11. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye (Steam)
Writers Gary De Carlo, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka from
Bridgeport, Connecticut got together one afternoon to record a B-side for De
Carlo's "better songs." They used part of an old song Frashuer and
Leka wrote 8 years previously called "Kiss Him Good-bye," and slapped
on a chorus without words, just "Na na" with an occasional "Hey,
hey." There was no band, just the 3 of them with a spliced up drum track.
By 5 am that morning they emerged from the studio to witness a fire with a lot
of "steam" coming out of a manhole.
When Bob Reno of Mercury Records wanted to release the song as an A-side, De
Carlo, Leka and Frashuer didn't want their names associated with the song, so
Leka remembered the "steam" incident and used that for a group name.
Ironically, De Carlo's other songs released under his name flopped while this
"embarrassment" went to #1. He was so dismayed that he refused to
record anymore Steam records; Paul Leka had to recruit other musicians to make
up the group.
This is commonly used at sporting events when the home team
is about to win or an opposing player is removed from the game.
The recording was designed to be a seven-to-eight minute
throwaway of a B-side. (The intended A-side, which became the B-side, was a
song called "It's The Magic In You Girl"). It was shortened after
test pressings had phonograph needles jumping out of the groove of the 45.
Bananarama covered this on their first album in 1983.
Paul Leka was also a member of the Lemon Pipers, the group
who gave us "Green Tambourine."