Well things are just cruising along here.
#20
November 1952 - RCA 47-5099 - Screwball's Love Song /Settin' the Woods on Fire No. 2
A side is another great original novelty tune by the great Boudeleaux Bryant about the terrible and detrimental physical aspects of love. What kind of cold soulless psychic vampire could spurn someone who's "lungs are plum collapsing over them"?
B side is another song by Hank Williams. This maybe the fourth or fifth Hank Williams song somebody who doesn't know shit about Hank Williams might be able to name.
I like to think Hank approved.
April 1953 - RCA 47-5214 - Don't Let the Stars Get Your Eyeballs/Unhappy Day
This song was the one that hooked me.
"Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" was initially a #1 hit for Skeets McDonald for 18 weeks in 1952 and was consequently recorded numerous times by many many others including middle class crustless Wonder Bread cardigan fancier Perry Como and my personal pick by George Jones (who deserves much more respect as a vocalist. Man, could he shade a note.)
(The B side is not one of my favorites. Feels forced.)
The source material "Oh Happy Day" however is one of those extremely improbable songs that get a release and against all sense become some kind of brief weird phenomenon.
The wiki article lays it out concisely enough but the tl;dr goes. Boy writes song. Sings it at his High School Assembly. Crowd goes nuts. Boy records song cheap and primitively. Song becomes unlikely hit worldwide despite odds and shitty recording. Even Lawrence Welk takes a stab at it and scores. One hit wonder. The end.
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