Welcome back to my perpetually behind next installment of the Golden Nuggets series, where I take a look at the number one songs on the Billboard charts from this week (I try to) from 50 years ago, and reflect on the listening habits of America from days gone by. This spotlight is on the band Steam, with their hit song,' Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye'. If you unaware of the song, or just want to refresh your memory, you can listen to it here.
To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I knew this song when I saw the list for the next #1 song. From the title, I had a guess, and I guessed right. This song is very popular at sporting events and the like, though I had only ever heard the chorus until listening to the song for this reflection, and in reality I wasn't missing much. I had also never heard of the band Steam, which was apparently a studio creation formed to credit the song to, though it was actually written and performed by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer. Allegedly, this song was also a joke relegated to the b-side of another song meant to be the main single, but nobody realized the mostly worldess chorus was in jest, and the song became a hit regardless.
This studio entity managed to record one album under the Steam name before disbanding shortly after, but their one hit has stood the test of time. It's kind of amazing that I had heard this song so many times at sporting events, on commercials and elsewhere but knew virtually nothing about the musicians who created it. I feel like back in the '60s and '70s one could fluke their way onto the charts with a hit while simultaneously being completely unknown and fading just as quickly, which seems just so impossible now, for better or worse.
As for the song, the chorus is an earworm, but the verses are filler at best. I can totally see how this was allegedly the b side for another song, as I don't really gravitate to this song in the slightest. I feel it has only stood the test of time by its singsong chorus taking on a bit of a mocking tone, which I'm sure has led to this being a staple of many drunken post breakup karaoke sessions the world round.
Check back in very soon, as I'll be trying to catch up on this series (the next entry will be 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' by Peter Paul and Mary), as well as put out some year end lists that hopefully are released not too long into the new year if I can help it. Cheers, and happt holidays.
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