July 25, 2019

45 RPM 34: Bill Buchanan & Dickie Goodman ~ The Flying Saucer

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On July 25, 1956, Bill Buchanan & Dickie Goodman released the wacky novelty single, The Flying Saucer, Pts. 1 & 2 and I would never be the same; I was in my teens! What more can I say?           


date & photographer unknown


The Flying Saucer is one of the early attempts at sampling in popular music; it was done with experimental & musique concrète music in the 40's. It featured segments of popular songs intertwined with a spoken "news" commentary to tell the story of a visit of a flying saucer. Bill Buchanan plays the radio announcer, stating that the spacemen are attacking Earth. Dickie Goodman plays reporter John Cameron-Cameron (a play on the broadcaster John Cameron Swayze) (links below).           


Buchanan & Goodman ~ The Flying Saucer Pt. 1
45 rpm record, side 1
photo by Styrous®


The song uses clips from 17 different songs, each of which was a top 20 hit in 1955 or 1956. In order of occurrence:
  1. Side One

     
    45 rpm record label, side 1
    photo by Styrous®
     

  2. Side Two

 

Buchanan & Goodman ~ The Flying Saucer Pt. 2
45 rpm record, side 2
photo by Styrous®


The record also contains an early, deliberate backward secret message in part two. The alien message in their own language plays as "caution, secretary of defense" when played backward.  There is an excellent breakdown of each sampled tune on Songfacts as well as the lyrics (links below).   

The record was controversial from the moment it hit the shelves. Its wide use of "sampling" prompted music publishers to file suit against Buchanan and Goodman in July (1956). The two men were verbally attacked by record companies, too, with an anonymous source telling Billboard, "If we can't stop this nothing is safe in our business." While The Flying Saucer was not the first record to quote from famous songs (see "Cool Whalin'" by Babs Gonzales), it was the first popular record to sample directly from the records themselves.      
       

Buchanan & Goodman ~ The Flying Saucer Pt. 2
45 rpm record label, side 2
photo by Styrous®


The Flying Saucer reached position 3 in the Billboard rankings for 1956.              
         
        
Viewfinder links:       
        
Fats Domino  
Bill Haley         
The Platters  
Elvis Presley          
The Flying Saucer lyrics        
       
Net links:          
   
Blackcat Rockabilly Europe ~    
            William V. Buchanan            
            Richard Dorian Goodman            
MetaFilter ~ Look to the skies. The flying saucers will always be there   
Songfacts ~ The Flying Saucer             
Wayback Attack ~ Buchanan & Goodman           
       
YouTube links:          
       
        
          
      
         
       
      
         
Styrous® ~ Thursday, July 25, 2019            
     
    


 





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