Category: rock

Parodies’ Paradise: 1999 “Mambo No. 5”

Lou Bega’s mambo and jive dance song (originally by Cuban Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949) was a hit in the United Kingdom and in Australia, where it reached number-one… stayed at number-one in Australia for eight weeks, ultimately becoming the best-selling single of the year… also topped almost every chart in continental Europe…  number-one in France for 20 weeks (longer than any stay at the top spot ever on the US or UK charts)… reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US on November 2, 1999, giving Bega his only Top 40 hit in the US… seven-year copyright trial between Prado’s estate.

ApologetiX’s scriptural annunciation courtesy of “Micah No. 5.”

 

Parodies’ Paradise: 1989 “Rockin’ in a Free World”

Neil Young dropped this off his 1989 album Freedom… the lyrics criticized the George H. W. Bush administration… became the de facto anthem of the collapse of communism…  rated number 216 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Chris Townsend’s annual Xmas exacta knife humor revisits this tough time with “Keep on Shopping’ in a Free World.” Yeah, it’s mad about materialism.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1989 “We Didn’t Start the Fire”

Billy Joel’s instanthem hit #1 US Billboard Hot 100… #2 Australia, Canada… #3 Ireland… #4 Germany… #7 Austria, UK… as a fun cultural puzzle, its lyrics included brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between 1949, the year of Joel’s birth, and 1989… its album Storm Front was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

Not an easy parody, but when you are as devoted as ApologetiX “We Didn’t Start Messiah” writes itself.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1988 “Wild Thing”

Tone Lōc’s song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in… spawned at least two parodies (by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, called ‘Isle Thing,’ about Gilligan’s Island and was Yankovic’s first rap parody, and by Christian band ApologetiX, called ‘Child King’)… eventually sold over two million copies… peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.

Not too many of these parodies get the Wikipedia nod. Go ApologetiX. Go “Child King.”

Parodies’ Paradise: 1988 “Desire”

U2’s first number-one single in the UK and Australia… reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S… topped both the Modern and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts (the first song to reach the top of both of these charts simultaneously)… reached number two on the Dutch Top 40… won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

“Messiah” by ApologetiX almost loses its meaningfulness in the balls out R+B.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1988etc. “If I Had $1000000”

Never a single, never a video, this Barenaked Ladies crowd pleaser has been included in several of their albums and ALL of their live shows. So no charting, but apparently this one has become a special memory for concert-goers worldwide.

Joel Kopischke does it again with “If I Had a Secret Santa.” Noel, Joel.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1987 “Faith”

George Michael needed a hit after deserting Wham! and he got it. This signature number held the number one position on Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks… according to Billboard magazine, it was the number one single of the year in the United States in 1988.

Joel Kopischke (+ Kelli Cramer) (live) builds nicely with his “George Michael ‘Faith’ Christmas Parody.” A kinky title to say the least for a professional, but the fun of the comedy here is what the take off on the title leads to during this time of present wrapping strife.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1983 “Every Breath You Take”

The Police had their biggest US and UK hit with this… topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks… their only number-one hit on that chart… #1 UK Singles Chart for four weeks… also topped the Billboard Top Tracks chart for nine weeks… nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Record of the Year, winning in the first two categories… Sting received the 1983 British Academy’s Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically… Rolling Stone critics and readers voted it “Song of the Year”… in the US, it was the best-selling single of 1983 and fifth-best-selling single of the decade… Billboard ranked it as the number-one song for 1983… ranked number 84 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time… included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll… also ranked number 25 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.

The Mistletones play the music and make the funny with “Every Wish You Make,” but they don’t quite get the gravity of the song.

So let’s have Robert Lund unpack its mysticism with a paranoid screed about Santa watching “Every Toy You Break.”

Parodies’ Paradise: 1982 “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”

British heavy metal band Judas Priest released the inspiration here on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance and made it a single later that year… May 2006, VH1 ranked it fifth on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs… became one of his signature songs, a staple of the band’s live performances… peaked at No. 66 in the UK Singles Chart and in the US it reached No. 4 on the Billboard rock chart.

The rock anthem is honored (mashed up with ‘Nat. Lamp’s Christmas Vacation’) via “You’ve Got Another String Comin'” courtesy of Les Gomez.

Parodies’ Paradise: 1981 “Urgent”

Foreigner’s song entered the U.S. pop charts and reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, holding that spot for the entire month of September… hit #1 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart also for four weeks… the most successful single from the 4 album on album-oriented rock radio… the album has since been certified multi-platinum by the RIAA, for selling over six million copies in the U.S. alone… the song was Foreigner’s second-best-selling single… reached #1 in Canada… #20 in Sweden… in Australia #24…  in the UK #54.

A nod to Jesus’ mama with ApologetiX’s “Virgin.” Mmm hmm.