Hubbry Logo
Dickie GoodmanDickie GoodmanMain
Open search
Dickie Goodman
Community hub
Dickie Goodman
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Dickie Goodman
Dickie Goodman
Dickie Goodman
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Key Information

Richard Dorian “Dickie” Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989)[1] was an American musician and record producer. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on his novelty records. He also wrote and produced some original material, most often heard on the B-sides of his break-in records.

Career

[edit]

Dickie Goodman's first known release came in 1952, when he was just 18 years old. Under the name "Dick Good", Chess Records released his version of Johnny Standley's comic monologue "It's in the Book".[2]

In June 1956, in partnership with Bill Buchanan, he made his first hit record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & 2", a take-off of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds.[3][4] This recording was the subject of a copyright infringement case against Goodman.[5] The court ruled that his sampled mix was a parody and thus an entirely new work.[6] The single peaked at No. 3 on Billboard and was Goodman's highest-charting single.

Since Part 2 was on the B side of the vinyl record, Disc Jockeys had to flip the record over to complete the broadcast of the two tracks. Hence the recording(s) became known as "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 and 2." While other famous music artists have charted flip sides of records containing a completely different and separate song, it was extremely rare to chart with two sides of a record with it only being considered as one. Two months later, there was a re-release as "Back To Earth".

Buchanan and Goodman followed up with other records. "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial", originally entitled "Public Opinion", reached #80 in 1956. "Banana Boat Story" featured the duo using a song, the Tarriers' "Banana Boat Song", as a break-in spoof of broadcast commercials. "Flying Saucer the 2nd" reached #18 in 1957, "Santa and the Satellite (Parts I & II)" reached #32 in 1957, and "Frankenstein Of `59" / "Frankenstein Returns" was released in February 1959. The two men ended their partnership in 1959.

There were some lawsuits filed against Buchanan and Goodman for the use of unlicensed materials. They had operated their business from a telephone booth at a pharmacy. Although they got richer, the court cases ate up the profits.[7]

In 1959, collaborating with Mickey Shorr under the names Spencer and Spencer, Goodman recorded two singles which relied much less on sampling and more on sketch comedy. "Russian Bandstand" was a re-imagining of the TV series American Bandstand set in the Soviet Union. "Stagger Lawrence" imposed Lloyd Price's recording of "Stagger Lee" onto a spoof of The Lawrence Welk Show, borrowing heavily from an earlier Welk parody done by Stan Freberg. Neither recording was as popular as the recordings Goodman made with Buchanan.

Starting in 1961 as a solo artist, Dickie Goodman scored three Billboard Hot 100 hits based on the hit TV series The Untouchables: "The Touchables" (#60), "The Touchables in Brooklyn" (#42), and "Santa and the Touchables" (#99). He also performed several of his own Halloween-themed songs with Rori; eventually these were released as an album, the most successful track being "Horror Movies", about favorite pop culture movie monsters. The song has recently been revived as background music in several films and venues, including Adam Sandler's Hubie Halloween on Netflix, Amazon Prime series The Lake, Disney/HULU series Extraordinary and Universal Orlando's Halloween Nights.

In 1962, Goodman spoofed Ben Casey with "Ben Crazy" (#44 on Billboard). In 1966, his spoof of Batman resulted in "Batman & His Grandmother" (#70). He also released a full album, The Many Heads Of Dickie Goodman, which included most of his break-ins to date.

In 1963 while working at 20th Century Fox Records, Goodman recorded (John F Kennedy The Presidential Years), a tribute composed of Kennedy's famous speeches. It was named number eight of Billboard's "Albums of the Year." and has been archived by The Henry Ford Museum.

In 1964, Goodman switched from break-in records to parodies and recorded an album called My Son the Joke. The title was a take-off of Allan Sherman popular comedy records. Goodman's material was more risque than Sherman's, with such songs as "Harry's Jockstrap", featuring his wife Susan, to the tune of "Frère Jacques"). The album failed to chart.

In the late 1960s, Goodman recorded a mostly musical album featuring his wife, entitled Dickie Goodman and His Wife Susan. Goodman sang on one track on the record, "Never Play Poker with a Man Named Doc (or Eat at a Place Called Mom's)", paraphrasing Nelson Algren's novel A Walk on the Wild Side). He produced two break-in style pieces and his wife sang the rest of the songs.

In 1969, Goodman parodied the political unrest on college campuses with "On Campus" (#45 on Billboard) and the first Moon landing with "Luna Trip" (#95). Vik Venus's "Moonflight", which imitated Goodman's break-in style, reached #38 on 9 August 1969, much higher than "On Campus" one week after the latter peaked. Goodman's records also inspired KQV morning disc jockey Bob DeCarlo's top 10 hit "Convention '72" under the name the Delegates. Goodman himself spoofed political issues such as the Watergate scandal with "Watergrate" (#42 in 1973), the energy crisis with "Energy Crisis '74" (#33 in 1974), and Richard Nixon with "Mr. President" (#73 in 1974). Goodman released a different version of "Mr. President" in 1981 after Ronald Reagan became president, but this recording did not chart.

