Dickie Goodman | |
|---|---|
 Goodman on the cover of The King of Novelty by Jon Goodman | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1934-04-19)April 19, 1934 |
| Died | November 6, 1989(1989-11-06) (aged 55) North Carolina, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, producer, comic |
| Instrument | Spoken voice |
| Years active | 1952–1988 |
Richard Dorian “Dickie” Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989)[1] was an American musician and record producer. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precursor tosampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on hisnovelty records. He also wrote and produced some original material, most often heard on the B-sides of his break-in records.
Dickie Goodman's first known release came in 1952, when he was just 18 years old. Under the name "Dick Good",Chess Records released his version ofJohnny Standley's comic monologue "It's in the Book".[2]
In June 1956, in partnership withBill Buchanan, he made his first hit record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & 2", a take-off ofOrson Welles'War of the Worlds.[3][4] This recording was the subject of acopyright infringement case against Goodman.[5] The court ruled that his sampled mix was a parody and thus an entirely new work.[6] The single peaked at No. 3 onBillboard and was Goodman's highest-charting single.
Since Part 2 was on the B side of the vinyl record, Disc Jockeys had to flip the record over to complete the broadcast of the two tracks. Hence the recording(s) became known as "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 and 2." While other famous music artists have charted flip sides of records containing a completely different and separate song, it was extremely rare to chart with two sides of a record with it only being considered as one. Two months later, there was a re-release as "Back To Earth".
Buchanan and Goodman followed up with other records. "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial", originally entitled "Public Opinion", reached #80 in 1956. "Banana Boat Story" featured the duo using a song, the Tarriers' "Banana Boat Song", as a break-in spoof of broadcast commercials. "Flying Saucer the 2nd" reached #18 in 1957, "Santa and the Satellite (Parts I & II)" reached #32 in 1957, and "Frankenstein Of `59" / "Frankenstein Returns" was released in February 1959. The two men ended their partnership in 1959.
There were some lawsuits filed against Buchanan and Goodman for the use of unlicensed materials. They had operated their business from a telephone booth at a pharmacy. Although they got richer, the court cases ate up the profits.[7]
In 1959, collaborating with Mickey Shorr under the names Spencer and Spencer, Goodman recorded two singles which relied much less on sampling and more onsketch comedy. "Russian Bandstand" was a re-imagining of the TV seriesAmerican Bandstand set in theSoviet Union. "Stagger Lawrence" imposedLloyd Price's recording of "Stagger Lee" onto a spoof ofThe Lawrence Welk Show, borrowing heavily from an earlier Welk parody done byStan Freberg. Neither recording was as popular as the recordings Goodman made with Buchanan.
Starting in 1961 as a solo artist, Dickie Goodman scored threeBillboard Hot 100 hits based on the hit TV seriesThe Untouchables: "The Touchables" (#60), "The Touchables in Brooklyn" (#42), and "Santa and the Touchables" (#99). He also performed several of his own Halloween-themed songs with Rori; eventually these were released as an album, the most successful track being "Horror Movies", about favorite pop culture movie monsters. The song has recently been revived as background music in several films and venues, includingAdam Sandler'sHubie Halloween onNetflix,Amazon Prime seriesThe Lake,Disney/HULU seriesExtraordinary and Universal Orlando's Halloween Nights.
In 1962, Goodman spoofedBen Casey with "Ben Crazy" (#44 onBillboard). In 1966, his spoof ofBatman resulted in "Batman & His Grandmother" (#70). He also released a full album,The Many Heads Of Dickie Goodman, which included most of his break-ins to date.
In 1963 while working at 20th Century Fox Records, Goodman recorded (John F Kennedy The Presidential Years), a tribute composed of Kennedy's famous speeches. It was named number eight ofBillboard's "Albums of the Year." and has been archived by The Henry Ford Museum.
In 1964, Goodman switched from break-in records to parodies and recorded an album calledMy Son the Joke. The title was a take-off ofAllan Sherman popular comedy records. Goodman's material was more risque than Sherman's, with such songs as "Harry's Jockstrap", featuring his wife Susan, to the tune of "Frère Jacques"). The album failed to chart.
In the late 1960s, Goodman recorded a mostly musical album featuring his wife, entitledDickie Goodman and His Wife Susan. Goodman sang on one track on the record, "Never Play Poker with a Man Named Doc (or Eat at a Place Called Mom's)", paraphrasingNelson Algren's novelA Walk on the Wild Side). He produced two break-in style pieces and his wife sang the rest of the songs.
