From The Gong Show to Jerry Lewis: The Live Performances of Oingo Boingo

As my CD collection (because I have a CD collection) can prove, I'm a big fan of the Danny Elfman-fronted Oingo Boingo, at least before they became Boingo and became kinda "meh."  In one of the odder collisions of pop culture, the band performed on Jerry Lewis's annual Labor Day telethon in 1987, performing "We Close Our Eyes" (which, strangely, seems to be lip-synced) and "Not My Slave" (which isn't?).


But that's not all the live Oingo I've got for you -- here's the band performing "Not My Slave" and "Elevator Man" on the short-lived (Sinbad-hosted!) "Keep on Cruisin'" the same year.




Of course, these clips come from a time after the band had become a bit more pop and less experimental.  For a look at them closer to the era of FORBIDDEN ZONE, check them out on "The Gong Show" over a decade earlier, when they were still performing under their full moniker of "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo."

Carol Channing and Teresa Graves perform "Soul Sister" on "Laugh-In"

I'd point out the talents of the late Teresa Graves, who was a regular "Laugh-In" performer before playing the lead in 1974's "Get Christie Love!" made-for-TV movie and subsequent series before retiring from the public eye, but it's tough not to focus on Carol Channing's huge white afro.

Evening Entertainment: Kate Bush's Christmas Special (1979)

I'm not sure who thought giving Kate Bush a Christmas special just as variety shows were starting to fall out of fashion, but I love the fact that they did.  Peter Gabriel also shows up, but really, it's lots of Kate Bush being Kate Bush.

Paul Sorvino sings a Christmas medley

And he's not bad?  In any case, it's an odd thing to see the GOODFELLAS star belt out a tune in a clip from a Universal Studios promotional special.

Morning Music: Nana Mouskouri - "Minuit Chrétiens"

It's not a crazy, wild video or song or anything, but it's Christmas Eve, so here's something that's just nice.  You may know the song better as "O Holy Night," but Mouskouri's take on the Christmas classic sounds better in her native Greek.

Pussy Willow plays "We Three Queens" on Theremin, keyboard and recorder

Christmas just ain't Christmas without an oddly-dressed drag queen playing a Christmas favorite in triplicate.

Neil Sedaka sings "Waterbug" from PLAYBOY KILLER (1968)

Weirdly, this is one of TWO Sedaka tracks that made their way into sleazy '60s horror films, but PLAYGIRL KILLER is ever better than his rendition of "The Jellyfish" in STING OF DEATH because Sedaka actually appears and plays a supporting role in the film.  His odd dancing deserves a movie all its own.

The Bay City Rollers cover David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel"

Eh, why not.

Morning Music: Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - "The Canyons of Your Mind" (1968)

From the TV series "Colour Me Pop," a music performance show that aired on the BBC.  Because there's never a bad time for the Bonzo Dog Band.

Grace Jones and Luciano Pavarotti sing a duet in 2002

Grace Jones can steal a song even with the audio off.  It is worth it for Jones's hat alone.  Now where can I find Pavarotti singing "Slave to the Rhythm?"

The Castaways play "Liar Liar" in IT'S A BIKINI WORLD (1967)

It's fairly clear they're just lip-syncing to the album version, but it's still great to see the band accompanied by a giant red mouth and a go-go girl.  And happy birthday to Tommy Kirk, the star of BIKINI WORLD!

Otto Preminger and Harry Nilsson visit Hugh Hefner on "Playboy After Dark"

Today marks the 109th birthday of Otto Preminger, so I figured I'd take a look at the most fascinating film from the director of ANATOMY OF A MURDER, LAURA and BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING -- 1968's mobster LSD comedy SKIDOO featuring Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, Frankie Avalon, Frank Gorshin and anyone else they could convince to show up.  If you haven't seen it, this segment from "Playboy After Dark" in which Preminger and SKIDOO composer Harry Nilsson hang out with Hef should... well, it won't explain it at all.  But it does feature Nilsson singing the film's closing credits (sort of) and Otto just kind of hanging out and explaining marijuana while dressed like Emily Hartley from "The Bob Newhart Show."

Frank Zappa plays bicycle and talks THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER on the Steve Allen Show in 1963

Here's a pre-Mothers of Invention Zappa (or "Zoppa," as it's pronounced by the squares on the show) talking about his work on the Timothy Carey film THE WORLD'S GREATEST SINNER and plays the bicycle, much to the confusion of host Steve Allen.

Chill out with Julee Cruise's "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart"

Musician and songwriter Julie Cruise, whose birthday is today, is best known to genre film fans for "Falling," the theme to "Twin Peaks," but it's not her only collarboration with David Lynch.  She was also the singer of BLUE VELVET's "Mysteries of Love" and collaborated with Lynch on her album "Floating into the Night" and contributed to INDUSTRIAL SYMPHONY NO. 1, a stage performance committed to video in 1990.  Here's her track from that, and it's about as dreamy and etherial as it gets.

Romy Haag sings "Everybody Knows"

Every time I watch "American Horror Story: Freakshow," I can't help but think that Jessica Lange's character is inspired by Romy Haag, the transsexual cabaret singer and actress who served as David Bowie's muse in the '70s.  Here she is covering Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" in 2010 in German and English.  Am I imagining things?

Evening Entertaiment: The first episode of "New Wave Theatre"

David Jove's "New Wave Theatre," "a consumer advocate program of the arts," brought punk and new wave music to the televisions of late-night audiophiles of the '80s, first in Los Angeles and later on the USA Network's "Night Flight."  The Peter Ivers-hosted show provided middle America the chance to be exposed to the likes of plenty of bands below the MTV radar.  This first episode's most notable act is probably X, but don't count out any of the bands you may be less aware of.

The late Jan Hooks sings "I'm Commercial" to the tune of Helen Reddy

Jan Hooks had already had an extensive career in sketch comedy when she joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 1986, from her early days as a member of The Groundlings to her roles on HBO's "Not Necessarily The News."  In between those outlets, however, she was a performer on "Tush," a sketch comedy show presented by journalist Bill Tush on the channel that would eventually become TBS.  Here's a rare clip from that show, featuring Hooks singing a scathingly funny song to the tune of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman."

Watch This Thing - Telly Savalas sings "If"

Telly Savalas sings a woeful ballad on a German TV program in an era when a middle-aged, bald, TV actor could hit the charts.

Watch This Thing - The Monks perform "Cuckoo" for the German TV show "Beat, Beat, Beat" in 1966

Waking up to an alarm clock?  Bad.  Waking up to a cuckoo clock?  Good.  Waking up to The Monks performing "Cuckoo?"  Much better.

Halloween Dance Party! Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell on You

The song has been covered so many times, but who sings it better than Screamin' Jay Hawkins? Nobody. Okay, maybe Nina Simone, but other than that, nobody. Here he is performing on "The Arsenio Hall Show" to promote MYSTERY TRAIN.