First of all, please accept my apology for my recent absence. A few of you emailed to ask if the blog was over, and it’s nice to know that a few lovely souls actually read this thing! I assured those who asked that I was simply taking a little break, and I promised that the blog would return soon. And here it is!
I actually did a lot in the last month– my band played two huge shows, I saw The Who and Rush on their (supposed) farewell tours, and I even did some yardwork (those who know me understand exactly how shocking it is to see my whacking weeds). But now it’s time to get back to blog business, and I’m happy to start off with one of my all-time favorite records: the 1975 K-Tel compilation entitled Goofy Greats!
I adored this record as a child. I have vivid memories of playing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and dressing my poor dog Snowball up as the lion (construction paper and tape were handy tools), and I was jamming out to “Mah Nà Mah Nà” long before The Muppets made it cool to do so. I managed to hold on to my original copy of Goofy Greats for a very long time, but I lost track of it around 1981 or so. In the late ’90s, I found a great used copy at my local Half Price Books and joyously revisited the anthems of my youth. When 2007 rolled around and I finally acquired the ability to transfer vinyl into digital files, Goofy Greats was the first album I ripped. I still had some of those original mp3s in all of their crappy 128 kbps glory up until yesterday, when I decided to painstakingly recreate this kitschy classic using the best audio sources available (and we all know that ain’t a K-Tel record). Some of the songs below were ripped from CD, some were downloaded, and two lucky tracks that you just can’t find anywhere else received new rips from the actual Goofy Greats LP.
I hope you enjoy this record as much as I do. And if you don’t, just play it for your kids– you know they’ll love it. Just be kind to animals and hide the family pet before you do so, OK?
Goofy Greats
K-Tel Records, 1975
1. The Royal Guardsmen: “Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron” (Holler)
2. Brian Hyland: “Itsby Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini” (Vance/Pockriss)
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini
3. The Newbeats: “Bread And Butter” (Parks/Turnbow)
4. The Fendermen: “Mule Skinner Blues” (Rodgers/Vaughan)
5. Bobby Day: “Rockin’ Robin” (Thomas)
6. The Hollywood Argyles: “Alley Oop” (Frazier)
7. Johnny Thunder: “Loop De Loop” (Dong/Vann)
8. Ohio Express: “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” (Resnick/Levine)
9. George Baker Selection: “Little Green Bag” (Visser/Bouwens)
10. The Tokens: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (Weiss/Peretti/Stanton/Creatore)
11. The Trashmen: “Surfin’ Bird” (Frazier/White/Harris/Wilson, Jr.)
12. Ohio Express: “Chewy, Chewy” (Resnick)
13. Ray Stevens: “Ahab The Arab” (Stevens)
14. Shirley Ellis: “The Name Game” (Ellis/Chase)
15. The Lemon Pipers: “Green Tambourine” (Leka/Pinz)
16. 1910 Fruitgum Company: “Simon Says” (Chiprut)
17. Piero Umiliani: “Mah Nà Mah Nà” (Umiliani)
18. Bill Haley & The Comets: “See You Later, Alligator” (Guidry)*
19. The Playmates: “Beep, Beep” (Cicchetti/Claps)*
20. Jewel Akens: “The Birds And The Bees” (Stuart)
21. The Lovin’ Spoonful: “Nashville Cats” (Sebastian)
22. Larry Verne: “Mr. Custer” (Darian/Delory/Van Winkle)
23. Larry Williams: “Bony Moronie” (Williams)
24. 1910 Fruitgum Company: “1, 2, 3 Red Light” (Trimachi/Trimachi)
* vinyl rips courtesy of the Analog Kid
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Bonus Tracks!
The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.
The Muppets: “Mahna Mahna” (Umiliani)
From the album The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, And More!
Rhino Records, 2002
The Analog Kid 
So cool. Worth it just for “Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Bread and Butter”, but the other songs are kitschy gems too. Whenever I hear “Surfin’ Bird” I see that tracking shot of news guys filming the marines in the Kubrick flick, Full Metal Jacket. This album also reminds me of a crazy album I had as a kid. I think it was called “Loony Tunes” or something: “Transfusion”, “Hello Mother (Camp Granada)”, “The Streak” and that song “Little Red Riding Hood” (if that is the title?) I played that crazy album day and night when I was eight. Great stuff as usual.
Got it on cd
PS: Congratulations on the shows with your band (and on seeing Rush and the Who so close together. I think that’s Nirvana). But please, please, please don’t ever close up shop. This blog is the best thing on the Internet. I tell everyone I know about it, particularly all other the music nuts in my life. This place never fails to put a smile on my face. And it’s not just the esoteric tunes and rare blasts from the past. It’s the blogging itself. Your blend of off-the-cuff humor and sincere passion for the tunes is damn refreshing. There was a time when music meant everything to me – and a lot of other people I know – and your blog reminds me of that in the best possible way. This flame can never go out. I’ll bring the butane!
Mike,
That was the first album I ever owned. It was lost in one of the ever so many moves as a kid. I listened To it excessively. I still try to remember the songs and the words. It had Ahab the Arab, Mr. Custer, Beep Beep, and a ton of other odd but fabulous songs.
I’m looking for the exact one that has been lost to me but in CD form. Can you tell me where you found yours? Maybe I could find the original of the one that I had called “Goofy Greats”.
Jamie
Hi Jamie Yes I have it were do u live I may send u a copy
yes I have it on cd email at mike_whitman@hotmail.com
Ha! Just found your site today. I inherited this album from my grandfather and just gave it to my sister for her vinyl collection. Loved it.