Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #74: One-Hit Wonders, 1970
Episode Date: August 25, 2016Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- discussing, diss...ecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures. This week:Â Mungo Jerry! The versatility of Tony Burrows! Gilbert sings "Rubber Duckie"! And Mighty Manfred, the Wonder Dog! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Ah, see, I fucked it up already.
That's all right.
Are you ready?
That's some good speed there.
Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre,
and this is Gilbert and Frank's amazing, colossal obsession.
We're shooting and we're recording once again at Nutmeg,
and our engineer is Frank Ferdarosa.
All of a sudden, I turned into Walter Winchell.
What are you shouting for?
And the very disturbing Paul is here with us.
Paul Rayburn, our crack researcher.
I'm obviously making you very uncomfortable, Gilbert.
I apologize.
Would you like him to sit farther away?
He could be in the next booth.
So here's the thing, fellas.
The last time we did, I don't know when we even posted this one, but we did a one-hit wonders episode or two.
I have to see if it's one or two.
And we talked about songs from the 60s.
We started at 66 and we went all the way up to 69.
And Gilbert really came alive.
And, you know, we have to do things that wake him up.
Keep him engaged.
I'm at that age now.
This show is becoming Weekend at Gilbert's.
You got to shake your house keys from my face, from my attention.
So we thought we'd come up with something that would keep him focused and emotionally engaged.
And that's pop music from the 60s and 70s.
So here's what I dug up.
These were on Wikipedia. Wikipedia very handily
provides a list of one-hit
wonders. These are songs that charted
and by acts that
never charted again. So you have the
premise. Yes. Yeah.
So we
did it with the 60s.
Even for my feeble brain.
We did the 60s. Even for my feeble brain. We did the 60s.
This is the beginning of 1970.
People have said, come on, guys, do a music episode.
Well, these are our music episodes.
So this is February 7th, my birthday, 1970.
This is Venus by Shocking Blue.
Gilbert, does this ring any bells? Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- You're my Venus. You're the light shine of my desire.
That's it.
Something like that.
I think he knows it.
I believe that was redone by Bananarama in the 80s.
Venus by Shocking Blue went to number one in February of 1970.
And they never followed it.
They never followed it.
They never made the charts again.
Here's another one. We talked about
Tony Burroughs on a previous episode. This is
the Edison Lighthouse.
And I know you know this one.
Oh, love!
No, that's not it.
Yes, it is.
Fuck you!
How dare you doubt me?
Fuck you.
You piece of shit fucking guinea.
Fuck you.
This is why I hate the fucking guinea so much.
That's it.
He got it.
He got it.
Paul, would you call the Italian Defamation League for me?
I'm taking all this down.
You're holding a phone.
Hey, Frank, I called my Uncle Vito.
We're good.
Oh, you've offended Verterosa now.
I put in the call.
We're good.
Edison Lighthouse, Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes,
which I believe was used in the movie Shallow Hal.
Oh, yes, yes.
Yeah.
March 1970, March 28th, it came in at number five.
Here's one that everybody knows, and I know you will.
Oh, my God.
When I die and they lay me to rest, gonna go to the place that's the best. Gonna go to the place. Sort of.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it.
Now, you know what? You got it. And when I die and then I'm going up to the place that's the best.
You got it.
Gonna go to the spirit in the sky.
Very good.
That's where I'm gonna go when I die.
That's it.
What do we have about...
Best use of that in a movie, in my opinion?
What was it?
The movie Contact.
Oh, Contact.
The Robert Zemeckis movie.
Yeah. There's a whole, these one-hit
wonders, they only charted once, but
so many of them come back in movies.
Oh yeah, or TV commercials. They probably make more money when
they're in the movie than they did the first time around.
Yeah. And what you'll appreciate most
about the artist is Norman
Greenbaum, which means...
Yeah, a Jew
singing about Jesus. What do we know about
Norman Greenbaum, Paul?