Goodman also produced recordings for other acts. John & Ernest's "Superfly Meets Shaft" (#31 in 1973), while made for a black audience, retained Goodman's "break-in" format. He created the Glass Bottle, a pop band, primarily as an advertising ploy to promote glass bottles, which soda companies were replacing with plastic bottles. The Glass Bottle recorded two singles, both straight pop songs; one of them, "I Ain't Got Time Anymore", hit #36 in 1971. In 1974, Goodman anonymously released Screwy T.V., an album of risque parodies of then-popular TV shows. This album proved less popular than My Son the Joke, as many record shops kept it "under the counter" because its cover showed two nude models (reportedly Susan and Dickie Goodman themselves) seen from the rear.

In 1975, Goodman parodied the film Jaws with "Mr. Jaws" (#4 on Billboard). It was his biggest-selling record, earning a R.I.A.A. gold record in September 1975.[8] The record shot to No. 1 on 11 October 1975 on Chicago's WLS,[9] who played a customized version featuring "This is Dickie Goodman at WLS ..." at the beginning. "Mr. Jaws" also charted in the Top Ten in Great Britain and won a Juno Award in Canada.

Goodman's final chart record was "Kong" (#48 on Billboard in 1977), a spoof of the 1976 remake of King Kong. It was followed by others that failed to make the Top 100. "Hey ET", based on Spielberg's movie E.T. the Extraterrestrial, was Dickie Goodman's last release to reach Billboard's Bubbling Under chart (Top 200). Altogether, Goodman charted seventeen hits, with five of them reaching the top 40. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles listed Dickie Goodman's Billboard ranking at #1 (17 in the Top 100) for Comedy, and Guinness World Records certified him for the most charted comedy hits (seventeen) on Billboard.[10] Goodman produced several other break-in records which garnered airplay and charted only in a few regions, including Los Angeles and New York City.

Luniverse, Goodman's record label, also featured works by other artists, including the Del-Vikings.[11][12] Among his other labels were Eldorado (mostly used for singers like Joann Campbell), All Star (also used for singers and bands), Novelty, Comic, Cash, Rainy Wednesday, Oron, Ramgo (created with his new partner, Bill Ramal), M.D., JMD, Shark, Wacko, Extran and Goodname.

Goodman's break-in records were themselves spoofed by Albert Brooks in a comedy bit called "Party from Outer Space."

In 2001 Dickie Goodman was awarded a posthumous GRAMMY award from NARAS for his original hit, The Flying Saucer Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 thanks to its inclusion by RHINO Records President, Richard Foos on Brain In A Box: The Science Fiction Collection.

Death

[edit]

Goodman died in North Carolina from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[13] He is survived by his two sons, Jon and Jed, and his daughter Jane. In 2000, Jon released The King of Novelty, a biography of Dickie's life and work, along with autobiographical material. The book also contains the most comprehensive chronology of Dickie Goodman's records, including CD re-releases. The entire repertoire is now available from Jon Goodman Publishing on all of the major music download and streaming sites.

Discography

[edit]

As Buchanan and Goodman

[edit]
The label of Crazy by Buchanan and Goodman says that it is to be played at "78 or 45 RPM"
Date Record title Billboard chart peak
July 25, 1956 "The Flying Saucer Part 1 / "The Flying Saucer Part 2" 3
November 7, 1956 "Buchanan & Goodman on Trial" / "Crazy" 80
"The Banana Boat Story" / "Mystery (In Slow-Motion)" —
July 13, 1957 "Flying Saucer the 2nd" / "Martian Melody" 18
December 14, 1957 "Santa and the Satellite" 32
1958 "The Flying Saucer Goes West" / "Saucer Serenade" —
1959 "Flying Saucer the Third" / "The Cha Cha Lesson" —
1959 "Frankenstein of '59" / "Frankenstein Returns" —

As Spencer and Spencer

[edit]
Date Record title Billboard chart peak
March 1959 "Stagger Lawrence" / "Stroganoff Cha Cha" —
May 18, 1959 "Russian Bandstand" / "Brass Wail" 91

