Jaws inspired a wave of shark-themed novelty songs in 1975-76

 

Steven Spielberg's film Jaws, released in the summer of 1975, was a blockbuster box-office hit. It was the highest-grossing film of all time until Star Wars bested it in 1977, and it inspired a wave of shark-themed novelty songs. A few Jaws-themed records came out after 1976, and the film was mentioned in Queen's 1978 hit "Bicycle Race," but the majority of the craze occurred within 18 months of the movie's release. 

Byron McNaughton & His All News Orchestra – "Right from the Shark's Jaws (The Jaws Interview)" (Jamie J 1427, 1975)

This break-in comedy record "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100. Originally released on the small Route label, it was picked up for national distribution by Jamie Records. The record reached the Top 10 at Philadelphia's WFIL. The B-side, "Jaws Jam," was credited to a different artist, The Chief. 

Dickie Goodman – "Mr. Jaws" (Cash CR 451, 1975)

The king of all Jaws novelties and the only one to become a major hit, "Mr. Jaws" was a #1 hit in Cash Box and a Top 5 hit in Billboard. A few years later, Dickie Goodman tried to exploit the Jaws theme again with a sequel, "Mrs. Jaws," but that one didn't chart.

Sharktooth – "Jaws" (Bryan B-1021, 1975)

This funky cut is instrumental except for a voice that repeatedly says "Jaws," similar to The Champs' 1958 hit "Tequila." 

The End – "Do the Jaws" (20th Century TC-2229, 1975)

A one-off single by a studio group. 

Atlantic Ocean – "Jaws" (Atco 45-7032, 1975)

Weird, mostly instrumental tune with interjections of "Jaws" and some talking. 

Seven Seas – "Super 'Jaws'" (RCA Victor XB 02048, 1975)

French Jaws record. Another mostly instrumental tune with interjections of "Jaws!"

 

Johnny Otis – "Jaws" (1975)

Veteran R&B performer Johnny Otis delivered this funky instrumental that has some ocean sound effects and screaming toward the end. 

Hobie Cat – "Mr. Gums" (96x 9600, 1975)

Yet another Jaws-themed break-in comedy record. 

The Investigators – "Jaws Is Working for the C.I.A." (Andee 4002, 1975)

From the title, I was expecting another break-in comedy record, but it's an actual song. 

Homemade Theatre – "Santa Jaws" and "Santa Jaws Part 2" (A&M AM-407, 1975)

This Christmas-themed Jaws novelty comes from Canada. 

Darryl Rhoades & The HaHavishnu Orchestra – "Surfin' Shark" (Wonder, 1976)

Beach Boys-styled novelty about a surfer whose legs are eaten by a shark. The refrain "super jaws" is repeated at the end. 

Love Bite – "Killer Jaws" (Magnet MAG 53, 1976)

A one-off UK single recorded for the same label as Peter Shelley and Alvin Stardust. 

Ted Rogers – "Beware of Mr. Shark" (Sol-Doon SDR 010, 1976)

A British novelty attempt to make some coin from the Jaws fad.

Ed Lawhorne – "Never Swim Again"/"Don't Let Old Jaws Bite You" (Plumbers 6015-14 , 1976)

A double-sided Jaws-themed record from the short-lived Plumbers label of North Carolina.

Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias – "Dread Jaws" (Transatlantic BIG 541, 1976)

Reggae song about Jaws released in the UK. Parts of the melody resemble Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry." 

Steve Allen Backed by "Red Eye" – "Jaws" (Viking VS330, 1976)

New Zealand release by the NZ Steve Allen, not the US television personality. 

Errol Holt/Ja Man All Stars – "Shark Out Deh"/"Jaws" (Locks LOX 17, 1976)

Reggae two-sider.

Skin—Flesh and Bones – "Jaws" (Spider Man, 1976)

Jamaican record with this Jaws-themed track on the B-side. The A-side is by Merlyn Webber.

Richard Hewson Orchestra – "Shark Bite" (Splash CP 6, 1976)

Disco number that may or may not be about Jaws, but the timing suggests that it's part of the craze. It was a double-sided shark-themed single, because the B-side was an instrumental titled "Hammerhead." 

