The Golden Age Of American Rock'n'Roll: Special Novelty Edition Various Artists (Golden Age Of American Rock and Roll)

£11.70

Genre:
Pop
Label:
Ace Records
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDCHD 980

Novelty records tapped into the fears, obsessions, fads and cultural mores of the time, using Sci-Fi, Horror movies and TV characters as their main sources of inspiration.

Deejays tired of programming wearisome ballads and repetitive rock 45s, welcomed novelty records as a means of introducing an element of surprise into their shows and this, together with positive sales, encouraged record companies to produce them in increasing quantities but there was a downside. The public were buying the songs rather than the name on the record and, in almost every case, the artists were stigmatised as one-hit wonders.

Experiments with tape speeds in the pre-digital 1950s/60s resulted in an entire sub-genre of records based on cartoon-ish voice effects. David Seville's 1958 mega-hit, Witch Doctor gave rise to Sheb Wooley's million-selling The Purple People Eater as well as lesser hits such as Jesse Lee Turner's The Little Space Girl and Rip Van Winkle by the Devotions. (Experimenting further, Seville created the Chipmunks, which he parlayed into a multi-million dollar enterprise.)

Back in 1956, two young independent producers, Buchanan and Goodman, created rock'n'roll's first novelty cut-in hit, The Flying Saucer. The inventive Goodman, who went on to make a career out of cut-ins, was also the inspiration behind Spencer and Spencer's Russian Band Stand, which sent up Russian totalitarianism at the height of the Cold War. Spoken word narratives such as Jim Backus' marvellously lascivious Delicious! and Linda Laurie's kitsch Ambrose Part 5 also proved popular.

Several titles - Yogi, Ape Call, The Little Space Girl and Ambrose Part 5 - have been digitally mastered from original tape for the first time. Previous CD re-issues of Ray Stevens' ingenious Ahab, The Arab feature the much longer LP version. The original hit 45 version is reissued here for the first time. The UK pressing of satirist Stan Freberg's The Old Payola Roll Blues Side 1 ended some 20 seconds earlier than the American version, missing the reference to payola and making nonsense of the title. We have used the American ending here.

Records such as Alley-Oop by the Hollywood Argyles and Western Movies by the Olympics, already featured in the main GA series, were left off but we've included the rare cover version of Alley-Oop by the Dyna-Sores, an R&B studio group which creamed off enough sales to become a minor hit in its own right.

These are the 30 novelty hits that counted, mastered from the best possible sources, in a lavishly illustrated, fully annotated 32-page package. Each record relates seamlessly to the next, and it is this comforting homogeneity that gives the Special Novelty Edition" an almost poetic charm. "The Golden Age Of American Rock'n'Roll" is a trademark of quality and this "Special Novelty Edition" is likely to become one of the most popular in the series. "Delicious!

By Rob Finnis

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Track listing

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Side 1

  • 01 Preview Martian Hop - The Ran-Dells

  • 02 Preview Mr Bass Man - Johnny Cymbal

  • 03 Preview I Want My Baby Back - Jimmy Cross

  • 04 Preview Baby Sittin' Boogie - Buzz Clifford

  • 05 Preview Yogi - The Ivy Three

  • 06 Preview Ape Call - Nervous Norvus

  • 07 Preview Delicious! - Jim Backus & Friend

  • 08 Preview Long Tall Texan - Murry Kellum

  • 09 Preview Mr Custer - Larry Verne

  • 10 Preview The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley

  • 11 Preview The Flying Saucer Part 1 - Buchanan & Goodman

  • 12 Preview Rip Van Winkle - The Devotions

  • 13 Preview Witch Doctor - David Seville

  • 14 Preview Russian Band Stand - Spencer & Spencer with the Sonia Pryor Choir

  • 15 Preview Beep Beep - The Playmates

  • 16 Preview More Money For You And Me - The Four Preps

  • 17 Preview The Mummy - Bob McFadden & Dor

  • 18 Preview The Blob - The Five Blobs

  • 19 Preview The Little Space Girl - Jesse Lee Turner

  • 20 Preview Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) - Edward Byrnes & Connie Stevens

  • 21 Preview Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland

  • 22 Preview Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp Bomp Bomp) - Barry Mann

  • 23 Preview Psycho - Bobby Hendricks

  • 24 Preview Ahab, The Arab - Ray Stevens

  • 25 Preview Haunted House - Gene Simmons

  • 26 Preview Alley-Oop - The Dyna-Sores

  • 27 Preview The Old Payola Roll Blues Side 1 - Stan Freberg

  • 28 Preview Ambrose Part 5 - Linda Laurie

  • 29 Preview Leader Of The Laundromat - The Detergents

  • 30 Preview They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haa! - Napoleon XIV

Delivery & Returns

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We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Press quotes

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Fantastic! ★★★★

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