Solo

[edit]
  • I Really Wanted to Be a "Singar" / Young and Foolish — Rori 714 — 1964; written and produced by Buchanan & Goodman
  • The Ride of Paul Revere — 1960?
  • Paul Revere / Oh Susanna Rock — Strand 25002 — 1960 version, Goodman recording under the name Val E. Forge
  • Space Ship / We Belong Together — Novel N-200 — 1960; Goodman sang on this record
  • The Touchables (#60) / Martian Melody — Mark-X 8009 — 2/26/61
  • The Touchables in Brooklyn (#42) / Mystery — Mark-X 8010 — 4/30/61
  • Horror Movies / Whoa Mule — Rori 601 — 1961
  • Berlin Top Ten (#116) / Little Tiger — Rori 602—10/23/61
  • Santa & the Touchables (#99) / North Pole Rock — Rori 701 — 12/31/61
  • Ben Crazy (#44) / Flip Side — JMD RX-001 / Diamond D-119 — 7/62
  • Senate Hearing (#116) / Lock Up – 20th Century Records 443 — 11/2/63
  • Paul Revere — Rori 712 — 1964
  • My Son the Joke – Comet CLP-69 — 1964; risque nightclub music LP
  • My Baby Loves Monster Movies / Theme from a Whodunit – DCP International 1111 — 10/3/64
  • Presidential Interview (Flying Saucer '64) / Paul Revere — Audio Spectrum 75 — 10/1964
  • The Invasion/What a Lovely Party (8/11/1964)
  • Frankenstein Meets the Beatles / Dracula Drag – DCP International 1126 — 12/12/64
  • Schmonanza / Backwards Theme — M.D. 101 — 3/1/65
  • James Bomb / Seventh Theme — Twirl 2015 — 1965
  • Never Play Poker with a Man Named Doc or Eat at a Place Called Mom's – 1966; sung by Goodman; produced by Goodman and/or Buchanan
  • Batman & His Grandmother (#70) / Suspense – Red Bird 10-058 — 5/28/66
  • Congressional Medal of Honor (sung by Susan Smith Goodman) – 1968
  • The Space Girl / Very Interesting – Roulette R-7020 — 9/68
  • Washington Uptight / The Cat — Oron 101 — late 1968
  • The Modify / Live a Little – Capitol 2407 — 4/17/69; Goodman wrote, produced, and sang
  • On Campus (#45) / Mombo Suzie—Cotique 158 — 6/28/69
  • Luna Trip (#95) / My Victrola—Cotique 173 — 9/6/69
  • Things — 1971
  • Speaking of Ecology / Dayton's Theme — Ramgo 501 / Scepter 12339 — 7/71
  • Watergrate (#42) / Friends — Rainy Wednesday 202—6/16/73
  • Purple People Eater (#119) / Ruthie's Theme — Rainy Wednesday 204 — 9/15/73
  • The Constitution / The End — Rainy Wednesday 205 — late 1973
  • Energy Crisis '74 (#33) / The Mistake — Rainy Wednesday 206 — 2/74
  • Screwy T.V. – Funko 1001 LP – 1974; Goodman's impersonations of popular TV shows. Considered quite raunchy for the day (and even featuring Goodman and his wife nude from behind on the front cover), only a handful of copies were sold, usually "under the counter".
  • Mr. President (#73) / Popularity — Rainy Wednesday 207 — 6/15/74
  • Gerry Ford (A Special Report) / Robert — Rainy Wednesday 208 — late 1974
  • Inflation in the Nation / Jon & Jed's Theme — Rainy Wednesday 209 — 1975
  • Mr. Jaws (#4) / Irv's Theme — Cash 451 — 9/6/75
  • Kong (#48) / Ed's Tune — Shock 6 – 2/5/77
  • Just Released — Tsuaris — 1977
  • Star Warts / The Boys' Tune — Janus 271 — summer 1977
  • Mrs. Jaws / Chomp Chomp — Shark 1001 — summer 1978
  • Super, Superman / Chomp Chomp — Shark 1002 — early 1979
  • Energy Crisis '79 / Pain — Hot Line 1017 — summer 1979
  • Election '80 – Prelude — fall 1980
  • Mr. President / Dancin' U.S.A. – Wacko 1001 — spring 1981
  • The Monster Album – studio unknown – 1980s
  • Super-Duper Man / Robert's Tune — Wacko 1002 — summer 1981
  • America '81 (Short Version) / (Long Version) – Wacko 1381 — 1981
  • Hey, E.T. / Get a Job — Extran 601/Montage P-B-1220 — fall 1982
  • Hey Dickie! – no label — 1982
  • Attack of the Z-Monster / Mystery — Z-100 — summer 1983
  • Radio Russia / Washington Inside-Out – Rhino RNOR 019 — 11/83
  • The Return of the Jedi Returns (Star Wars IV) – Rhino RNLP 811 — 11/83
  • Election '84 / Herb's Theme — Shell 711—1984
  • Safe Sex Report / Safety First — Goodname 100 — late 1987 / early 1988 (Goodman's final recording)

