My Boomerang Just Came Back (& hit me in the face) Quiz

Answer: British comedian Charlie Drake

This very interesting, and in some ways controversial, song was a hit on both sides of the pond, and in Australia, despite questionable and possibly racially insensitive lyrics. It details an aboriginal tribe member who is ostracized for incompetence in the basic art of boomerang tossing.

The controversy centered around the general idea and a particular line. "I've waved the thing all over the place, tracked it 'til I was black in the face..." Despite the immediate popularity of the song and brisk sales in record shops, the BBC initially refused to play it until it was re-recorded with BLUE IN THE FACE instead of BLACK IN THE FACE in the offending line.

At any rate, it rose to number 14 on the British charts in October of 1961.

Answer: The Coasters

All these were successful groups from the time period, but The Coasters take the novelty cake for recording groups. They produced a seemingly unending string of clever, funny, musically coherent pop hits; "Searchin'" and "Charlie Brown," as well as "Yakety Yak," "Along Came Jones," "Little Egypt," "Down In Mexico," and others.

The first hit for the original personnel grouping was actually recorded under the name "The Robins." It was 1955's "Smokey Joe's Cafe." This tongue in cheek rendering of a dangerous confrontation over a plate of beans in a greasy spoon barroom set the tone for the Coasters' comedic style. All these song lyrics came from the fertile imagination of Jerry Leiber and were augmented by music from his partner in songwriting, Mike Stoller.

The duo is rightly ensconced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, having written and produce a huge catalogue of hits from Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" to Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."

Answer: The Monster Mash

Performed by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt Kickers, this novelty classic reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in October of 1962. Pickett, an aspiring actor at the time, got inspiration for the song after imitating Boris Karloff during a nighttime gig with his band and getting a positive reaction from the audience and band members. Absurdly, the BBC originally banned the record as "too morbid," but it was re-released in 1973 and rose to number three in the UK.

Answer: on the bedpost

The song titled 'Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It's Flavor (on the Bedpost Overnight)' has a history. It was originally recorded as 'Does Your Spearmint Lose Its Flavor' in 1924 by The Happiness Boys, an obscure novelty vaudeville act. When Lonnie Donegan went to cover it, he discovered the word 'spearmint' was trademarked, so he made the substitution and had a hit. According to 'The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums', Lonnie Donegan was "Britain's most successful and influential recording artist before the Beatles." He was also the first UK male artist to have two top ten hits in the USA. Note the word "It's" in the title (not a quiz typo).

The apostrophe is grammatically incorrect, and should have been omitted. This is how it appears on the 45rpm single.

Answer: Winchester Cathedral

Remember "Winchester Cathedral/ You're bringing' me down/ You sat and you watched as/ My baby left town"? None of the wrong answers is a real song title, but this oddity took the Americas by storm in late 1966. It made number one in Canada, then displaced the Supremes and The Beach Boys at the top of the US charts on December 3rd. Go figure. Almost unbelievably, 'Winchester Cathedral' also won a 1967 Grammy Award nomination for 'Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording', despite highly questionable status as a Rock & Roll song.

The tune itself has been described as reminiscent of the British music hall era, with the lead man John Carter singing through his hands to simulate Rudy Vallee's 'through a megaphone' sound. Geoff Stephens cashed the royalty checks for penning the surprise hit.

Answer: Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa is arguably one of the most versatile musicians who ever lived. His resume includes composer, songwriter, producer, guitarist, actor, filmmaker, band-leader and author. He released more than 60 albums, as a solo artist and with his group The Mothers of Invention. I personally witnessed his set at the Atlantic City Pop Festival, where he came on stage without speaking a word and mesmerized a Rock and Roll crowd with 45 minutes of the most fluent jazz you've ever heard, then walked off.

In 1985, Frank Zappa testified before the U.S. Congress during hearings about putting warning labels on record albums with "offensive" lyrics. He delivered an articulate and devastating repudiation of this attempted censorship, pointing out its futility and probable opposite effect.

As usual this attempt to stifle free speech ultimately failed. An example of a Zappa novelty title: "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" (1974).

Answer: They're Coming to Take Me Away

The most unfortunate hit entitled "They're Coming To Take Me Away" was penned and sung by Jerry Samuels under the name Napoleon XIV. It is one of the least appealing "songs" ever recorded, in my opinion, and is definitely demeaning to anyone with mental health issues. I'm so sorry if you bought this 45rpm, which somehow rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August of 1966. He was also responsible for the equally unnecessary flip side, "I Live in a Split Level Head."

Ray Stevens, on the other hand, was a prolific songwriter who was responsible for the other three clever and creative novelty songs listed, as well as many others. He also wrote a more serious single entitled 'Mr. Business Man'(1968), which took a hard look at the social implications of what would now be called workaholism.

Answer: Benny Hill

Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (1924-1992) was a British comedian who wrote, produced and starred in "The Benny Hill Show." This long-running and successful variety comedy television program featured slapstick, burlesque, and a combination of live and filmed musical skits filled with double entendres and risque scenes.

Although the song in question was conceived way back in 1955 by Hill as the intro to a film, it didn't appear on the show until 1970. It was inspired by his actual experience as a milk delivery person in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

The four minute ballad details Ernie's duel with the bread man, "Two Ton Ted from Teddington," for the attentions of a widow named Sue who lives along their route. Tragically, in the end, Ernie is killed by a rock cake to the heart and a pork pie to the eye.

The "Benny Hill Show" started appearing in syndication on American UHF TV in the 1970s and achieved something of a cult status among young college aged males.

Answer: Ringo

Greene was best known for playing Ben Cartwright on the classic, long-running American Western TV drama "Bonanza." He's on a long list of actors who try their hands at singing, often with laughable results (see William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds).

At least someone knew enough to limit the actual singing on this record to the men's chorus (rumored to be Elvis's back-up singers The Jordanaires) intoning the word "Ringo" between verses. Greene narrates the story in deep, mellow, ultra-serious tone, and it worked well enough to earn him a number one Billboard top 100 hit in December, 1964, one of the first country songs to achieve this before appearing on the country charts.

Answer: Big Bad John

Jimmy Dean, not to be confused with the actor James Dean, released this ditty in 1961 about a mine cave-in and the large man who saved a group of miners, only to be buried alive himself. The opening lines set the stage. "Every morning at the mine you could see him arrive.

He stood six foot six and weighed two forty five. Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip, and everybody knew ya didn't give no lip to Big John." Bad Leroy Brown stood "about six foot four" according to Jim Croce, author of that novelty song. Alley Oop and the People Eater? We can only guess.