Song parodies by radio stations

[bandit957]

Remember when local radio stations used to make song parodies?

Q-102 in Cincinnati used to make parodies. They had "Rubber Baseball", a parody of "Rubber Biscuit." They had "Pair Of Socks", a parody of "State Of Shock." They had "Don't Worry, Life's Crappy", a parody of "Don't Worry, Be Happy." But some of the parodies they did were just stupid.

There was a station that made a parody of "Forever In Blue Jeans" called "Forever In Beer Cans." I don't remember what station it was though.

I know some station made a parody called "Pee-Pee Song." When I was about 8 (around 1981-82), I made a list of favorite songs they played on the radio, and that was one of them. I forgot about it until I found my old notebook when I was about 16 and couldn't remember what it was. I think it might have been the parody of "No No Song" that went, "No no no no, I don't pee-pee no more, I'm tired of it landing on the floor."

Another one was "Dear Mister Rogers", a parody of "Dear Mr. Jesus."

[Takumi]

I remember a local radio station did a mashup of the similarity named songs "Woot There It Is" and "Woomp There It Is" when they were popular.

[Big John]

I remember a couple sports related ones - Packer-ena from Macarena and I'm a Cheesehead Baby from Beck's Loser.

[bandit957]

I remember a couple sports related ones - Packer-ena from Macarena and I'm a Cheesehead Baby from Beck's Loser.

WLAP-FM had "Funky Coach Pitino", a parody of "Funky Cold Medina."

[amroad17]

When I lived in the Hampton Roads area, I listened to FM99-WNOR throughout the 1980's.  They employed a morning deejay, Henry "The Bull" Del Toro, who would co-host the morning show with another deejay (Ron Reeger from 1981-84, Jimmy Ray Dunn from 1984-90, and Tommy Griffiths from 1990-94).  Henry and Jimmy Ray did a few parody songs in the mid 80's such as "Atlantic Avenue", a parody using the music to Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue", and "The Old Man in Washington", set to the music of John Fogerty's "The Old Man Is Down the Road".

As an aside, Tommy and "The Bull" were responsible for the greatest April Fool's Day (4/1/92) prank in Hampton Roads radio history when they reported that Mt. Trashmore, a Virginia Beach city park off I-264 and Independence Blvd (Exit 17A) that used to be a landfill, had developed a build-up of methane gas and was going to explode sometime that morning based on what the "scientists" were saying.  Many residents around the area, and listeners, panicked and called authorities and 911 about this news.  This tied up 911 phone lines for nearly an hour.  Some families showed up at shelters with suitcases.  The "April Fool's" joke ended when police showed up at the station's studios.   In the aftermath, Tommy and "The Bull" were suspended two weeks and WNOR was sent a letter of admonishment by the FCC after the Virginia Beach police filed a complaint about WNOR with them.  After this, the FCC toughened up rules about broadcasting false information and would fine stations for doing this.

[bandit957]

As an aside, Tommy and "The Bull" were responsible for the greatest April Fool's Day (4/1/92) prank in Hampton Roads radio history when they reported that Mt. Trashmore, a Virginia Beach city park off I-264 and Independence Blvd (Exit 17A) that used to be a landfill, had developed a build-up of methane gas and was going to explode sometime that morning based on what the "scientists" were saying.  Many residents around the area, and listeners, panicked and called authorities and 911 about this news.  This tied up 911 phone lines for nearly an hour.  Some families showed up at shelters with suitcases.  The "April Fool's" joke ended when police showed up at the station's studios.   In the aftermath, Tommy and "The Bull" were suspended two weeks and WNOR was sent a letter of admonishment by the FCC after the Virginia Beach police filed a complaint about WNOR with them.  After this, the FCC toughened up rules about broadcasting false information and would fine stations for doing this.

This is like the Plummet Mall hoax carried out by Cincinnati radio around 1984-85. They kept running commercials for something called Plummet Mall, which was said to be an underground shopping mall that was about to be built. Everyone got all excited about it. But then it turned out it wasn't even real. Someone actually had enough money to buy time on radio stations advertising something that wasn't real.

[wriddle082]

Y107 in Nashville used to play a parody of "Walk Like An Egyptian" called "Drive Like A Nashvillian" back in the 80's.  I think if you do a YouTube search for Y107 Nashville and play one of the afternoon programs, you'll eventually catch it.

[DandyDan]

I don't remember if it was actually played on the radio, but the morning show hosts for one of the Omaha radio stations in the late 90's did a charity single called "Dick", which was a parody of Meredith Brooks's song "Bitch", which I still own.

[roadman65]

WXRK a defunct NYC Rock Station in the eighties used a famous song for a promotional thing. Can't remember the song and what the lyrics were changed to.

If anyone remembers K Rock on 92.3 FM in New York, you probably heard it.

Edit: I now remember.  It was Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream. The Station Changed the verses start to " Nine-two Three Classic K Rock" to begin a promo for themselves.

On another note, Z100, the FM top forty station in the mid eighties NYC market in 1986 dubbed into Starship's We Built This City's first chorus " We built this city on Z One Hundred" during some song plays of it.

Then I heard WPLJ, when playing Huey Lewis' Power of Love would change one verse of Power of Love to the stations nickname " Power Ninety-five."  Of course a friend told me that. I've only heard Z100s change in the former mentioned, but didn't hear the latter song change.

[Rothman]

First thing that came to mind was "Give Peaks a Chance" by DJ Glazed Donut and the Knotted Cherry Stems, but I think that was only on Dr. Demento rather than locally produced (referred to the cancellation of Twin Peaks after a disastrous Season 2).