Produced by Goodman

[edit]
  • Please Won't You Call Me / Why Should We Break Up — Herald 477 — 1956; produced by Goodman
  • Forever Young / Come On Baby—Eldorado 504–1956; A-side written by Goodman; both sides produced by him and his partner, Bill Buchanan
  • Invisible Thing / Some Other Fellow—Luniverse 109 — 1958; written and produced by Goodman
  • Class Room / Fake Out—ABC-Paramount 45-9963 — 11/2/58; A-side was written and produced by Goodman
  • John Fitzgerald Kennedy: The Presidential Years, 1960 – 1963 — 20th Century TFM 3127 — 12/61 – 1/64 (Goodman was president at 20th Century Records at the time and released this album immediately after Kennedy's death.)
  • Sarah Jane / St. Marks & Third (sung by Susan Smith Goodman) – Bang 569 — 7/7/69
  • The Saxophone Circus! – Avco Embassy AVE 33002 — 1969; produced by Goodman
  • Coffee, Tea or Cuba / Ode to a Hijacker — Slew 451 — 1971; produced and written by Goodman
  • The Glass Bottle – Avco Embassy AVE-33012 — 1970; produced by Ramal and Goodman
  • The Glass Bottle – I Ain't Got Time Anymore (#36) / Things – Avco AVE-4575 — 7/7/71
  • Because She's Mine Again / The Girl Who Loved Me When – Avco Embassy AV-4584—1971; produced by Goodman
  • Superfly Meets Shaft (#31)/ Part Two — Rainy Wednesday 201 — 4/14/73; written and produced by Goodman
  • Soul President Number One / Crossover — Rainy Wednesday 203 — 2/73; written and produced by Goodman; B-side same as "Friends" (see above)

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Dickie Goodman

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Richard Dorian "Dickie" Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989) was an American and who pioneered the "break-in" novelty record format, splicing brief audio clips from contemporary hit songs into scripted comedic dialogues that mimicked reports or interviews, serving as an antecedent to modern digital sampling techniques. Goodman, born in Brooklyn, New York, initially collaborated with songwriter Bill Buchanan to create The Flying Saucer (Parts 1 & 2) in 1956, a simulated extraterrestrial invasion broadcast that peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, sold over one million copies, and popularized the break-in style despite initial radio station concerns over potential copyright infringement. Following Buchanan's death in 1984, Goodman produced solo break-in records satirizing events like the 1975 shark thriller phenomenon with Mr. Jaws, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard chart, and later efforts such as Presidential Election in 1988, maintaining chart success through the 1970s and 1980s by capitalizing on pop culture trends. His innovative approach influenced subsequent parody and remix genres, though it drew sporadic legal challenges from record labels over unauthorized use of song fragments. Goodman died by self-inflicted gunshot wound in Fayetteville, North Carolina, at age 55, with no publicly detailed motives.

Early Life

Childhood and Education

Richard Dorian Goodman was born on April 19, 1934, in , New York. His father worked as an attorney. Goodman exhibited an early penchant for humor and mischief during his school years, frequently engaging in pranks on classmates and teachers. He briefly attended but did not complete a degree, reflecting limited formal higher education. His formative interests in radio and audio storytelling drew inspiration from innovative broadcasts of the era, notably ' 1938 adaptation of , which demonstrated the dramatic potential of and narrative interruption techniques that later informed Goodman's experimental approaches to recording. Through personal experimentation with , he developed self-taught skills in editing and production, laying the groundwork for his entry into the music industry without structured training in those areas.

Career

Partnership with Bill Buchanan

Dickie Goodman met Bill Buchanan in the mid-1950s amid New York's competitive , where Goodman pursued songwriting and production after studying law at , and Buchanan operated as a struggling with experience in radio announcing. Both shared ambitions in novelty and comedy-oriented recordings, drawing on the era's vibrant scene of hit records and disc jockeys like . Their initial collaborations involved experimenting with comedy sketches and producing demo tapes, often utilizing snippets from contemporary hits to test creative concepts in informal studio sessions across multiple New York facilities. These early efforts reflected their complementary dynamic, with Goodman leveraging his scripting skills and vocal talents for narrative elements, while Buchanan contributed expertise in editing, technical assembly, and production logistics. By spring 1956, Goodman and Buchanan formalized their songwriting and production partnership, pooling resources to pitch ideas to labels and broadcasters despite initial rejections. This alliance capitalized on their mutual persistence in a field dominated by established players, fostering an environment of innovative risk-taking rooted in and without prior commercial precedents.

