The problem with jokey hits is that sooner or later the gag wears off. More often than not this happens a lot sooner than later as well. Once that happens, what becomes of the hit single with the comedic voices, the screwball catchphrase, the nonsense lyrics and/or the weird sound created in the studio? All those once amusing elements become annoying and stupid. The record that young people rushed out to buy and/or request on the radio and/or played repeatedly on jukeboxes soon becomes an embarrassment, the sort of thing that will inevitably place high on those 'Worst of the Year' lists.
Every so often, however, a novelty song manages to break through and not be reduced to the detritus pile of used up and forgotten pop-rock. The trick here is — hey, imagine that! — having a real song to rely on that kids won't necessarily get sick of in short order. A song that transcends its quirkiness to the extent that you barely notice it at all. A song that the average person might want to just listen to, dance to, sing along with or have on in the background.
I'm not sure "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" is a great example of this since it's merely a good single that managed to overcome its idiosyncratic nature. Yet, that's an achievement in and of itself. Quite how much of a novelty song it is is questionable. Certainly it's novelty adjacent at the very least. Again, this uncertainty is a point in its favour. The fact that kids could get down to it without even being aware of its supposed humour (or the meta narrative) indicates that it's a pop song first and foremost.
Barry Mann would spend the bulk of his lengthy career as a songwriting, most famously in a partnership with his wife of over sixty years, the late Cynthia Weil. The pair would pen The Righteous Brothers' classic (and future CHUM chart topper) "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling". But on "Who Put the Bomp" he was joined by Gerry Goffin, one half of the famed Goffin-King team, who were a similar husband-wife composing duo. While not quite a one off, the two never wrote anything together that would become nearly as successful. While a song about songwriting should've gone nowhere, they were such pros that pop songcraft won out.
Mann's recording career wouldn't last and he'd quickly revert to his true calling — and, as this happened, the desire to do more novelty hits seemed to pass. And rightly so, too. He got his sole attempt at silly pop done and dusted and there wouldn't have been much of a reason to keep it going. And that's another lesson he picked up which others failed to heed: do your novelty song if you must but then move on. If only your average pop star was as clever as one of its most talented songwriters.
Score: 6
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Hey Where's...?
So, "Who Put the Bomp" isn't so bad and would've been an acceptable number one but for the fact that there was an undisputed masterpiece in the Top 5 that couldn't quite make it all the way to the top. Peaking at number two during the final week of Eddie Hodges' horrible reign with "I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door", Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" then spent three straight weeks at number three having been leap frogged by Barry Mann. So close. Cline was said to have initially been dissatisfied with the lack of country instrumentation but for those of us who aren't concerned about purity, it's of little consequence. It seems like "Crazy" - it was written by Willie Nelson, you know - is the more popular number these days but for me it's not even close. Seldom has the sinking feeling of seeing a former love in a public place been so beautifully and heartbreakingly rendered. It deserved a five week stay at number one but at least the Canadian public has sufficient taste to make it such a big hit. Extraordinary.
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