Dickie Goodman

All Music Guide:

Although Weird Al Yankovic gets most of the credit for popularizing novelty songs and parodies, the godfather of the genre is unquestionably Dickie Goodman. Born on April 19, 1934, in Hewlett, NY, Goodman first came to the attention of the record-buying public in the '50s, when he scored a major hit with "The Flying Saucer," a song that nearly topped the U.S. pop charts (peaking at number three in 1956). As with all of Goodman's ensuing parodies, he used a then-unique method of sampling: he would act as a "reporter," while the responses from the "people" he was interviewing would be lines from pop artist's songs. Despite its success, Goodman's first hit caused some controversy when 17 different labels sued him for using samples without permission. But the judge in the case ultimately sided with Goodman, stating that "he had created a new work" and didn't simply copy another's work. Goodman continued to issue a steady stream of song parodies throughout the '50s and '60s (including such outlandish titles as "The Second Flying Saucer," "Touchables in Brooklyn," and "Batman and His Grandmother," among others), but failed to score another hit as big as "The Flying Saucer." But the phenomenon of the hit 1975 movie Jaws fueled Goodman's imagination, which resulted in probably his best-known song, "Mr. Jaws," which peaked on the U.S. pop charts at number four the same year and sold over 500,000 copies (Goodman's only recording to obtain gold certification). After 1977's single, "Kong," Goodman appeared to fall off the face of the earth, as he never managed to score another charting single, and he died in Fayetteville, NC, on November 6, 1989 (from an apparent suicide). Goodman's son, Jon Goodman, runs his father's estate, as his songs continue to be included on comedy compilations (especially via the Rhino label), while a biography, The King of Novelty, was issued as well. Goodman's influence continues to be felt, especially in the work of Yankovic and even radio personality Howard Stern, who has created quite a few parodies over the years patterned directly after Goodman's style. 1997 saw the release of a 39-track career overview, Greatest Fables.

Wikipedia:

Richard Dorian "Dickie" Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989) was an American music producer born in Brooklyn, New York, known for his novelty records that would sample famous songs popular at the time to humorous effect. Dickie Goodman took that first step towards sampling, remixing, and symbolic juxtaposition. He was the first performer to use fragments of other people's hits to build his own chartbusters. Whether it was a Martian with Little Richard's voice, a President copping lyrics from an Alice Cooper track, or a shark with a taste for the Bee Gees, Goodman's "snippet" records became popular Top 40 radio movies. Along the way, he battled rival publishers, record producers, copycats and America's changing musical tastes to become one of the most successful and distinctive novelty acts in the rock era.

Career

In June 1956 Goodman created his first record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & II", which he co-wrote with his partner Bill Buchanan, and featured a four-minute rewriting of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio show. This recording was the subject of a copyright infringement case against Goodman. The lawsuit was settled out of court. "The Flying Saucer" was officially released under the artist name "Buchanan and Goodman" and was Goodman's highest-charting single on Billboard, peaking at #3. Buchanan and Goodman followed up with four other records: "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial" (#80 in 1956), "Flying Saucer The 2nd" (#18 in 1957), "The Creature (From A Science Fiction Movie)" (as by Buchanan and Ancell) (#85 in 1957), and "Santa and the Satellite (Parts I & II)" (#32 in 1957).

Starting in 1961, all of Goodman's hits carried the "Dickie Goodman" label credit. Goodman scored three Billboard Hot 100 hits based on the hit TV series "The Untouchables": "The Touchables" (#60), "The Touchables In Brooklyn" (#42), and "Santa and the Touchables" (#99).

In 1962 Goodman spoofed "Ben Casey" with "Ben Crazy" (#44). In 1966 his spoof of the "Batman" resulted in "Batman & His Grandmother" (#70).

In 1969 Goodman parodied the political unrest on college campuses with "On Campus" (#45) and charted with "Luna Trip" (#95). Goodman's records also inspired KQV morning disc jockey Bob DeCarlo to cut his own sample-spliced top 10 hit "Convention '72" as by The Delegates. Goodman himself spoofed political issues such as the Watergate Scandal with "Watergrate" (#42 in 1973), the 1973 energy crisis with "Energy Crisis '74" (#33 in 1974), and Richard Nixon with "Mr. President" (#73 in 1974). Goodman failed to chart with a different version of "Mr. President" in 1981 after Ronald Reagan became President.

In 1975, Goodman parodied the movie Jaws with "Mr. Jaws" (#4 in 1975), becoming Goodman's biggest-selling record by achieving R.I.A.A. gold disc status in September 1975. WLS played a customized version instead, with the line "This is Dickie Goodman at WLS" at the beginning.

Goodman's final chart record was "Kong" (#48 in 1977), followed by others that failed to chart. Altogether Goodman charted 17 hits, with five of them reaching the Top 40.

Luniverse, Goodman's record label, featured works by other artists including the Del-Vikings.

Posthumous

In 1998, his son, Jon Goodman, supervised the issue of Greatest Fables, the first authorized CD collection of Dickie Goodman's recordings.

In 2006, Goodman's estate produced two albums: All Time Novelty Hits and Dickie Goodman's Greatest Hits.

Death

Goodman died in North Carolina in 1989 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He is survived by his two sons, Jon and Jed, and his daughter Janie.