Novelty / Humor / Satire   (may make you think, will make you laugh) This is a hard category to define ... some of the songs here also appear in other categories, and some fit in none.  I’ve included some folks here because they’re well-known for novelty material, even if they did other stuff, too. Shel Silverstein  A multi-talented genius, he wrote the lyrics to a lot of the music recorded by Dr Hook, and you’ll find them on the Rock page. He was also a prolific author of children’s books and a cartoonist (mostly adult material).  Listed here are links to some other songs he wrote.  Without a doubt, the first song listed here would be a career for any other songwriter ... and it was an immense hit for Johnny Cash.  The last song in the list is sung (actually, mostly shouted) by Shel himself, and it contains a bit of a reference to Cash’s prison performances.   Silverstein bio … and here’s a link to a list of Silverstein songs … some may surprise you!     Boy Named Sue  Johnny Cash at San Quentin     The Unicorn  Irish Rovers (cool animation)     Put Another Log on the Fire  The Glaser Brothers     Put Another Log on the Fire  Candice Bergen & The Muppets     A Front Row Seat to Hear Ol' Johnny Sing Homer & Jethro The duo of Homer (Henry Haynes) and Jethro (Kenneth Burns) were best known for comedy numbers, especially parody of well-known songs, but both were outstanding musicians.  In later years, they referred to themselves as “The Smothers Brothers of the Stone Age.”  We haven’t yet put links to any of the titles below, but we’ll get to that.  In the meantime, you can find these on YouTube!  Trivia … Burns and guitar legend were brothers-in-law, married to twins.  After Haynes died in 1971, Burns appeared with several other artists, including Atkins and the late, great Steve Goodman, who wrote the classic “City of New Orleans.”     I’m My Own Grandpaw     Nashville Cats    Jam Bowl Liar    Baby, It’s Cold Outside    Battle of Kookamonga    We Didn’t Sink the Bismarck    … and many, many more (find ‘em on YouTube) The Smothers Brothers Another pair that specialized in comedy and parody, with an added edge of social and political satire.  They had a very popular TV show in the ‘60s, and ran into a lot of censorship problems.  We’ll add just a few titles here, but their catalog is extensive.  No links here yet, either, but check YouTube; you’ll find a lot of their stuff!  Trivia … they owned a sports car racing team in the ‘60s, with Dick doing the driving.  One of the cars they raced was also driven by Paul Newman in the movie “Winning.”    The Foxes    My Old Man    I Never Will Marry    Pretoria    John Henry    Laredo    Daniel Boone Tom Lehrer This guy wasn’t even a musician ... he was a mathematics lecturer at Harvard and MIT who was a very good piano player and had an uncanny gift for writing very funny stuff, mostly satirical. I'm not even going to attempt to describe his material, just to say he's had a cult following since the 1960s, and you can read more about him in this Tom Lehrer bio.     The Elements   helps if you've taken chemistry!     National Brotherhood Week      Vatican Rag     Poisoning Pigeons in the Park     Pollution     New Math     Folk Song Army     Masochism Tango     Oedipus Rex     Bright College Days     We'll All Go Together When We Go Jud Strunk  A Maine resident who appeared regularly on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and on many other shows including Johnny Carson. His biggest hit was "Daisy a Day", a sweet song that hit the charts in 1973. It was taken on the Apollo 17 mission, and was the first recorded music played on the moon! He also recorded a very funny song called "Biggest Parakeets in Town" ... which I'd never heard before digging up stuff for this project, and which I'm sure would have gotten a DJ in trouble back then! Strunk once ran for a state senate seat in Maine, and lost by one vote. After retiring from performing, he began restoring old planes. Unfortunately, in 1981, at the age of 45, he was killed in a crash when he suffered a heart attack during a takeoff.   Jud Strunk bio     Daisy a Day     Biggest Parakeets in Town Jim Stafford  A Florida native, he had a big hit with "Spiders and Snakes" in 1974, and hosted his own TV show in 1975. Most, if not all, of his music was funny stuff, although some was too risque for the censors of that time! Here are three of his best-known songs. After retiring from touring, he set up shop in Branson MO and is still a popular performer there.     Spiders and Snakes     Spiders and Snakes ... with Dolly Parton     My Girl Bill     Wildwood Weed Da Yoopers  Your webmaster is a proud native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, sometimes called the U.P., or “da Yoop” by many residents and expatriates who, naturally, refer to themselves as “Yoopers.”  This comedy band, based in the Ishpeming area, has been around for many years; they’ve established quite a reputation in da Yoop, Wisconsin, the Chicago area, and even bits of Minnesota.  They do a lot of original material, some parodies, and play on sayings, accents, culture, traditions, and characters you’ll find on “the last frontier.”  They have a website, http://dayoopers.com, and they even have an official “Yoopers Tourist Trap” along the highway in the Ishpeming/Negaunee area.  There’s nothing quite like ‘em ... enjoy!  All but the last one are from the album “Culture Shock.”  The last, “Fungus Face,” is from “Yoopy Do Wah.”  The two YOOP tracks are “from the One-Watt Golden Voice of Tilden Valley.”     Second Week of Deer Camp     Rusty Chevrolet     YOOP Radio Part 1   Dear Mr Governor (meh) ,,, Talk Time (a call-in radio show to buy-sell-trade stuff)     YOOP Radio Part 2   Iso Sika (Finnish & English) ... Da Couch Dat Burps (guys, you may see yourselves)     Yooper Talk     Ruthie Rollover     My Car Won’t Go     Happy Birthday Fungus Face Paul Thorn  A former boxer, Thorn came to my attention a few years ago via the first song on the list below.  A bit of time on YouTube showed me quite a few others; some are listed here.  His titles grab you and make you want to hear ‘em. Oh yeah, boxing … Thorn once went six rounds with Roberto Duran.  He lost, but he bloodied Duran in the process.    It’s a Great Day (to whup somebody’s ass)    Joanie, the Jehovah’s Witness Stripper     Pimps and Preachers      Burn Down the Trailer Park    I Don’t Like Half the Folks I Love    You Might Be Wrong This is all crazy stuff, and I’ve only recently been able to find more than the first two songs on YouTube ... hope more are posted in the future.  There’s one song that’s not yet out there, called “When One Love Dies.”  It’s completely out of character ... a haunting song about a lost love ... not a shred of comedy, and if I ever find it’s been posted to YouTube, I’ll add a link.