Let me see what I can find.
April 18th, 1970, it came in
at number three. I got one fun fact about him.
Let's hear it, Frankie.
He is not Italian. No. Surprising.
He's from Gilbert's
tribe. I would have sworn
he was from Palermo.
Why must you malign my people?
When they do such a good job.
While Paul's looking.
Go to the next one.
Okay, well, these were the-
There are a lot of green bounds in Wikipedia.
You can't find Norman?
These were the ones that charted up to Spirit in the Sky.
Evil Woman Don't Play Games With Me by Crow.
I don't think I know that one.
Baby Take Me in Your Arms by Jefferson.
Hey There Lonely Girl.
You know that one, Eddie Holman.
Oh, hey there lonely girl, lonely girl.
That's the one.
My Bella Me by the T-Cent.
My Bella Me.
Boom, boom.
This guy did not miss a trick.
I got Norman Greenbaum.
You want to do Norman?
Okay, Norman Joel Greenbaum, American singer-songwriter,
born in 1942, lives in Malden, Massachusetts.
He's with us.
In addition to Spirit in the Sky,
you may remember his next hit, Canned Ham.
A Jewish guy singing about ham.
I can't even get it out.
He's not only singing about Jesus, but ham.
So basically his entire career was to make his parents angry.
Apparently, to get back at his parents.
It was Trafe, his career.
Yeah, that was it.
Then you had Long Lonesome Highway by Michael Parks.
The House of the Rising Sun, a frigid pink.
Frigid pink.
F-R-I-J-I-D.
Look at you.
Hey.
Tennessee Bird Walk by Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan, who sounds like a porn star.
Reflections of My Life by Marmalade.
Oh.
Da-da-da.
Yeah.
Da-da-da.
Everybody knows that one.
Do we know that one?
Oh, sure.
I didn't recognize Gilbert's version of it.
Yeah.
Well, that's the way it should have been shot.
My Baby Loves Lovin' by White Plains.
My baby loves love.
That's right.
My baby loves love.
United We Stand by the Brotherhood of Man, which was charted on July 4th, 1970.
Ride, Captain Ride by the Blues Image.
Oh, yeah.
Ride, Captain Ride upon a mystery ship.
There you go.
Be afraid of the place you find there on that trip.
He even knows the words.
I don't know how he does this.
Turn the volume down on his headphones.
Do you have any?
Right here.
Right there is the volume.
Okay, and then Mississippi Queen by Mountain.
That was a big one.
Oh, yeah.
And then this one by The Five Stairsteps.
Do I have this right, Frankie?
Ooh, Five Stairsteps.
Ooh, child.
Yeah.
Things are going to get easier.
Ooh, child.
Great one.
This is a great one.
Yeah, look at that brass section.
Ooh, child.
Things are going to get easier. Oh, child, things are going to get easier.
Oh, child, things are going to get better.
Oh, my God.
That's like the worst karaoke night in history.
You sang that originally?
That was the five stair steps.
Maybe we should keep it that way.
That was a one-hit wonder.
Why didn't those guys come back?
That was a great one.
I don't know.
They didn't have a canned ham song in them.
They didn't have a canned ham.
That chart, that was number eight.
It peaked at number eight, I should say, July 18th, 1970.
And the following hit, also July 18th, 1970.
Wow, they crisscrossed.
Reached number nine, and that was this one by the
Pipkins.
That's right, that's right, I'm sad and blue
because I can't do the
boogaloo. I'm lost, I'm lost,
can't do my thing, and that's why
I sing a gimme gimme that.
Gimme that, gimme that, gimme
gimme gimme that, gimme that thing.
Gimme that, gimme gimme that,
gimme that thing, gimme that, gimme gimme that, gimme g, gimme that thing. Gimme that, gimme, gimme that. Gimme that thing, gimme that.
Gimme, gimme that.
Gimme, gimme, gimme that thing.
