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 3: want to get a job in a rock and roll band. 407 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 2: How about that? 408 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: That is poetry, yes, but you know I never paid 409 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 1: that close attention to this song. I also, somehow, I 410 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: guess I missed the part about him whine or like 411 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: join a rock band. 412 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:20,920 Speaker 2: Like. 413 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: I didn't even hear that part. 414 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 2: I mean, what did you think his horn was for? 415 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: I mean, goring people? I guess I assumed it was 416 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: part of his body, not like a musical instrument. 417 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 3: Well, this is another Gabe Jim because I didn't realize 418 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 3: this before either, but apparently the horn is both. 419 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: So. 420 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:36,360 Speaker 3: At the end of the song, after the alien has 421 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 3: achieved his dreams of rock and roll stardom, the narrator 422 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 3: tells us he was blowing it out a really knock 423 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 3: him dead, playing rock and roll music through the horn 424 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 3: in his head. 425 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,400 Speaker 1: That is incredible. I feel like I've got to listen 426 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:51,880 Speaker 1: to that song in full now. 427 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:53,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, they definitely do well. 428 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,120 Speaker 1: There's another novelty song I want to cover that isn't 429 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,159 Speaker 1: quite what it appears to be on the surface. But 430 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 1: before we get into it, another quick break. 431 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,439 Speaker 3: Okay, mango, So before the break, you tease this with 432 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 3: another novelty song that challenges the listener's assumptions. 433 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: I mean, it's the one and only itsy bitsy teeny 434 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,879 Speaker 1: weeny yellow polka dot bikini. 435 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 3: I actually was wondering when this would come up because 436 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:33,160 Speaker 3: it seems like a pretty straightforward track. I'm curious what's 437 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 3: so shocking about it. 438 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: Well, before we get to that, let me give you 439 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: some quick background. 440 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:37,680 Speaker 2: Right. 441 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: So, the song was performed and popularized by the teenage 442 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 1: heart throb Brian Hyland, and it became one of the 443 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: two summer anthems of nineteen sixty, along with Chubby Checkers 444 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: The Twist. It actually sold over a million copies and 445 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard Hot one hundred chart, 446 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: including one week in the top spot. The song also 447 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: reached number one in France and Germany and has since 448 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,919 Speaker 1: been covered by a whole bunch of artists from like 449 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 1: Connie Francis to Devo, to Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. 450 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: And while I'm obviously tempted to play the Muppets version 451 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,080 Speaker 1: of this, for the sake of clarity, I want to 452 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: play a little clip of Brian Highland's original. She was 453 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: afraid to come out and locker she was his nerve 454 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,119 Speaker 1: said she he could be. 455 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:30,880 Speaker 4: She was afraid to come out, locker, she was afraid. 456 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: That's somebody. So two three, four tell the people what 457 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: she wore. 458 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:38,640 Speaker 2: It was its. 459 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: Ya she wo. So the story, if you can tell, 460 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,640 Speaker 1: is girl goes to the beach, changes into her new 461 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: swimsuit and then has second thoughts about wearing something so 462 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: revealing in public. 463 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,199 Speaker 3: I mean, I guess you could make the case that 464 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 3: it's commentary about the sexual attitudes of mid sense America. 465 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,240 Speaker 3: But that honestly feels like a little bit of a stretch. 466 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it almost feels like some kind of 467 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 1: sexist morning for women not to wear bikinis or they 468 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: might get self conscious and have a bad day at 469 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,520 Speaker 1: the beach. But according to the songwriter, the song actually 470 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: has a much simpler and more innocent origin story. So 471 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: although Brian Hyland performed the song, the lyrics and music 472 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: were actually the work of Paul Vance and Lee Pocras, 473 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: the same songwriting duo behind Perry Como's signature song Catch 474 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: a Falling Star and Believe it or Not. The idea 475 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,760 Speaker 1: for the song was born out of a real life 476 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,880 Speaker 1: incident involving Vance's two year old daughter, Paula. 477 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:39,520 Speaker 2: Oh really. 478 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,000 Speaker 1: According to Vance, the song was inspired by a family 479 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: trip to the beach in nineteen fifty nine and little Paula, 480 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,159 Speaker 1: this two year old had been reluctant to wear her 481 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: new two piece bathing suit because of her two male 482 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: cousins who were like kind of teasing her about it. 483 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,880 Speaker 1: And from there the day unfolded exactly like in the song. 484 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: So the girl is first hiding in the locker room, 485 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,640 Speaker 1: then bumbling up in a blanket and ultimately wading into 486 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: the water, and the song's catchy chorus came to Vance 487 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: on the drive home, and it was based directly on 488 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: what his daughter had been wearing, which was a yellow 489 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,879 Speaker 1: polka dot bikini. And the reason it was itsy bitsy 490 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: teeny weenye is because she was only two years old. 491 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 3: It certainly cast the song on a new light when 492 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 3: I think about it this way, But I feel like 493 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 3: something like this has to be a tough sell to 494 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:22,880 Speaker 3: the record company, right. 