07 March 2012
This was a "top ten" hit in 1958
Annette Funicello performing "Tall Paul" on American Bandstand with Dick Clark - the first time a female singer reached the top ten in rock and roll. It's axiomatic that tastes in music and art change with time, but sometimes the degree of change within the span of one lifetime is so extreme that the mind reels.
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I heard that on NPR this morning, assume that's where you got it. I was actually struck by how modern it was. I think the syncopated parts sound like alt rock, maybe Oingo Boingo or Devo (not matching a band but my mind says it sounds SO familiar).
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing, Le Tigre or some stuff from The Kills.
DeleteAdd some electronic sounds instead of the cow bell and change up the chorus a little bit and the song is modern.
A great bit of surrealism worthy of "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" or "Robot Chicken".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blast from the past. I'd kind of forgotten about Annette. She was my first serious crush (I was 6 in 1958).
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