There's a New Sound

"There's a New Sound"
Single by Tony Burrello
B-side"Fish"
Released1953
GenreNovelty
Length2:30
LabelHorrible
Songwriter(s)Tony Burrello, Tom Murray
B-side
Original release, Horrible, H 100

"There's a New Sound" is a 1953 novelty song by Tony Burrello, written by Burrello and Tom Murray.[1]

Burrello, a songwriter and jazz pianist better known as Tony Tamburello,[2] and Murray started writing novelty songs after they were unsuccessful in having their more serious material recorded by prominent musicians.[1] They noted the success of music that was seemingly intentionally bad, after hearing a disc jockey play Harry Stewart's version of "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" sung in a faux-Japanese accent. According to Murray, the disc jockey said that the record was a hit but also "one of the most horrible records he had ever heard".[3]

Burrello and Murray responded by creating the songs "There's a New Sound", performed by Burello, and "Fish", sung by Leona Anderson, which they released as a single. "There's a New Sound" consists of a single chorus repeated five times, each time in a higher key, with calliope accompaniment.[4] The lyrics describe "the strangest sound that you have ever heard", which turns out to be "the sound that's made by worms".[1] Burrello was credited as the artist on the single,[5] which was released on Burrello and Murray's own record label, Horrible,[4] as catalog numbers H 100 (ten-inch 78 rpm format) and H 100-X45 (seven-inch 45 rpm format).[5] The single was Horrible's only release.

When Billboard magazine reviewed the single, it commented: "A weird one. 'The new sound is the sound made by worms.' Strange sound effects go with nonsense lyric. It's a studied attempt to be as screwy as possible."[5] For the flip side, "Fish", Billboard′s review was "Same comment".[5]

Burrello and Murray originally had only 500 copies of "There's a New Sound"/"Fish" issued to be sent to disc jockeys.[4] However, within two weeks, they received orders for more than 100,000 copies of the single.[4]

Soon afterward, Burrello and Murray were called upon to write a song for Brucie Weil, who was then 6 years old.[6] The song they wrote for Weil, "God Bless Us All", reached #18 on the Billboard singles chart.[7][8] Burrello and Murray were soon called upon to write music for other artists, including a theme song for John Conte and special material for Tony Bennett.[9]

Anderson went on to exploit her newfound fame as a "horrible" musician by making appearances on The Ernie Kovacs Show and signing with Columbia Records for two more singles.[10] In 1957, for Unique Records, Anderson released a full-length album, Music to Suffer By, in the same mock-operatic style she used for "Fish."[10][11]

"There's a New Sound" was later featured often on the Dr. Demento show[12][13] and performed by Scooter on The Muppet Show.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Anderson, Tim J. (2006). Making Easy Listening: Material Culture and Postwar American Recording. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. xiii. Retrieved 2011-02-10. new sound.
  2. ^ "Tony Tamburello, Pianist and Vocal Coach, 72". The New York Times. 1992-09-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  3. ^ Ewald, William (1953-06-08). "Song Writers Guarantee New Record Worst". Oxnard Press-Courier. United Press. p. 9. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d "Fair Warning". Time. 1953-06-08. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d "Reviews of This Week's New Records". Billboard. May 23, 1953. p. 152. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Once There Was a Boy ..." Life. 1953-08-31. p. 55. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  7. ^ Lonergan, David F. (2005). Hit Records, 1950-1975. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-8108-5129-0. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Pop Hits, 1940-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 305. ISBN 0-89820-106-3.
  9. ^ "Much Activity for Murray-Burrello". Billboard. 1953-08-15. p. 14. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Leona Anderson | Space Age Pop". spaceagepop.com. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Music to Suffer By - Leona Anderson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  12. ^ Search of http://dmdb.org/playlists/search_pl.html
  13. ^ Wolk, Douglas., "Review: Various Artists - Only In America", CMJ New Music Monthly, February 1996, page 16.
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