Radio veteran Dr. Demento announced plans for his retirement after 55 years on the air.
Real name Barret Hansen, the comedy and novelty music specialist started out in October 1970 on KPPC in Los Angeles (later KROQ). His show was syndicated in 1974 and he continued on radio until 2010 when he went digital.
He popularized songs including “The Monster Mash,” “Shaving Cream” and “Fish Heads,” while introducing artists including Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett, Benny Bell, Barnes & Barnes, Spike Jones, Jimmy Durante, Nervous Norvus, Allan Sherman, Stan Freberg and many others to a wider audience.
Demento, who’s now 84, confirmed that his final broadcasts will consist of archive material, ending in a top 40 of novelty songs on precisely the 55th anniversary of his first show. “It’s been a blast – but I have come to the decision that I need to hang up my top hat soon,” he said in a statement.
Probably his most notable introduction was that of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, who established his career via Demento’s show, first appearing in 1976 and becoming a mainstay as he presented spoof songs including “Another One Rides the Bus” and “My Bologna,” parodies of Queen and The Knack respectively. “If there hadn’t been a Dr. Demento, I’d probably have a real job now,” Yankovic once said.
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In 2015 Demento – who has a master’s degree in ethnomusicology – told Music Makes You Think that his song choices had always been extremely subjective. “There are no hard and fast rules,” he explained. “One song will suggest another. Once I’ve played something, audience reaction helps determine whether it’ll get played again.”
He reflected: “[H]umor has changed greatly through the years. People in the past were more easily amused; they didn’t need or even want to be shocked into laughter. On the other hand, they were not at all shocked by things that outrage and shock people today, especially the racial and ethnic jokes.
“And until quite recently people appeared to accept a certain level of sexism in humor that many listeners today will no longer tolerate – though others continue to love that stuff.”
Dr. Demento On ‘Weird Al,’ Frank Zappa and George Carlin
Asked whether the artists he worked with appeared “normal” when they weren’t performing, he said: “The more successful comedy entertainers just about all have a fairly serious attitude toward making their entertainment as good as it can possibly be.
“‘Weird Al’ is very serious about his work. So was Frank Zappa; probably the most intense workaholic I ever met. I interviewed George Carlin four times, and we spent a good part of each interview talking seriously about what makes comedy work.”
Demento noted that novelty songs had changed as much as other aspects of the industry over the decades. “Some… music holds its appeal many years after its creation, while other songs have become dated and aren’t as funny as they once were.
“Songs about politics would be an obvious example of the latter, as well as songs about fads like hula hoops or pet rocks – though I’ll play one of that kind now and then for nostalgia’s sake.”
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