That's it.
There's no stumping him.
Gilbert's is better than the original.
It is.
I think that was Tony Burrows again with the Pipkins.
What do we know about the Pipkins and gimme dat ding, Paul?
All right, let's get the Pipkins up here.
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That was followed, while Paul's looking that up, that was followed by a song of joy by Miguel Rios.
John Phillips, Mississippi. I don't know that.
Go Back by Krabby Appleton.
Oh, before I get to the Pipkins, I've been waiting for this one.
You've been waiting for Crabby Appleton?
Crabby Appleton.
Okay, here's the deal, if I can find it.
Yeah.
I've got it.
Don't move.
Do you remember the animated series Tom Terrific?
Sure.
Tom Terrific.
Early animated series.
His sidekick was Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog.
Right.
And the arch foe
was Krabby Appleton.
No kidding.
So the band stole the name
of this animated character.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Now, where was I?
Pipkins?
You were the Pipkins.
I've already forgotten
what the Pipkins did.
July 18th, 1970.
Let's see.
A Song of Joy, Mississippi, Go Back by Krabby Appleton.
Are You Ready by Pacific Gas and Electric.
August 1, 1970.
That charted at 14.
And Tighter, Tighter by Alive and Kickin', which is a song I like.
Pipkins.
What do we know about the Pippins?
Gimme Dat Ding is what that is.
It was a popular UK song of the novelty type.
I would say so.
Lay a Little Lovin' on Me by Robin McNamara, August 22nd of 1970, charted at 11.
The Sly, Slick, and the Wicked by The Lost Generation, don't know.
And then this one, September 12th, 1970. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- Jared in September. Jared in September. Mungo. Mungo Jerry. Mungo Jerry. Mungo Jerry. All right, let's check out Mungo Jerry.
Mungo Jerry.
I grew an exact replica of his mutton chops, but on my back.
Mungo Jerry.
Really?
Yeah.
What do we got on Mungo Jerry?
Mungo Jerry are a British rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s,
though they have continued with a changing lineup that has always been
fronted by Ray Dorsett.
Does this mean anything to you, Gil?
You've been following the band Mungo Jerry.
Mungo Jerry. I always liked that one.
I think that was used for a lemonade
commercial. I think that was used to
pay for summertime lemonade. In the summertime,
the other songs that I'm sure you remember are
Baby Jump and Lady
Rose. Not at all.
Right after
In the Summertime, September
26, 1970, the song that
was, oh God,
Rubber Ducky by Ernie from Sesame
Street. Rubber Ducky,
you're the one. Rubber Ducky charted.
You make bedtime lots
of fun. Oh, Rubber Ducky, I'm oh so proud of you.
There's no stumping the guy.
Now, I asked you before.
This is where Gilbert is not.
Gilbert should not be allowed to sing rubber ducky.
He is not family friendly.
You think he'll get sued?
I think so.
By CTW?
What kind of radio did you have?
I wanted to ask you.
What did you listen to these songs on?
I just remember my parents had some kind of a radio, just a desktop radio.
And I would like, I'd lie on their bed during the day and I'd like, just I'd switch the knobs around like crazy.
I'd hear one song and then I'd go, now I want to hear something else.
And it was like WABC in those days? Oh, yeah. 770? They were like, oh, they were the good guys. Right. That's right. Well,
there was Harry Harrison. Oh, yeah. And who were the other? Oh, well, Murray Kaufman. Right. Murray
the K. Yeah. Well, there was CBS FM, which was the oldie station. Yeah. And ABC played Top 40.
Oh, and there was Dan Ingram. Dan Ingram and Harry Harrison.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's what I listened to.
Oh, and I remember there used to be Frankie Crocker.
Sure.
And-
Sure.
These are all New York references for people that don't-
Somebody called me recently and said, you know who you have to have on the podcast?
Does this name mean anything to you?
Herb Oscar Anderson?
