I imagine writing a song is much like writing a column or a poem. Sometimes thoughts can come very quickly and other times a person may work for many hours to get just what they want.
In the 1964 movie Your Cheatin' Heart about Hank Williams, publisher Fred Rose wants to see if Hank could really write a song. Hank came up with the words to his very popular hit "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You" in just a very few hours; it might not have happened exactly that way but it was a memorable scene from the movie. Hank was one of country music's earliest superstars, yet because of his excessive drinking he was also one of the most troubled. In another memorable scene Hank was appearing at the "Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, he staggered up to the microphone and blew into it and then said "Well it works, now let's see if I do."
George Hamilton gave a very good performance as Hank in the movie, Susan Oliver played his wife Audrey. One of the old-time character actors who appeared in one scene of that movie, Guy Wilkerson, happened to have been born in Whitewright. Also in the movie, Hank Williams, Jr. sang the songs that were made popular by his dad. Hank, Jr. was 15 at the time.
In 1980 I was fortunate to get to spend part of two days with Hank Williams, Jr. and his manager Merle Kilgore, I'll never forget that. Merle told me that he had known Hank and he thought Hank, Jr. was actually a better songwriter than his dad -- that could start a long debate. Merle was an excellent songwriter himself; he wrote Johnny Horton's song "Johnny Reb" and he wrote Claude King's signature song "Woolverton Mountain." Merle was also a co-writer of "Ring of Fire" for Johnny Cash, Merle passed away in 2005.
The other morning I was listening to WSM radio from Nashville when I heard a Hank Williams, Jr. song I had never heard before that coincidentally he wrote in 1980. I thought then I would like to get in touch with Hank, Jr. and remind him of that time I met him. Right after that, a friend told me that just a few days earlier Hank, Jr's daughter had been killed in a car accident. I will wait until later in the year when hopefully I can recall for him those two days in 1980 and also express my condolences to him for the loss of his daughter.
Jerry Hunter was a classmate and close friend of mine. He was a very talented pianist who wrote many country songs (some funny and some serious) but unfortunately none became a major hit.
Another classmate was Gordon Eatherly who lived in Nashville for many years, he wrote "Dallas Days and Fort Worth Nights" for country and western singer Chris LeDoux who passed away in 2005. Chris lived in Denison at one time and attended school there. His most popular song was "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy?" Besides being known as a singer, Chris was a true cowboy.
"I Bought The Shoes That Just Walked Out On Me" - Wynn Stewart. Wynn also wrote a very nice more serious song titled "It's Such a Pretty World Today."
"If My Nose Was Running Money I'd Blow It All On You" - Mike Snider. For many years Mike has been a regular performer on the "Grand Ole Opry."
"If You Don't Believe I Love You Just Ask My Wife" - Gary P. Nunn
"If You Won't Leave Me I'll Find Somebody Who Will" - Warren Zevon.
"I'm So Miserable Without You It's Almost Like Having You Around" - Billy Walker
"I've Got Tears In My Ears From Lying On My Back In Bed Crying Over You" - Homer & Jethro, this comedy duo appeared on the "Grand Ole Opry" for many years.
"May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" - Little Jimmy Dickens, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and also a long time performer on the Grand Ole Opry. He passed away in 2015 at age 94, his first wife Ernestine was killed on New Year's Day 1968 in a traffic accident on Highway 1417 in Sherman. Ernestine had been here to visit some friends who were stationed at Perrin Field, she was on her way to Love Field in Dallas to catch a plane back to Nashville when the car she was driving went off a steep embankment on the east side of Highway 1417 just north of what was then Highway 82. I remember that day very well. I was an auxiliary police officer and Sgt. Arnold and I were the first ones to answer the call. I was also supposed to have been working with Sgt. Arnold in December of 1969 when he walked in on a service station robbery early one morning and was shot and killed. I wrote about that incident in an earlier column. Sgt. Arnold and I were good friends and I still miss him. I think when you lose a close friend or a family member, you never really get over the loss. In time, you learn to accept it as part of "God's Plan."
