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Novelties, notables, and just plain strange


So much to write about! It’s a playlist of strangelings that in some other time or culture would have made no sense at all. And yet… Though first off, I need to point out that So much to write about! It’s a playlist of strangelings that in some other time or culture would have made no sense at all. And yet… Though first off, I need to point out that Programa #156 marks my third anniversary for Al compas del mundo (World Beats) on RadioactivaTX.org out of Tequisquiapan, Querétaro, deep in the heart of Mexico. Huzzah! Once the confetti settles it’s back to the task at hand: surveying this bunch of topical interest and fantastic weirdos.Once the confetti settles it’s back to the task at hand: surveying this bunch of topical interest and fantastic weirdos. continued...

Run list for Al compás del mundo - programa #157,
12-5-24, novelties, notables, and just plain strange

01 Hollywood Argyles - Alley Oop (USA)

02 Little Anthony & The Imperials - Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop (USA)

03 The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace (USA)

04 The Coasters - Charlie Brown (USA)

05 Edd 'Kookie' Byrnes & Connie Stevens – Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) (USA)

06 Charlie Ryan - Hot Rod Race (USA)

07 Johnny Cash - A Boy Named Sue (USA)

08 Roger Miller - Chug-a-lug (USA)

09 Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs - Little Red Riding Hood (USA)

10 Kyü Sakamoto – Sukiyaki (Japan)

11 Tennessee Ernie Ford - 16 Tons (USA)

12 Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John (USA)

13 The Coasters - Along Came Jones (USA)

14 The Fendermen - Mule Skinner Blues (USA)

15 Johnny Horton - Battle of New Orleans (USA)

16 The Statler Brothers - Flowers on the Wall (USA)

17 Shirley Ellis - The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap) (USA)

18 The Coasters - Poison Ivy (USA)

19 Larry Verne - Mr. Custer (USA)

20 The Hombres - Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) (USA)

21 Piero Umiliani - Mah na mah na (Italy)

22 The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird (USA)


Alley Oop Boop.BoopaBoopBoopBoop

continued ... There was never any doubt I had to lead off with “Alley Oop.” And who knew that famous caveman’s ride was a genuine “dinosó-wa” (rhymes with “mó-wa.”) Yes, the playlist caters to a senior audience who might understand this last reference, but even the young’uns should get a kick out of such vocals as “shimmy, shimmy, ko-ko-bop”, “baby, you know-w-w-w-what I like!”, and “why’s everybody always picking on me?” 

Kookie Byrnes of tv’s 77 Sunset Strip teaches us the hip jargon that’s what’s happening, baby, and Charlie Ryan, a fairly obscure and understated artist narrates a classic hotrods-race-on-a-1950’s-highway scene. 

I could have gone with Jan and Dean, but Ryan sounded like he’s been there. Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, and Sam the Sham serve up classic hits of Americana, followed by a touch of Japanesiana: Kyü Sakamoto’s improbable top-ten ballad “Sukiyaki.” I must presume ‘anti-Jap fever’ had subsided by 1963. 


“16 Tons” and “Big Bad John”, both mining songs, fit into the ‘notable’ category. The Fendermen’s “Mule Skinner Blues” is a shoe-in for ‘just plain strange’, and then there are The Coasters. They merited all-star status with three entries in the melee, as a band always searching (oops) for a punchline. Johnny Horton and the Statler Brothers sound like they’re channeling a Southern audience and Shirley Ellis dishes it up for the inner city (get out your jump rope!) I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more pitiful plea than Larry Verne’s in “Mr. Custer” as his US army troupe rides into Little Big Horn territory – “What am I doing here?!” 


The Hombres stop making sense, simultaneously sounding drug-addled and serious-minded. Though that sort of faux-profundity holds no candle to Piero Umiliani’s “Mah na mah na.” Rarely was there a musical inspiration less inspirational and more ludicrously found on the hit parade, unless you’re ready to unearth the “Surfin’ Bird.” Which we do as a proper send-off.


What I’ve spared you from are “Itsy-bitsy, Teeny-weeny Yellow Polka-dot Bikini,” “Witch Doctor”, anything by The Chipmunks, “Ahab the Arab”, and the most execrable of all, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” You can thank me later. jh

Please Mr Custer I dont want to go-go


Editor’s note: It’s said the Hombres were amazed by Bob Dylan’s successes, and set out to write something that made absolutely no sense. jv




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