Today a novelty song to make a point. The other day I heard a DJ refer to the song "Louie Louie" as a one-hit wonder by the Kingsmen. WRONG! True the Kingsmen had a huge hit with the controversial Richard Berry song, but the band (with various lineup changes) had NINE Billboard Hot 100 hits in the 60's including "Money", "Little Latin Lupe Lu", "Death of an Angel", "The Climb", "Annie Fanny" and today's forgotten oldie. "The Jolly Green Giant" was recorded as a joke, a takeoff on a TV commercial featuring a large green guy selling vegetables. Libby Foods, who owned The Jolly Green Giant brand didn't know how to react... the West coast office sent veggies for the band to give away at concerts, while the East coast office sued them.
Regardless, "The Jolly Green Giant" was never intended to be released as a single, but it roared all the way to #4 on Billboard in 1964... and today remains largely forgotten.
