The No1 song in the US on this day, December 5th 1969, was Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam. The song would remain at No1 for two weeks and would be Steams only No1 song. It would reach No9 in the UK. One of the strangest No1 hits in history, this song was written as a throwaway B-side, but became a cultural phenomenon used for years to come as a musical goodbye. The song was written by Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka, who had been in a band together called the Chateaus in the early 60s. One of the songs they wrote and released as the Chateaus was a tune called Kiss Him Goodbye, which was issued in 1961. In 1968, Leka co-wrote and co-produced the song Green Tambourine, which was a huge hit for The Lemon Pipers. The following year, he started working with DeCarlo, who was using the stage name Garrett Scott. Working for Mercury Records, they set to work writing singles for Garrett Scott. They recorded four songs, which Leka produced. The first one released was Working On A Groovy Thing, which was written by Roger Atkins and Neil Sedaka. The 5th Dimension also recorded the song and released it first, which tanked the Garrett Scott version (The 5th Dimension recording made #20 US). The next single planned for DeCarlo was Sweet Laura Lee, a ballad written by Larry Weiss, composer of Rhinestone Cowboy. Needing a B-side, for this tune, Leka and DeCarlo went back to the studio, where they were joined by their old bandmate Dale Frashuer, who suggested they use their 1961 song Kiss Him Goodbye. That song didnt have a chorus, so Leka wrote one, lazily using na nas instead of actual words. They started the session around 7pm and finished at 5am, but when they emerged, they had the completed song. When Bob Reno, the A&R man at Mercury, heard the song, he loved it and didnt want to waste it as a B-side. He needed singles for the Mercury subsidiary Fontana Records, so the song was released on that label and credited to the group Steam (named because after the session to record it, the guys were crossing 7th Ave and a subway train went beneath the roadway, shooting steam up from the manhole). From there, the story gets convoluted, but when the single was released it became a surprise hit. DeCarlo had a huge hit on his hands, but not as a solo artist but as part of an anonymous group. The most-repeated story is that the three writers were embarrassed about Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, so they created the name Steam to hide their identities. DeCarlo tells us, however, that he was never embarrassed by the song, and that he was promised more of the action. I was supposed to be the singer and road act for Na Na as it was my B-side, he told us. When Paul and the company got together they decided to split the record, meaning there would be two out. Paul said I would be able to do both as Garrett Scott, which I was later told I had no group. Paul said he would get me a group from a booking agency in New York, which never happened. Na Na was never done with a group in mind, it was the B-side of my single. The name Steam wasnt invented until the album was being done. This is commonly used at sporting events when the home team is about to win or an opposing player is removed from the game. Heres Steam with Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye..... Enjoy!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 20:06:22 +0000