Novelty songs first appeared in the late 19th century and were popular on the radio into the 1980s. One of the weirdest and most successful was 1966’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV.

Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty abhorred the recording industry. His first success as a member of Stealers Wheel, 1972’s “Stuck in the Middle With You,” was a parody of Bob Dylan’s style that poked fun at an industry cocktail party.

In this excerpt from the book Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever, two people who worked at promoter Bill Graham’s historic concert hall describe for the first time the night Paul McCartney — in disguise — and future wife Linda Eastman attended a show.

Bob Dylan said, “Everything you need to know about love is in ‘A Teenager in Love’” in the liner notes of Dion’s album, Blues with Friends.

Pacific Gas & Electric formed in Los Angeles in 1967 and was named after the West Coast power company, which forced the band to change its name to PG&E in 1971. The New York Times at the time called them “among the best and most underexposed talent in the country.”

“Disco Inferno” was first recorded as the title track of the Trammps’ 1976 album. Released as a single, “Disco Inferno” only reached №53. When the Philadelphia group’s tune was included in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, “Disco Inferno” was re-released and shot up to №1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.

Billboard magazine called Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up” the №1 single of 1967. Critics have disputed The King’s contribution to the song, though Presley and Otis Blackwell are listed as its songwriters.

For their final album Goodbye the members of Cream — bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker and guitarist Eric Clapton — decided each would contribute one studio track; the rest of the album would be live cuts. The guitarist said in Conversations with Eric Clapton that The Band’s debut album inspired him to pursue a new direction for his last song.

As the Artemis II mission continues around the Moon, it seemed like a good time to revisit this 2021 interview with keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Wakeman cemented his reputation as one of the godfathers of progressive rock after joining Yes in 1971. The keyboardist’s first album with the band, Fragile, included two staples of classic rock radio: “Roundabout” and “Long Distance Runaround.”

“It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” was included on R.E.M.’s 1987 album Document and reached №69. Its lyrics were written by R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe in the stream-of-consciousness tradition of Chuck Berry’s “Too Much Monkey Business” and Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

“At the Hop” was a №1 hit for Danny & the Juniors: Danny Rapp, David White, Frank Maffei, and Joe “Terry” Terranova. White and singer John Madara, who signed with Prep Records, originally wrote the song as “Do the Bop.”

New wave band Talking Heads, fronted by David Byrne, got its name from an issue of TV Guide. In the liner notes of Popular Favorites 1976–1972: Sand in the Vaseline, bassist Tina Weymouth said the magazine “explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as ‘all content, no action’. It fit.”

By 1964, the members of The Band — Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson — had left Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, the Hawks. After touring with Bob Dylan in 1965 and ’66, the group moved to a house near Dylan in Woodstock, NY. Recordings made in the basement studio were the beginnings of the Music From Big Pink album.

Guitarist Spencer Davis, bassist Muff Winwood, and Muff’s 14-year-old brother Steve Winwood on keyboards and vocals formed the Spencer Davis Group in 1963. The group had №1 hits in the UK with two songs by Jamaican-born Jackie Edwards: “Keep on Running” and “Somebody Help Me.” In 1966, manager Chris Blackwell decided the band had to write a song of their own.

In 1967, Procol Harum released one of the few singles to sell 10 million copies worldwide: “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” The members who recorded the №5 hit — Gary Brooker (vocals and piano), Matthew Fisher (Hammond M-102 organ), David Knights (bass), Ray Royer (guitar), and session drummer Bill Eyden (later replaced by Bobby Harrison) — had an important “sixth member”: lyricist Keith Reid.

It is sad to note the passing of Dash Crofts, 78, who scored a number of hits in the 1970s with bandmate Jim Seals, who died in 2022. Crofts was a singer, songwriter, and played guitar and mandolin. Seals and Crofts earned Grammy nominations for “Diamond Girl” and “Summer Breeze.”

Palisades Park was a popular New Jersey amusement park that was open from 1898 to 1971. The park was located atop the New Jersey Palisades overlooking Manhattan. Game show creator Chuck Barris, the host and producer of The Gong Show, wrote “Palisades Park.” Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, a Massachusetts native, had a №3 hit with the tune in 1962.

In the mid-1980s, John Fogerty found himself at a creative dead end. His most productive period had been from 1968–1972, when he and his band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, charted nine Top 10 singles.

“When the tides of life turn against you, and the current upsets your boat, don’t waste those tears on what might have been, just lay on your back and float.” — Ed Norton

One of the sweetest ballads recorded by the Turtles was the 1968 hit “You Showed Me.” The track was part of The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, a concept album on which the group poked fun at musical genres by pretending to be different bands for each track. “Nature’s Children” was the “band” that contributed “You Showed Me.”