Invention and Development of Break-in Records

Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman devised the break-in record technique in 1956, drawing inspiration from ' 1938 radio adaptation of , which employed simulated bulletins and eyewitness accounts to evoke panic through audio storytelling. This approach led them to pioneer an audio collage method, splicing short excerpts from existing hit recordings into a scripted narrative where the borrowed phrases served as incongruous or witty replies to interview-style questions, effectively creating a report via pre-recorded snippets rather than live performances. The format's debut came with "The Flying Saucer" (subtitled Parts 1 and 2), a two-sided 7-inch single that framed a fictional UFO through mock on-the-scene reporting. Goodman narrated as reporter John Cameron Cameron, posing questions to invented eyewitnesses, scientists, and extraterrestrials, with responses derived from 1956 pop hits such as ' "" ("I don't know if it's a missile or not"), The Penguins' "" ("I wonder if he's the one"), and Patti Page's "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window" ("Twenty bucks"). Fabricated news clips and sound effects, including whooshing saucers and alien voices provided by Buchanan, enhanced the illusion of breaking developments. Initially recorded as an acetate demo at a New York studio for approximately $100, the track faced rejection from major record labels wary of its sampling of copyrighted material without permission. The duo then self-financed a small run of copies and delivered it to WINS radio station, where disc jockey broadcast it on July 13, 1956, sparking overwhelming listener requests that prompted an official independent release on the newly formed Luniverse Records label (catalog number 101). "The Flying Saucer" rapidly ascended to number 3 on the Best Sellers in Stores chart by August , remaining there for several weeks and ultimately selling over one million units, a milestone that certified its status as a gold record and demonstrated the break-in method's appeal amid mid- novelty trends.

Major Hits in the 1950s and

Goodman and Buchanan's debut break-in record, "The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & 2," released in August on Luniverse Records, achieved significant commercial success, peaking at number 3 on the and remaining on the chart for 13 weeks. The single sold over 500,000 copies within three weeks of release, demonstrating the format's appeal beyond novelty status. A follow-up, "Buchanan and Goodman on Trial," issued later in , satirized legal repercussions from the original's sampling but did not replicate its chart performance. Transitioning to solo work, Goodman's 1961 release "The Touchables," parodying the television series The Untouchables, entered the at number 83 and peaked at number 60. The following year, "Ben Crazy," a spoof of the medical drama , fared better, reaching number 44 on the same chart. These mid-1960s efforts underscored persistent interest in the break-in style, tying into contemporaneous pop culture phenomena. In 1966, amid the Batman television series' popularity, Goodman released "Batman & His Grandmother," which climbed to number 70 on the . Despite lower peaks compared to the 1956 breakthrough, these recordings affirmed the genre's commercial endurance, with chart entries reflecting sustained radio play and sales viability for novelty-driven content.

1970s Productions and Solo Work

In the , Dickie Goodman transitioned to independent productions under his own name, focusing on break-in that satirized timely events amid evolving trends dominated by and blockbuster films. Retaining his signature technique of interspersing narration with brief excerpts from hit songs, Goodman crafted topical parodies that captured public obsessions, such as political intrigue and societal disruptions, often framing them as mock news reports or interviews. This approach allowed him to navigate licensing challenges while leveraging the era's for humorous effect. A notable example was "Watergrate," released in 1973 on Rainy Wednesday Records, which lampooned the through simulated dialogues incorporating snippets from contemporary tracks like those by and . The single peaked at number 42 on the , reflecting modest chart traction amid the scandal's peak media coverage. Building on this, "Energy Crisis '74" in 1974 addressed the Arab oil embargo and fuel shortages, using samples from songs by , , and to underscore economic anxieties; it reached number 33 on the . Goodman's most commercially successful 1970s solo effort came with "Mr. Jaws" in 1975 on Cash Records, a parody of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film Jaws featuring Goodman as a reporter "interviewing" the shark and beachgoers via clips from hits like "Dynomite" by Tony King and "Please Mr. Please" by Olivia Newton-John. The record ascended to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, demonstrating his adaptability to cinematic phenomena and the enduring appeal of his format in a disco-influenced market.

Innovations and Techniques

The Break-in Recording Method

The break-in recording method, pioneered by Dickie Goodman in collaboration with Bill Buchanan, involved manually editing reel-to-reel to splice brief audio excerpts from contemporary hit records into a cohesive comedic narrative. This process relied on physical cutting of the tape using a razor blade along with adhesive splicing tape to join segments precisely, a labor-intensive analog technique common in mid-20th-century audio production before digital editing tools existed. Goodman provided the spoken-word framework, recording his voice as a mock news reporter or interviewer to pose questions or set scenes, simulating live event coverage such as invasions or scandals. The spliced musical snippets served as incongruous "responses" from fictional sources, generating humorous dissonance through their out-of-context phrasing or lyrics, often twisted into absurd or satirical interpretations of real-world topics. Additional elements like sound effects or speed-altered voices could be layered via further splicing to enhance the chaotic, radio-broadcast illusion. This method's low production costs stemmed from its reliance on readily available source records and basic tape editing equipment, bypassing expensive or studio musicianship. The analog constraints—limited to precise manual cuts without non-destructive editing—necessitated skilled timing but enabled rapid assembly, often completed in days to capitalize on fleeting current events, with final tapes transferred to discs for pressing. As an early form of audio , it prefigured digital sampling by repurposing existing recordings through mechanical reconfiguration rather than re-performance.