"Doo Wacka Doo" - Roger Miller was one of Nashville's most talented songwriters, his biggest hit was "King Of The Road." He also wrote "Dang Me," "My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died," "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd," as well as many others.
"She Got The Goldmine, I Got The Shaft" - Jerry Reed. Jerry wrote many hit songs including "Guitar Man" which became a hit for Elvis Presley.
"Thank God And Greyhound She's Gone" - Roy Clark. This is a song that starts out like it's going to be serious but that changes very quickly, For many years Roy lived not too far away in Tulsa. He passed away in 2018. The very talented musician is probably best known for co-hosting the "Hee-Haw" television show. The other host was Alvis Edgar (Buck) Owens, who was born in Sherman; he still had relatives here and came back for visits from time to time until his passing in 2006.
"Thanks To The Cathouse I'm In The Doghouse With You" - Johnny Paycheck.
Johnny Paycheck's most popular song was "Take This Job and Shove It."
"Unwound" - George Strait. His first hit is remembered not so much for the title but for the line that says "the woman I had wrapped around my finger just came unwound."
"You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly " - Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. Conway and Loretta were each known for having many hit songs, both individually and as singing partners. Conway's stage name came from the towns of Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas, his real name was Harold Jenkins.
When writing this column I found out that most every generation has had their share of songs with very unusual titles.
"Flat Foot Floogie With A Floy Floy" - written in 1938 and performed by Slim Gaillard and Slam Stewart.
"I'm Looking For A Guy who Plays Alto and Clarinet and Double as a Baritone and Wears A Size 37 Suit" - Ozzie Nelson. Before the Ozzie and Harriet radio and television shows, Ozzie was a bandleader and singer.
"Mairzy Doats" - Milton Drake wrote that in 1943.
Many more recent songs with funny titles are country songs, however there are some others listed below that are not country and can be classified as just novelty songs:
"Blow Smoke On Your Kangaroo" - Billy Joe Burnette. Despite the strange title, this is a pleasant little song with a good tune.
"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor on The Bedpost Overnight?" - Lonnie Donnegan
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" - Allen Sherman. This was a very funny comedy song about a boy at camp.
"Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green And Purple Pills" - Ray Stephens. Ray is mostly known for his novelty songs, however he also wrote "Everything Is Beautiful" which is just a nice feel-good song. His song "The Streak" was a big hit in 1974 during the height of the streaking fad.
"My Boomerang Won't Come Back" - Rolf Harris. With that title it sounds like he may be from Australia and that happens to be just where he is from. Another song that became a hit for him is titled "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport."
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" - this song is from the 1964 Disney musical hit Mary Poppins. In the movie, it was sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
"The Monster Mash" - Bobby (Boris) Pickett This song came out in 1962 and is still heard on many radio stations across the country every Halloween.
"The Purple People Eater" in 1957 was a very big hit for Sheb Wooley. Sheb recorded some other funny songs under the name Ben Colder. He and Clint Eastwood were in the popular television show Rawhide. In 1980 Clint Eastwood and Merle Haggard had a hit song titled "Bar Room Buddies."
It seems like there were a lot of novelty songs in the '50s and '60s; of course back then we also had songs with sensible titles like "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy," "Papa Ooo Mow Mow," "Who Put the Bomp," and a few others.
I've really listed just a very few of the funny song titles. Those above are some of the ones I remember. I once saw an article about funny song titles and it was just a list; it was fun to read, but, being just a list, it was kind of like reading a phonebook.
Some young people today may not know about phonebooks. I thought by adding a little trivia about some of the songs it might be like longtime popular radio and television commentator Paul Harvey telling "the rest of the story."
If you have any comments or questions my e-mail address is deh63shs@yahoo.com.
The Link LonkJuly 12, 2020 at 07:46AM
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Funny song titles - North Texas e-News
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Funny
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