August 13, 1966 –
Napoleon XIV’s goofy breakup song They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-haaa peaks at #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 on this date. It quickly drops to the bottom of the Top 40, however, as several radio stations ban the tune, fearing its lyrics might be interpreted as being insensitive to the mentally ill.
When this novelty song became a surprise hit, the record company sent other people to perform it at live appearances while Jerry Samuels, a recording engineer from New York City, kept working at his day job.
(An interesting bit of trivia, at least to me,) Once a song was released, it fell into the realm of compulsory licensing, which means anyone could record it if they pay the statutory royalty rate. Since this has no discernable melody, the producers were able to copyright it as a lecture intended for oral delivery instead of as a song. This meant other record companies couldn’t copy it without permission.
The Haus of Dcaligari 