495 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, So apparently, after hearing the demo, the producer David 496 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: Capp thought it was too raunchy to be a hit single, 497 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: So in what must have been like a very awkward conversation, 498 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: Vance had to explain the true story behind the song, 499 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: and like, how was actually about a little girl's shyness, 500 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: not sexuality. It's just so weird. 501 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, but remind me again. For some reason, I'm having 502 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 3: a hard time remembering what happens at the end of 503 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 3: the song. 504 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: Well, the girl musters the courage to go swimming after all, 505 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: but then she leaves self conscious again and decides to 506 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,400 Speaker 1: stay in the water until everyone leaves, and she stays 507 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: so long in fact, that, as the song puts it, 508 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: the poor little girl's turning blue. 509 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 2: And so is this part based based on like real 510 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 2: life stuff or what? 511 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:03,160 Speaker 4: No? 512 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: Apparently the little girl did not turn blue that day, 513 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: but the song's unresolved ending did post some troubling questions 514 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,959 Speaker 1: like did the girl in the bikini turn blue from hypothermia? 515 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: Does she ever make it back to shore? And then 516 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: the song never really says, which is a pretty ominous 517 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: ending for a novelty song, you know. And the truth is, 518 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 1: we are not the first people to think that it 519 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,920 Speaker 1: was ominous, and in fact, less than a month after 520 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: the song hit number one, this singer named jerry Lynn 521 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:34,080 Speaker 1: Fraser was so bothered by the ambiguous ending that she 522 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: wrote a follow up song to fill in some of 523 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: the blanks. And you can take a listen here for. 524 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 4: Six eight tell us please don't make us wait? 525 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, just because you what is it? 526 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:55,920 Speaker 4: Because? Sorry? 527 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:00,199 Speaker 1: And so cute. 528 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 3: So the bikini girl is named Begonia and she turned 529 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 3: blue because she caught pneumonia. 530 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: I guess. And this cute ending that Fraser references is 531 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: that Bigonia is eventually rescued by a lifeguard and winds 532 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,159 Speaker 1: up getting engaged to him. Apparently she had no reason 533 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:17,760 Speaker 1: to be modest. 534 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,639 Speaker 2: After all, you weren't kidding about this song being surprising. 535 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 2: I mean, this. 536 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 3: Story has like a dozen twists in all of them. 537 00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:25,880 Speaker 3: To be honest, they're vaguely disturbing. 538 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. 539 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 3: That said, it is amazing that someone took the time 540 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,920 Speaker 3: to write a fan fiction sequel to itsy bitsy teeny 541 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,879 Speaker 3: weeny yellow Polka Dot Bikini, And it really tells you 542 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,000 Speaker 3: a lot about the state of mainstream music back in 543 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 3: the nineteen sixties. But of course, novelty songs did continue 544 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 3: to top the charts in the nineteen seventies. You think 545 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 3: about songs like Kung Fu Fighting Steve Martin's King Taught, 546 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 3: of course, but by the. 547 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 2: Eighties it was harder for silly songs to catch fire 548 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 2: like they used to. 549 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,760 Speaker 1: Well, we don't want to make it sound like we 550 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,440 Speaker 1: don't have like any novelty songs anymore, right, like who 551 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 1: Let the Dogs out Right? Gungnam Style? I've heard of 552 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,640 Speaker 1: out like the modern equivalents what does the Fox Say. 553 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:05,160 Speaker 2: From Norway Classic? 554 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, me think there will always be a market for 555 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 3: novelty songs in some form, but I doubt will ever 556 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,080 Speaker 3: go back to having a steady stream of them topping 557 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 3: the charts, and honestly, considering how weird things got with 558 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 3: that bikini song, I'm not sure that's such a terrible thing. 