[zachary_amaryllis]

When I lived in the Hampton Roads area, I listened to FM99-WNOR throughout the 1980's.  They employed a morning deejay, Henry "The Bull" Del Toro, who would co-host the morning show with another deejay (Ron Reeger from 1981-84, Jimmy Ray Dunn from 1984-90, and Tommy Griffiths from 1990-94).  Henry and Jimmy Ray did a few parody songs in the mid 80's such as "Atlantic Avenue", a parody using the music to Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue", and "The Old Man in Washington", set to the music of John Fogerty's "The Old Man Is Down the Road".

As an aside, Tommy and "The Bull" were responsible for the greatest April Fool's Day (4/1/92) prank in Hampton Roads radio history when they reported that Mt. Trashmore, a Virginia Beach city park off I-264 and Independence Blvd (Exit 17A) that used to be a landfill, had developed a build-up of methane gas and was going to explode sometime that morning based on what the "scientists" were saying.  Many residents around the area, and listeners, panicked and called authorities and 911 about this news.  This tied up 911 phone lines for nearly an hour.  Some families showed up at shelters with suitcases.  The "April Fool's" joke ended when police showed up at the station's studios.   In the aftermath, Tommy and "The Bull" were suspended two weeks and WNOR was sent a letter of admonishment by the FCC after the Virginia Beach police filed a complaint about WNOR with them.  After this, the FCC toughened up rules about broadcasting false information and would fine stations for doing this.

That takes me back... I actually met them at VA Beach once, when I was a kid. I remember this weird, may have been low-power, station there, WOFM, who ID'd as being "Moyock, NC". Weird music, but loved it.

[triplemultiplex]

I seem to recall a parody of Will Smith's "Men in Black" during a UPS strike in the 90's titled "Men in Brown".

And the ubiquitous morning radio parody of Sugar Ray's "Fly" poking fun at Bill Clinton's now-quaint blowjob scandal.  The chorus being "I'm a horny guy" instead of "I just wanna fly".

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Bob Rivers in Seattle is probably the most nationally famous for these, even getting some original performers to help parody on occasion, like when Chris Cornell sang on the "Black Hole Sun" parody "Asshole Son" about a slob teenager.

Locally KDWB did song parodies, but possibly ended after they did an offensive parody of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" about local Hmong citizens.

[mgk920]

I remember a decade or two ago when someone did a parody of Bill Clinton's voice singing a rework of 'Hey Paula'.

Mike

[roadman65]

I remember when that controversial song Boom Boom Boom came out in 1987, one New York Station did a parody on the song adding a woman voice to it saying " No no no" after each " Boom Boom Boom" to make it funny as when the song first came out even the liberals at the time found the song of bad taste to show you how critical the general public was of the tune at the time.

[Shedingtonian]

A radio station in my region still makes parodies of songs that become popular and they play them sometimes during one of their programmes, "Trivi and Company", as if it were a normal song.

The ident of that programme is actually the ident of a previous programme, in the same radio station, hosted by the same man. The base melody is the same, but it has different lyrics and new sound effects laid on top.

[1995hoo]

Not really a "local radio station" because the Big Show is syndicated, but this thread prompted me to remember when John Boy and Billy used to play this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84R2NsPmrJY

[bwana39]

It wasn't comedy or parody, but  back in the day KNUS Dallas (now KSPF 98.7 FM, "98.7 The Spot" for years it was KLUV)

It was A take on Toto's "99" with the line "99 KNUS (said K-nuus) 99.... Oh how we love you 99." 

[roadman65]

One radio station in New York used to promote their Two For Tuesday double song days by having a station unknown sing the words " two songs in a row right now" to the melody of Billy Joel's Moving Out  " You ought know by now" back in the late eighties.

Can't remember if it was WNEW FM or WXRK FM ( KRock). However, it was one of the two 80's rock stations of the NYC market.

[golden eagle]

Bob Rivers in Seattle is probably the most nationally famous for these, even getting some original performers to help parody on occasion, like when Chris Cornell sang on the "Black Hole Sun" parody "Asshole Son" about a slob teenager.

Bob Rivers also made Walking Round in Women's Underwear (a parody of Winter Wonderland) . If I'm not mistaken, he also did New Kids Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

[Road Hog]

Sports radio station KTCK in Dallas used to do a number of parodies for different occasions (mostly Cowboys and Rangers related as well as station events Ticketstock and Summer Bash), but a lot of that musical talent — namely Danny Balis — has since migrated to other stations in the market.

[Flint1979]

I remember the Hip Hop & R&B station in Lansing used to have this:

Cruising down Grand River in your 64 listening to the station that's straight outta the Capital City Power 96.5.

[wanderer2575]

The Detroit Lions adopted Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" as a theme song when they started the 1980 season with a few wins.  A few Lions players recorded their own version.  Once the season inevitably imploded, it was either a radio station or the fanbase that came up with the parody "Another One Beats Our Butts."

[triplemultiplex]

Bob Rivers also made Walking Round in Women's Underwear (a parody of Winter Wonderland) . If I'm not mistaken, he also did New Kids Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

Those Christmas song parody albums are close to my heart.  Practically wore out my cassette of "Twisted Christmas" in the early 90's.

[vegas1962]

The Detroit Lions adopted Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" as a theme song when they started the 1980 season with a few wins.  A few Lions players recorded their own version.  Once the season inevitably imploded, it was either a radio station or the fanbase that came up with the parody "Another One Beats Our Butts."

I seem to recall that 97.1 The Ticket, the Lions' flagship radio station, once mocked the team's woeful efforts during the Matt Millen era by creating and playing a song that was a parody of Alanis Morrissette's "Ironic."  I'm struggling to recall much of the song, but the one key line I remember is, "A third-and-long draw play, go figure..."