Technical and Creative Process

Goodman's iterative for refining break-in centered on scripting a framework, such as a mock broadcast, before identifying lyrical phrases from contemporaneous hit singles that could punningly align with the . Audio clips were practically sourced by purchasing commercial 78 rpm or 45 rpm of popular songs and relevant snippets—typically one to three seconds long—onto for manipulation. This selection process demanded trial-and-error experimentation to ensure the borrowed elements advanced the story's comedic arc, with Goodman repeatedly auditioning dozens of tracks to curate fits that evoked surprise through decontextualized responses. Technically, assembly relied on analog tape editing, involving physical cutting and splicing to interweave Goodman's recorded with the sourced clips, a labor-intensive method that required precise razor-blade cuts to minimize audible seams and preserve rhythmic flow. Challenges arose in synchronizing disparate tempos, often necessitating subtle varispeed adjustments during to match the 's pace, as hit records varied in beats per minute and phrasing. For humorous effect, Goodman employed basic voice modulation techniques, such as pitch-shifting his own reporter persona via tape speed variation, to create exaggerated or frantic tones that heightened the . Over time, his process evolved from monaural recordings in the , which compressed elements into a single channel, to stereophonic formats by the 1970s, enabling panned separation of and music for improved clarity and immersion in the audio . This approach fundamentally prioritized construction through juxtaposed fragments over melodic composition, treating sound as modular building blocks for emergent . Following the release of "The Flying Saucer" in August 1956, Buchanan and Goodman faced multiple copyright infringement lawsuits filed by music publishers and record labels whose recordings were sampled in brief snippets for the novelty track. Suits were initiated as early as July 1956, with plaintiffs alleging unauthorized reproduction and distribution of protected audio clips, seeking to halt sales and claiming damages for the commercial exploitation of their intellectual property. Reports indicate up to 17 different entities pursued legal action, targeting the duo's innovative use of interpolated excerpts from contemporary hits to construct the alien invasion narrative. Buchanan and Goodman defended the record as a form of or , arguing that the brief, transformative clips—often mere seconds long—did not substantially reproduce the originals and served a humorous, commentary purpose rather than direct competition. They contended the snippets constituted use, too insignificant in quantity and altered in context to infringe copyrights meaningfully, while emphasizing the original creative framework of reporter-style questioning. In response to attempts to block distribution, the duo reportedly filed countersuits against some plaintiffs, accusing them of with business relations by seeking premature injunctions that impeded the record's market momentum. Courts initially considered temporary restraining orders, but a judge declined to issue a broad prohibiting sales, ruling the work fell under protected as it critiqued and recontextualized the source material without harming its market value. The decision highlighted the brevity of the excerpts and their non-literal integration, dismissing the claims and allowing continued distribution; subsequent cases were either dropped or resolved without sustained liability for the creators. This outcome effectively validated the break-in technique in practice, though it prompted varied settlements in lingering disputes.

Outcomes and Industry Impact

Court rulings in the 1950s, such as the 1957 decision involving Buchanan and Goodman's works, classified break-in records as or protected under principles, dismissing multiple infringement claims from record companies and publishers. In one notable case, Judge Henry Clay Greenberg denied an against Goodman, noting that the defendants had "artfully and cleverly the current best sellers" without constituting infringement. While these outcomes validated the novelty format's legal standing without mandating full royalties to original artists or labels, resolutions often involved settlements requiring fractional payments—such as a fraction of a cent per excerpt per disc sold—to affected parties, erecting practical licensing and negotiation barriers for producers. This structure preserved Goodman's ability to operate but imposed financial and administrative hurdles that limited scalability for imitators. Over the long term, the legal precedents deterred mass replication of break-ins due to persistent litigation risks and costs, maintaining the technique as a niche rather than transformative industry norm during Goodman's era. Nonetheless, the rulings affirmed the format's commercial viability, enabling Goodman to release nearly 20 charting singles from 1956 to 1982, including hits like "Mr. Jaws" and "." Record labels and publishers frequently criticized break-ins as exploitative, arguing they profited disproportionately from brief, unauthorized uses of established recordings while evading substantial compensation. Despite such views, Goodman's successes demonstrated the format's potential to generate revenue through creative remixing of existing content, prefiguring user-driven production models in analog media.