Oh, the name sounds very familiar.
DJ from way back in the day.
Wow. Okay, sounds very familiar. DJ from way back in the day. Wow.
Okay, here we go.
So after Rubber Ducky, Neanderthal Man, September of 70, Joanne by our friend Mike Nesmith.
Oh.
And the first national band, All Right Now by Free.
That was a big song.
All right now.
That charted number four.
Baby, it's all right now.
God, Love, and Rock and Roll by Teagarden and Van Winkle.
That rings a bell.
Okay.
Not much of a bell.
Well, you can look up Teagarden and Van Winkle if you want to.
Let's check them out.
And then one of my favorites, and this is one of those what they call a tragedy song.
With the police siren.
Oh, yes.
Anybody?
I like this song.
I had the 45.
Was this Johnny or Frankie or something?
No.
No name like that?
I think it's about a bank robber or somebody on the run.
Indiana wants me, but I can't go back there.
Indiana wants me, but I can't go back there. Indiana wants me, but I can't go back there.
Yep.
The immortal R. Dean Taylor.
Once I was doing a club in Indiana.
Thank you, Frank.
And I sent out a tweet, Indiana wants me, but I can't go back there.
Did you?
Yeah.
How many people got the reference?
Yeah.
So I think I was the only person who basically.
That was R. Dean Taylor.
Have you noticed, especially you guys are on headphones, as an audio engineer, all these
really old songs that are playing off of the internet streaming here,
the sound quality is still so much better
than most of what's made today.
It's true.
I don't know why that is.
Maybe you can explain that.
Well, yeah, it's got to do with the technology
and also accepting crappier material.
But all the guitars and everything
come popping through.
Even low resolution, they sound great.
Well, Venus sounded fantastic.
It all does.
It's just amazing to me how bad music sounds in the sky is the way they're mixed yeah it's just
you know everything's mostly on computers now very few people are still working on tape and
everything's really processed and it's just not though there are some really great places that
are still working with old gear but it's just not what it was. I'm just impressed hearing songs from when I was born
ripping through the speakers and sounding beautiful,
even as low-res files.
And I'll bet you never heard of half of those songs.
Have you ever heard of Indiana Wants Me?
When I was in my crib, I used to crank these things.
Okay, so Indiana Wants Me, winding down 1970,
that was number five, followed by Somebody's Been Sleeping
by 100 Proof,
as the years go by by Mashmakam, Mashmakam, and then this one, which I also owned.
Oh, oh, see, you look pretty love, great Montego Bay.
That's it.
Montego Bay.
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. Keys to the M.G. On Tigo Bay. Da-da-da-da. Da-da-da-da.
Keys to the M.G. will be in there.
Yeah.
It's sort of a reggae thing by a guy named Bobby Bloom.
Bobby Bloom on Tigo Bay.
Yeah.
What do you got?
Oh, I've got a transcript of the lyrics on my phone here.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Oh, it's about 15 ohs.
I wrote that. You wrote the song after he wrote the Indiana tweet. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, what's filling out the year was Yellow River by Christie and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years of love by the presidents.
But what continues to amaze me is like old movie theme songs, and he did all of Cinderella Liberty for Ron Leibman and Jessica Walter
the other night.
He remembers these things.
He not only remembers the tune, he remembers every goddamn lyric.
Yeah.
And I don't know how you do it.
Yeah, there's a name for that condition, I think.
What is that called?
It's very rare.
Idiot savantism.
That was fun.
So that takes us through 1970, and then when we do another one of these, we'll do 1971.
Maestro?
All right.
I'm Gilbert Gottfried.
I'm here with my co-host, Frank Santopadre and Paul Rayburn,
and this has been another episode of Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions.
It is.
R. Dean Taylor, call us. Here we go, boys.
One, two, three, four.
Give it up, Frank's Colossal Obsessions.
Give it up, Frank's Colossal Obsessions Colossal Obsessions