In 1969, Goodman parodied the political unrest on college campuses with "On Campus" (#45 onBillboard) and thefirst Moon landing with "Luna Trip" (#95).Vik Venus's "Moonflight", which imitated Goodman's break-in style, reached #38 on 9 August 1969, much higher than "On Campus" one week after the latter peaked. Goodman's records also inspiredKQV morning disc jockey Bob DeCarlo's top 10 hit "Convention '72" under the namethe Delegates. Goodman himself spoofed political issues such as theWatergate scandal with "Watergrate" (#42 in 1973), the energy crisis with "Energy Crisis '74" (#33 in 1974), andRichard Nixon with "Mr. President" (#73 in 1974). Goodman released a different version of "Mr. President" in 1981 afterRonald Reagan became president, but this recording did not chart.
Goodman also produced recordings for other acts.John & Ernest's "Superfly Meets Shaft" (#31 in 1973), while made for a black audience, retained Goodman's "break-in" format. He created the Glass Bottle, a pop band, primarily as an advertising ploy to promote glass bottles, which soda companies were replacing with plastic bottles. The Glass Bottle recorded two singles, both straight pop songs; one of them, "I Ain't Got Time Anymore", hit #36 in 1971. In 1974, Goodman anonymously releasedScrewy T.V., an album of risque parodies of then-popular TV shows. This album proved less popular thanMy Son the Joke, as many record shops kept it "under the counter" because its cover showed two nude models (reportedly Susan and Dickie Goodman themselves) seen from the rear.
In 1975, Goodman parodied the filmJaws with "Mr. Jaws" (#4 onBillboard). It was his biggest-selling record, earning aR.I.A.A.gold record in September 1975.[8] The record shot to No. 1 on 11 October 1975 on Chicago'sWLS,[9] who played a customized version featuring "This is Dickie Goodman at WLS ..." at the beginning. "Mr. Jaws" also charted in the Top Ten in Great Britain and won aJuno Award in Canada.
Goodman's final chart record was "Kong" (#48 onBillboard in 1977), a spoof of the 1976 remake ofKing Kong. It was followed by others that failed to make the Top 100. "Hey ET", based onSpielberg's movieE.T. the Extraterrestrial, was Dickie Goodman's last release to reach Billboard's Bubbling Under chart (Top 200). Altogether, Goodman charted seventeen hits, with five of them reaching thetop 40.Joel Whitburn'sTop Pop Singles listed Dickie Goodman'sBillboard ranking at #1 (17 in the Top 100) for Comedy, andGuinness World Records certified him for the most charted comedy hits (seventeen) onBillboard.[10] Goodman produced several other break-in records which garnered airplay and charted only in a few regions, including Los Angeles and New York City.
Luniverse, Goodman'srecord label, also featured works by other artists, including theDel-Vikings.[11][12] Among his other labels were Eldorado (mostly used for singers like Joann Campbell), All Star (also used for singers and bands), Novelty, Comic, Cash, Rainy Wednesday, Oron, Ramgo (created with his new partner, Bill Ramal), M.D., JMD, Shark, Wacko, Extran and Goodname.
Goodman's break-in records were themselves spoofed byAlbert Brooks in a comedy bit called "Party from Outer Space."
In 2001 Dickie Goodman was awarded a posthumous GRAMMY award from NARAS for his original hit, The Flying Saucer Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 thanks to its inclusion by RHINO Records President, Richard Foos on Brain In A Box: The Science Fiction Collection.
Goodman died inNorth Carolina from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[13] He is survived by his two sons, Jon and Jed, and his daughter Jane. In 2000, Jon releasedThe King of Novelty, a biography of Dickie's life and work, along with autobiographical material. The book also contains the most comprehensive chronology of Dickie Goodman's records, including CD re-releases. The entire repertoire is now available from Jon Goodman Publishing on all of the major music download and streaming sites.
| Date | Record title | Billboard chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| July 25, 1956 | "The Flying Saucer Part 1 / "The Flying Saucer Part 2" | 3 |
| November 7, 1956 | "Buchanan & Goodman on Trial" / "Crazy" | 80 |
| "The Banana Boat Story" / "Mystery (In Slow-Motion)" | — | |
| July 13, 1957 | "Flying Saucer the 2nd" / "Martian Melody" | 18 |
| December 14, 1957 | "Santa and the Satellite" | 32 |
| 1958 | "The Flying Saucer Goes West" / "Saucer Serenade" | — |
| 1959 | "Flying Saucer the Third" / "The Cha Cha Lesson" | — |
| 1959 | "Frankenstein of '59" / "Frankenstein Returns" | — |
| Date | Record title | Billboard chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| March 1959 | "Stagger Lawrence" / "Stroganoff Cha Cha" | — |
| May 18, 1959 | "Russian Bandstand" / "Brass Wail" | 91 |
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)| International | |
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