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Richard Dorian Goodman was born on April 19, 1934, , New York, to a Jewish family; his father had immigrated from and worked as a after arriving . This background shaped his early life in a working-class neighborhood, where cultural influences from immigrant communities were prominent. Goodman married , with whom he collaborated on a 1960s album featuring musical recordings. The couple had three children: sons and Jed, and daughter Janie. Jed pursued a as a child actor and model. Following Goodman's death in 1989, his son Goodman took an active role in managing the family's music royalties, including selling songwriting rights through platforms like Royalty Exchange in 2018 to preserve his father's artistic legacy. also authored The King of Novelty, a biography detailing his father's life, published in 2000. Goodman and divorced in the 1980s, after which she separated from him amid his personal challenges. The couple's children survived him, with the family maintaining ties to his musical heritage in subsequent years.

Gambling Addiction and Financial Struggles

Goodman developed a chronic centered on and racetrack betting, which persistently eroded his financial stability despite periodic professional successes in music production. This compulsion consumed much of his income from royalties and deals, leading to repeated cycles of debt accumulation and attempts at recovery. By the late 1980s, the addiction had resulted in substantial financial liabilities, exacerbated by the volatile nature of the novelty record industry but primarily driven by personal betting losses rather than external factors alone. Accounts indicate he secured multiple label agreements over the years, yet these provided only temporary relief as outlays consistently undermined any gains. To alleviate mounting debts, Goodman sold off valuable master tapes of his recordings at undervalued prices, a decision reflective of acute desperation from the addiction's toll.

Death

Circumstances and Contributing Factors

On November 6, 1989, Richard Dorian "Dickie" Goodman, aged 55, died from a self-inflicted to the head at his son Jon's home in . The immediate precipitating factors included severe financial distress from accumulated debts and a long-standing , compounded by a recent from his wife. Police and coroner's reports classified the death as , with no found and no indications of foul play or external coercion.

Legacy

Influence on Sampling and Modern Music

Buchanan and Goodman's 1956 recording "The Flying Saucer" introduced the break-in technique, which spliced short audio excerpts from hit songs into a simulated radio news bulletin about a UFO invasion, achieving sales of over 2 million copies and reaching number 3 on the . This analog method of excerpting and recontextualizing musical fragments predated digital sampling tools by decades, functioning as a proto-form of composition that disrupted linear playback norms. By manually editing reel-to-reel tapes to interweave snippets—such as lines from and —Goodman created disjointed dialogues, establishing a causal precedent for non-linear audio assembly in . The break-in approach influenced hip-hop's foundational practices, where early DJs extended drum breaks and scratched records to isolate elements, mirroring Goodman's fragment-based narrative construction. Sampling historians, including producer Steinski, reference break-in records as early collages that informed the genre's cut-and-paste ethos, evident in 1980s tracks like Steinski's own "Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop Mix)" (1985), which directly sampled Goodman's "Mr. Jaws" (1975). Goodman's technique extended to digital-era mashups and electronic music, where software enables similar excerpt layering, as seen in the proliferation of bootleg remixes post-2000 that echo his out-of-context juxtapositions. Though often critiqued as novelty gimmicks lacking artistic depth, Goodman's break-ins garnered over 20 entries from 1956 to 1983, including top-10 hits like "Mr. Jaws," demonstrating sustained market reception and presaging sampling's commercial dominance in genres like hip-hop, where tracks routinely chart via interpolated samples. The technique's lasting viability is underscored by ongoing royalty generation; in 2018, Goodman's son auctioned his father's songwriting royalties on Royalty Exchange for preservation, citing demand from modern sampling clearances that yielded bids reflecting the catalog's sampled value in contemporary productions.

Recognition and Cultural Impact

Goodman's break-in records earned him the moniker "King of Novelty" in biographical accounts, reflecting his pioneering role in blending news-style narration with snippets from popular songs to create satirical commentary on contemporary events. His son Jon Goodman's 2000 biography, The King of Novelty, highlights this title and documents Goodman's chart success with over a dozen novelty hits spanning three decades, including certifications from sources like the Guinness Book of World Records for the most charted novelty/comedy records by a single artist. Posthumously, Goodman has been featured in podcasts such as Bob Barry's Unearthed Interviews, which revisit his technique's ingenuity in pre-digital sampling eras. Culturally, Goodman's works provided unfiltered parody of events like UFO sightings in "" (1956) and the in "Watergrate" (1973), using audio clips to mock public fascination and political absurdity without deference to emerging sensitivities around offense. This approach prefigured modern by repurposing existing media for humorous critique, though it operated in a pre-PC era where such direct faced fewer institutional restraints. While praised for democratizing production through accessible techniques that bypassed traditional , Goodman's output has drawn critiques for its derivative reliance on borrowed elements from hit records, positioning novelty as secondary to original artistry in some histories. This tension underscores a broader dismissal of novelty genres as ephemeral, yet Goodman's method arguably expanded parody's reach, influencing how audio fragments convey cultural beyond elite composition.