559 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, you're probably right, But because I'm not ready to 560 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,160 Speaker 1: let the genre go just yet, what do you say 561 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: we run down a few more tracks in today's fact off. 562 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 3: All right, so we mentioned that novelty songs had kind 563 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 3: of fallen off by the nineteen eighties, but one very notable, 564 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,679 Speaker 3: very silly exception is a song called General Hospitall. It 565 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 3: was released in nineteen eighty one by a group called 566 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,879 Speaker 3: The Afternoon Delights, and as you may have guessed from 567 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,920 Speaker 3: the title, it's inspired by the long running TV soap 568 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,640 Speaker 3: opera General Hospital, which is obviously a big, big deal 569 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 3: at the time. In fact, the lyrics to the song 570 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 3: is kind of a pop rap mashup. We're mostly just 571 00:27:56,880 --> 00:27:59,840 Speaker 3: plot summaries from the show's current season. So, for example, 572 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 3: the first verse says it started out in Port Charlestown, 573 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 3: where Frank Smith's mob used to hang around. No one 574 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 3: could prove that he was a crook till Luke stole 575 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:11,119 Speaker 3: his little black book. 576 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: I am so confused by the popularity of this, and 577 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,920 Speaker 1: you kind of forget like General Hospital was a really 578 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: big part of pop culture in nineteen eighty one. Right yeah, I. 579 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:22,439 Speaker 3: Mean so the show had been on the air for 580 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,159 Speaker 3: eighteen years by that point, but its ratings were at 581 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 3: an all time high, and this was thanks to the 582 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 3: popularity of the show's signature super couple that would be, 583 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 3: of course, Luke and Laura. A lot of our younger 584 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 3: listeners are like, no idea what you're talking about, but 585 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 3: their wedding was, of course a major TV event, but 586 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,160 Speaker 3: still like. 587 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,160 Speaker 1: A radio friendly rap song that recaps episodes of General Hospital, 588 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: Like who's that even for? 589 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,480 Speaker 2: I don't know why this isn't a big deal to you, Maga, 590 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 2: it turns out everybody. 591 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 3: So the song peaked at number thirty three on the 592 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 3: Billboard Hot one hundred chart, and the single actually sold 593 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 3: nearly a million copies. 594 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: That is insane. So we mentioned Kung Fu Fighting a 595 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 1: few minutes ago, which, of course is that incredibly catchy 596 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: but also a problematic disco song about Chinese martial arts. 597 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: It was written and recorded by a Jamaican born British singer. 598 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:11,520 Speaker 1: His name was Carl Douglas, and this was back in 599 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,600 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy four, it spent two weeks at number one 600 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,920 Speaker 1: on the US Singles Chart. The track also went on 601 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: to sell more than eleven million copies worldwide, making it 602 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: one of the best selling singles in music history. And 603 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 1: all that success was despite the fact that Douglas knew 604 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:33,120 Speaker 1: pretty much nothing about martial arts or Chinese culture, you know, 605 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: which is abundantly clear if you actually listened to the song. Yeah, 606 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: but the singer did know that martial arts films were 607 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: incredibly popular at the time, kind of like the monster 608 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,640 Speaker 1: movies we referenced before. And after walking past a group 609 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: of kids shadow boxing in London, he thought to himself, Wow, 610 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: it looks like everyone is kung fu fighting, and that 611 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:53,520 Speaker 1: phrase stuck in his head and before he knew it, 612 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 1: he'd written an entire song about an imaginary gang fight 613 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: in Chinatown. Now. Amazingly, the song appeal didn't stop at 614 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: the UK and the US in nineteen seventy five. It 615 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: went on to top the charts in ten more countries Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, 616 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and West Germany. But 617 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,560 Speaker 1: one place where the song was not well received China, China. 618 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 2: I'm I don't think that was tough to guess that one, 619 00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 2: all right. 620 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 4: Well. 621 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 3: Another seventies song that we only mentioned in Passing is 622 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 3: Ray stephens lowbrow chart topper, The Streak, And like Kung 623 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,280 Speaker 3: Fu Fighting, it was also inspired by a popular trend 624 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 3: at the time, and this was running naked through public gatherings. 625 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 3: Such a weird fad there, the streaking epidemic spread all 626 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 3: over the country in the early nineteen seventies with cheeky 627 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 3: exhibitionists this robing in all manner of public places. You 628 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 3: have them on college campuses, at movie theaters, and of course, 629 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 3: most famously, at big sporting events. Now, Ray Stevens wasn't 630 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 3: the first to capitalize on the fad by writing a 631 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 3: song about it. In fact, there had already been about 632 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,520 Speaker 3: a dozen different records about streaking by the time this 633 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 3: was released. Stephen's take Out paced all the others, rose 634 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 3: to number one on the Singles chart and sold five 635 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,960 Speaker 3: million copies. Now, the success wasn't due so much to 636 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 3: the songwriting. I mean, if you look at some of 637 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 3: the lyrics, they included lines like He's just as proud 638 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,959 Speaker 3: as he can be of his anatomy. He's gonna give 639 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 3: us a peek. It was actually really more because the 640 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 3: song's release happened to coincide with one of the most 641 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 3: high profile streaks in history. This was just five days 642 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 3: after the track debuted on Nashville radio stations. Advertising executive 643 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 3: Robert Opele ran naked across the stage during the live 644 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 3: telecast of the. 645 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,120 Speaker 2: Nineteen seventy four Academy Awards. 