"Shaving Cream" | |
---|---|
Single by Benny Bell | |
from the album Shaving Cream | |
B-side | "The Girl From Chicago" |
Released | 1975 |
Recorded | 1946 |
Genre | Novelty/party record |
Length | 2:40 |
Label | Vanguard |
Songwriter(s) | Benny Bell |
Producer(s) | Benny Bell |
"Shaving Cream" is a song written by Benny Bell in 1946, and originally sung by Paul Wynn. [1] It is a novelty song in which each verse ends with a mind rhyme of shit , the initial sh- segueing into the refrain, "Shaving Cream".
An example of this can be found in the opening verse:
The original version of "Shaving Cream" was issued on Bell's Cocktail Party Songs record label in 1946, with Phil Winston on vocals under the pseudonym Paul Wynn, and, as that name was also used by Bell, Winston's version has often been mistaken for Bell's, and has appeared on Benny Bell compilation albums more frequently than Bell's own version.
After the song began to be played on the Dr. Demento radio show in the 1970s, disc jockey Bruce Morrow on WNBC radio in New York also played it, resulting in "Shaving Cream" becoming the station's most requested record during the last week of 1974. [2] Vanguard Records reissued the song in 1975, and it became a hit, peaking at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Early copies of the 1975 Vanguard single credited Bell as the performer. [3] However, after controversy ensued, the same recording was re-released with revised labels crediting Paul Wynn as performer.
A remake of "Shaving Cream" performed as a duet with Dr. Demento was released on the albums Dr. Demento's Dementia Royale and Dr. Demento's 25th Anniversary Collection. Dr. Demento occasionally performed the song live in concert with "Weird Al" Yankovic's band (Yankovic playing accordion). Another 1970s cover version was recorded by a soca group, The Fabulous Five.
Dave Van Ronk performed this song at his shows over the years, and a version is included on the CD of rarities, The Mayor of MacDougal Street. He modifies the trick of the song by changing the last line to "stick your head in a bucket of shit" rather than "a bucket of shaving cream".
On the 2017 revival of The Gong Show , this song was performed as an intermission partway through each show, and was sung in audience sing-along fashion, led by a staff performer named Albert. [4] [5] However, the segment was discontinued in season two.
Barret Eugene Hansen, known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present. Hansen created the Demento persona in 1970 while working at the Pasadena, California, station KPPC-FM. After he once played "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus on the radio, DJ "The Obscene" Steven Clean said that Hansen had to be "demented" to play it; this event inspired his stage name. His weekly show went into syndication in 1974 and was syndicated by the Westwood One Radio Network from 1978 to 1992. Broadcast syndication of the show ended on June 6, 2010, but the show continues to be produced weekly in an online version.
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.
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Dare to Be Stupid is the third studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the album was Yankovic's first studio album released following the success of 1984's In 3-D, which included the Top 40 single "Eat It".
"Weird Al" Yankovic is the debut studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The album was the first of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Mostly recorded in March 1982, the album was released by Rock 'n Roll Records as an LP and on Compact Cassette in 1983.
Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal jazz, folk, and blues musicians. The Bach Guild was a subsidiary label.
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Benny Bell was an American singer-songwriter who reached popularity in the 1940s, with a comeback in the 1970s. He is remembered for his risqué but cheerfully optimistic songs.
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Another One Rides the Bus is the debut extended play (EP) by American parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released in 1981 by Placebo Records. The title song is a parody of English rock band Queen's 1980 single "Another One Bites the Dust". The EP also features three other songs, all of which are original recordings. All four songs on Another One Rides the Bus later appeared on Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album; the three original songs were re-recorded for the album, while the title song is the same version that appears on the EP.
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