References

  1. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dickie-goodman-mn0000822837
  2. http://www.rebeatmag.com/dickie-goodman-and-the-art-of-the-break-in-record/
  3. https://seniorslifestylemag.com/lifestyle/stories/who-is-dickie-goodman/
  4. https://fromthevaults-boppinbob.blogspot.com/2018/04/dickie-goodman-born-19-april-1934.html
  5. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7547/dickie-goodman
  6. https://themusicsover.com/2009/11/06/dickie-goodman/
  7. https://mentalitch.com/dickie-goodman-the-king-of-novelty/
  8. http://www.reporterherald.com/2012/12/11/flying-saucers-hit-the-us-in-1956/
  9. https://tims.blackcat.nl/messages/dickie_goodman.htm
  10. http://musicmasteroldies.com/2012/01/10/new-oldies-our-little-tragedy-by-lawrence-and-johnson/
  11. https://kimsloans.wordpress.com/2018/07/30/the-long-journey-back-to-earth/
  12. https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/goodman_dickie
  13. https://500songs.com/podcast/pledge-week-the-flying-saucer-by-buchanan-and-goodman/
  14. https://www.discogs.com/master/311454-Buchanan-And-Goodman-The-Flying-Saucer
  15. https://madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=897
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOMmjLoz-M
  17. https://thjkoc.net/2024/10/11/fake-news/
  18. https://www.discogs.com/release/11039756-Buchanan-And-Goodman-Buchanan-And-Goodman-On-Trial-Crazy
  19. https://pophits.org/songs/dickie-goodman-batman-his-grandmother
  20. https://crackedrearviewer.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/the-wild-wacky-world-of-dickie-goodman/
  21. https://www.early70sradio.com/2016/05/early-70s-break-in-records-on-charts.html
  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxdBszSXGNI
  23. https://retronewser.com/2025/10/11/mr-jaws-by-dickie-goodman-peaks-at-4-in-usa/
  24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvzN59FJXXY
  25. https://www.waybackattack.com/buchananandgoodman.html
  26. https://theavidlistenerblogcom.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/cutting-it-up-with-dickie-goodman-communism-castro-and-the-wall/
  27. https://community.soulstrut.com/discussion/22818/oldest-instance-of-sampling
  28. https://www.facebook.com/groups/78rpmclub/posts/24409182648680140/
  29. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/10/10/archives/the-pop-life-from-flying-saucer-to-mr-jaws.html
  30. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1516996665210017/posts/2527024434207230/
  31. https://www.rebeatmag.com/dickie-goodman-and-the-art-of-the-break-in-record/
  32. https://www.nydailynews.com/2005/04/18/it-came-from-beyond-the-copyright-laws-buchanan-and-goddman-sample-earlier-product-1956/
  33. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/24/electronicmusic-urban
  34. http://chuckthewriter.com/goodman.html
  35. https://www.musicvf.com/Dickie%2BGoodman.songs
  36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5703/shofar.34.3.0050
  37. https://open.spotify.com/album/2geoCDub0fELSVAzvAQcjU
  38. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1208371/bio/
  39. https://www.royaltyexchange.com/blog/jon-goodman
  40. https://blog.marshotelonline.com/2009/05/24/if-cracked/
  41. https://www.facebook.com/groups/240098362684435/posts/637514929609441/
  42. https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1181&context=betr
  43. https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/anniversary/justified-ancients-of-mu-mu-coldcut-marrs-steinski/
  44. https://www.npr.org/2008/10/22/93844583/steinski-gives-a-sampling-history-lesson
  45. https://www.whosampled.com/Dickie-Goodman/
  46. https://www.fortyfivefunk.com/home/altered-crate-digging-politics/
  47. https://groups.google.com/g/alt.rock-n-roll.oldies/c/o9XM527PhbM
  48. https://radiomaxmusic2.wordpress.com/2024/04/18/thursday-apil-18-2024-12pm-et-feature-artist-dickie-goodman/
  49. https://www.npr.org/2002/06/14/1145033/dickie-goodman
  50. https://d9.rlsmedia.com/libweb/u308H4/244227/The%2520King%2520Of%2520Novelty%2520Dickie%2520Goodman.pdf
  51. https://www.wisconsinbroadcastingmuseum.org/memory-salon/bob-barrys-unearthed-interviews-podcast-dickie-goodman/
  52. https://chuckthewriter.blog/2020/03/09/k-chuck-radio-the-invasion-of-the-break-ins/
  53. https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1772&context=cwlr
  54. https://jdconnor.squarespace.com/s/Connor-Albert-Brooks.pdf
  55. https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/1516/chapter/172263/Consequences-for-CreativityAn-Assessment-of-the
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.