User:CalWriter88
Bomb Iran: A Musical Parody
[edit]In addition to the parodies recorded by Vince Vance and the Valiants and "The Baritone Dwarfs"[1]"Time may have come for rockin', sockin', 'bomb Iran' song", another version of "Bomb Iran" (to the tune of Barbara Ann) was written by radio personalities Dana Michaels and Tom Rivers[1]. This version of the song was produced by Rivers and performed by Michaels (guitar and vocals), Ernie Norris (guitar and vocals), John Rode (guitar and vocals), Mark Lewis (vocals), and Tony Blake (vocals). [1]
It was first aired on KFQD Radio (where Rivers was program director) in Anchorage, Alaska on Apr. 25, 1980[1], immediately after an attempt to rescue the American hostages in Tehran failed. Rivers later wrote in Billboard Magazine, "...the phones lit up like a Christmas tree. We logged more than 20,000 calls in three days...and they were 97 percent positive."[1]
Because the performers were all radio personalities, the parody was mentioned in the trade paper Radio and Records. Rivers offered to send a cassette of the song to any radio station that wanted to play it, and was flooded with requests. The song got airplay all around the world, and was a big hit in Alaska, Australia, and New Zealand. Rivers even heard from a reporter in Tehran that he had heard it there — probably the result of a radio signal “skip.”
The group called themselves "The Not Current in This Time Zone Singers," a take-off on the Saturday Night Live performers’ moniker that requires some explanation. In 1980, satellite broadcast time was so expensive, TV networks shipped tapes of their series episodes to Alaska and Hawaii, where they were broadcast a week or two later than in the “Lower 48” states. At the end of these programs, when a network voice-over promoted the next show over the closing credits, the Alaska TV stations inserted a locally-recorded voice that said, “Not current in this time zone.” Playing on their isolation from the rest of the U.S., the group created their own “not ready for prime time” name.
Because of the song’s popularity in Australia and New Zealand, EMI Records called Rivers to discuss a possible recording contract and tour[1] That seemed unrealistic to the performers, since they had only recorded the one song. It didn’t matter, since when EMI contacted Fred Fassert, who owned the copyright to "Barbara Ann,” he reportedly wanted $30,000 just to discuss the recording rights. EMI wasn't going to gamble that much money on a one-hit group of disc jockeys in Alaska, and dropped the idea. Soon after, the group received a "cease and desist" order from Fassert's lawyer, and that was the end of the Not Current in This Time Zone Singers’ hopes for commercial success with “Bomb Iran.”
In the summer of 1980, the Not Current in This Time Zone Singers recorded a parody of “Pilot of the Airwaves,” called “Zobels of Alaska.”[1] The satirical lyrics were again written by Michaels, inspired by a local news story, and so only drew interest in Alaska. It was the last time the group recorded or performed together. Rivers and Michaels returned to the Lower 48, then moved to Toronto, Canada, later that year, for Rivers’ celebrated return to CHUM-AM Radio.[2]
The parody lives on and became political fodder in 2007, in Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) campaign for the 2008 presidential election. At an appearance in Murrells, South Carolina, he responded to an audience question about military action against Iran by referring to "that old Beach Boys tune," then singing the parody chorus, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, anyway, ah ..." [2][3] McCain later claimed he was only joking, but his opponents used it against him throughout the 2008 campaign.[3]
--CalWriter88 00:13, 30 November 2009 (UTC)
Content
[edit]Time may have come for rockin', sockin', 'bomb Iran' song.[4]
Not Current in This Time Zone Singers.[5]
The drums of war heard in Anchorage.[6]
From Michigan to Alaska: PD Tom Rivers.[7]
McCain Jokes About Bombing Iran.[8]
ANALYSIS-McCain foreign policy susceptible to Obama attack.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Suzan Nightingale and Linda Sievers,Anchorage Daily News,Apr. 30, 1980 Cite error: The named reference "name" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Liz Sidoti,Associated Press,April 19, 2007
- ^ David Morgan,Reuters,June 25, 2008
- ^ Anchorage Daily News, April 29, 1980
- ^ Anchorage Daily News, Aug. 3, 1980
- ^ Anchorage Daily News,April 26, 1980
- ^ Billboard Magazine,July 19, 1980
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle,April 19, 2007
- ^ David Morgan,Reuters,June 25, 2008
Nightingale, Suzan and Sievers, Linda: ["Time may have come for rockin', sockin', 'bomb Iran' song". Anchorage Daily News, April 29, 1980, page C-1.
Sidoti, Liz: "McCain Jokes About Bombing Iran". San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 2007.
Morgan, David: "ANALYSIS-McCain foreign policy susceptible to Obama attack", Reuters.com, June 25, 2008.