The disco craze was responsible for many, many heinous hits
and easily some of the worst (and often most tenuous) novelties imaginable. But
if you thought Disco Duck by Rick
Dees and his Cast of Idiots was about as
stupid as it could get, you obviously haven't met Freddy, the Disco
Frog.
I first discovered this terrible record at the essential Music
for Maniacs blog, courtesy of occasional
WWR contributor Windbag. Its
utter appallingness aside, what’s really fascinating about this release is the
man behind it: Major Bill Smith.
Even if you don’t recognise the name, I’ll guarantee you’ve
rubbed musical shoulders with Major Bill Smith. The Fort Worth-based Major enjoyed a fair bit of success as a record
producer early in his career, with huge international hits for Bruce
Channel and Paul And Paula as well as the early teenage car-crash biggie Last
Kiss. He also had dealings with the Legendary
Stardust Cowboy, grabbing a producer and
publisher credit on Paralyzed
and reportedly absconding with the tapes for Ledge’s first full-length album.
In the 1980's the cut-price Colonel Parker was also claiming to be the manager
of Elvis Presley, releasing
records (and even a telephone interview) which, he claimed, were recorded long
after the King had apparently left this world for the big burger bar in the
sky. He also issued, under his own name, Cry Of An Unborn Child, a sub-Lil’ Markie slice of in utero schmaltz which may well appear
here at a later date.
But back to today’s record. Written and performed by Major
Bill Smith with Zane and Hogan, the
terrible Freddy, the Disco Frog was
issued on Smith’s own Le Cam label
around 1978, as the B-Side to Elvis tribute Requiem to the King. After a long and colourful career in music Smith passed away, at the age of 72, on September 12, 1994.
Enjoy!
LOVE the backing vocals.
ReplyDeleteWasted on this song!
DeleteIt's just as well that this chap's dead, he clearly wasn't very well at all. What a bizarre waste of studio time and electricity.
ReplyDeleteGlad you provided this singular artifact and it's creator more (virtual) ink then I could. I sometimes regret I can't get more in depth on some of these shadowy figures in my rush to put up so much music.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThis is cool!
ReplyDelete