646 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 3: The Oscar streak has become an infamous moment in pop 647 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 3: culture history and helped propel Steven's corny little song into 648 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:44,560 Speaker 3: one of the biggest hits of the year. 649 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 2: That is amazing. 650 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: All right, Well, here's a weird one that's much more 651 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,160 Speaker 1: sweet and innocent. It is a novelty song about a 652 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: dairy cow named Elm farm Allie, who, back in nineteen 653 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: thirty became the first of her species to be flown 654 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: and milked in an airplane. 655 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 2: Wait, she was milked while airborne. 656 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,640 Speaker 1: Milked mid air. And because I know you're wondering, yes, 657 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: there was a reason for doing this. In fact, there 658 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,400 Speaker 1: were two reasons. First, the flight was a publicity stunt 659 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,200 Speaker 1: meant to get rural Americans interested in the fledgling aviation industry, 660 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,560 Speaker 1: and I guess the idea was to show them that 661 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 1: airplanes could be used to transport livestock between towns, though 662 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: obviously the concept never really caught on. But the second 663 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: motivation for putting a cow on an airplane was slightly weirder. Apparently, 664 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: scientists wanted to observe the cow's behavior as a way 665 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,520 Speaker 1: to determine the effects of flights on animals, and in particular, 666 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: they were curious of flying would impact a cow's ability 667 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 1: to produce milk and did it. Nope, altitude had zero 668 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 1: effect on all these milk production, and over the course 669 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,400 Speaker 1: of a short flight from Bismarck to Saint Louis, the 670 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: cow produced a wopping twenty four quarts of milk. And then, 671 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,920 Speaker 1: because none of this was silly enough already, all of 672 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: that milk was carefully bottled and packed into paper cartons, 673 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: which were then dropped from a plane with little parachutes 674 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:06,959 Speaker 1: attached as it flew over as Saint Louis. 675 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:10,000 Speaker 2: Is incredible And there's a song about this. 676 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it's pretty niche compared to most of 677 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: the ones we've talked about today. It was composed and 678 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: recorded back in nineteen ninety by a guy named Barry Levinson, 679 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,640 Speaker 1: who later became the founder and curator of the National 680 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 1: Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin. 681 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 2: I mean, this just keeps getting better. 682 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: He actually wrote an operetta celebrating the cow's life and achievements. 683 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,960 Speaker 1: It's an epic eight and a half minute medley called 684 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 1: Madam Butterfat Bovine Cantata in B flat major. It's worth 685 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: seeking out for yourself. But my favorite part is the 686 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 1: closing section, which is set to the tune of Beethoven's 687 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 1: Ode to Joy. It goes sing, we praises of that 688 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 1: moo cow airborne once and evermore, kindness, courage, butter, cream, cheese, 689 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:55,920 Speaker 1: These fine things we can't ignore. 690 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,400 Speaker 3: We've shared some really special Lyricsreica. 691 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 2: You know, it's so weird. 692 00:34:01,360 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 3: I honestly don't think I could top that story if 693 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 3: I wanted to, And actually I don't want to, you know, 694 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 3: out of respect for Alie. 695 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:10,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I will happily take the trophy this week. 696 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,479 Speaker 1: This one's for Barry, who is clearly living his best 697 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:15,240 Speaker 1: life over there at the Muster Museum. 698 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,319 Speaker 2: Absolutely Barry is the real winner here. 699 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:19,000 Speaker 3: But that's going to do it for today's Part Time 700 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 3: Genius from Mary Gabe, Dylan Mango and me. 701 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening now. 702 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,320 Speaker 3: If you enjoy the show, come find us on Instagram 703 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 3: and be sure to tune in next week for a 704 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,840 Speaker 3: very special PTG event from Monday to Friday. All week long, 705 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 3: we're going to be counting down our favorite scientific breakthroughs 706 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,280 Speaker 3: of the past twenty five years. 707 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:39,680 Speaker 1: Honestly, it's going to be so much fun. We're running quizzes, 708 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: we're giving out so many prizes, and we've even commissioned 709 00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 1: our own original novelty song about particles and physics. You 710 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,000 Speaker 1: are not going to want to miss it, so please 711 00:34:49,120 --> 00:35:05,239 Speaker 1: tune in and thank you, as always for listening. Part 712 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: Time Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This 713 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,480 Speaker 1: show is hosted by Will. 714 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 2: Pearson and Me, Mongish. 715 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 1: Chatikler, and research by our goodpal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's 716 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: episode was engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan, 717 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: with support from Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced 718 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:27,800 Speaker 1: for iHeart by Katrina Norvell and Ali Perry, with social 719 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:32,240 Speaker 1: media support from Sasha Gay Trustee Dara Potts and Viny Shorey. 720 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 721 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:53,279 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.