Legends: Allan Sherman - Great Song Parodist

Allan Sherman was one of the greatest song parodists who ever lived. He emerged from nowhere in the early 1960s to become one of the biggest selling musical artists in the pre-Beatles era.

His album, “My Son, The Folksinger”, released in 1962, shot to the top of the charts, and became the fastest selling record of its time. It captured the entire country. His next album, “My Son, The Nut”, featured his biggest hit, “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”, about a boy writing home to his parents from summer camp. It was written to the tune of Ponchielli’s “Dance Of The Hours”.

Before he became a musical star Sherman was employed in television, where he came up with the idea for the show “I’ve Got a Secret”.

His musical ascendance was meteoric. He played some of his song parodies to Harpo Marx, his neighbor, who invited him to perform them at some dinner parties. George Burns was at one such party and he urged his friend at Warner Brothers Records to sign Sherman. “Sarah Jackman”, sung to the tune of “Frere Jacques”, became his first hit after President John F. Kennedy was overheard singing the song in a hotel lobby.

Sherman’s musical career peaked in 1963, but then, following the assassination of JFK and the emergence of The Beatles and the other British Invasion bands, his career waned and it was over by 1967. Sherman died at age 49 in 1973. But he left a big legacy.

Featured songs:
“Shake Hands With Your Uncle Max”
“Harvey And Sheila”
“Crazy Downtown”
“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”