Bigbite & Mack – "Deep Tooth" (Fun-E-Bone 4322, 1976?) 

Another break-in comedy record.

Gums original soundtrack – "Thar She Blows" (1976)

This song is only tangentially related to Jaws, but the X-rated Jaws parody Gums, about a killer mermaid, concludes with a raunchy "Mack the Knife"-styled theme song. 

"Deep Throat" on 45: 1972-78

 

Practically every pop-culture craze, fad, notable event, and miscellaneous point of interest used to generate a slew of cash-in records, often but not always made by unknown artists who hoped to exploit the moment for some quick fame and fortune but usually failed. Their efforts may have been futile in their day, but they're fun to look back on now as examples of the indomitable human spirit, as we did recently with songs from the Pet Rock craze. Today's Music Weird looks at records that were released in the wake of Deep Throat, the 1972 adult film that was the first hardcore feature to achieve mainstream success.

Directed by Gerard Damiano, Deep Throat was a surprise hit. The first "porno chic" film, it played in mainstream cinemas, was ranked that year as one of the top 10 highest-grossing films by Variety, and was thoroughly absorbed into mainstream pop culture via jokes, television talk shows, music, and even the Watergate scandal, in which "Deep Throat" became the code name of Bob Woodward's secret informant. Richard Nixon himself, according to John T. Bone, tried to arrange a screening of the film for one of his private parties. The movie played in adult cinemas for years and spawned one R-rated sequel, numerous X-rated sequels, and the documentary Inside Deep Throat, a look back at the film's cultural impact. Damiano himself revisited the film in 1984 with the sequel Throat... 12 Years After. 

The Deep Throat-related records are a little different from some fad records in that a few attempted to look like official soundtrack releases or like recordings that featured star Linda Lovelace, either by including images of Lovelace or using artist names that suggested Lovelace's involvement. Lovelace made no commercial musical recordings (although you can hear her sing "Nearer, My God, to Thee," "Happy Birthday to You," and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in the 1975 film Linda Lovelace for President), but she became world famous as a result of Deep Throat, so record labels hoped that her recognizable face would sell.

The theme music from Deep Throat was also popular with easy-listening and middle-of-the-road instrumental artists, who, by recording these tunes, could appear to be a little bit racy and hip while still delivering smooth instrumental music that didn't depart from their typical fare.

Leon Ware & Bob Hilliard  – "Deep Throat (Filmmusik) (Parts I-VI)" (1972)

Released only in Germany, these three singles feature remakes of instrumental music from Deep Throat. The titles don't correspond with the titles that were used on the Deep Throat soundtrack album. The video below contains a remake of the eight-minute-long instrumental "Love Is Strange" (not the Mickey & Sylvia song, although it does contain an interpolation of the "Love Is Strange" guitar riff), but on the single it's generically titled "Deep Throat V." The description on the YouTube video says that this single was sold at adult cinemas.

Linda & the Lollipops – "Theme from Deep Throat" (1973)

This oddball vocal record is notable for its incomprehensible singing and moaning by the female vocalist, who is named Linda in reference to Linda Lovelace but is not Lovelace. The Italian single had a picture sleeve with a topless image of Lovelace, which I censored here so that I don't get a content warning on my blog, but you can see the full monty over at Discogs. 

Julius Wechter & the Baja Marimba Band – "Theme from 'Deep Throat'" (1973)

One of several MOR covers of the theme, this one was released as a single. 

T.J. Stone – "She's Got to Have It" b/w "Deeper and Deeper (My Love Grows)" (1974)

The success of Deep Throat led to director Joseph W. Sarno directing an R-rated comedy sequel, Deep Throat Part II, that was aimed at the mainstream but flopped, in part because it's a silly mess of a movie. It brought back stars Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems and added a number of other porn veterans in straight acting roles, including Jamie Gillis, Marc Stevens, Tina Russell, Chris Jordan, and Andrea True, the latter of whom would later notch a Top 5 pop hit with "More, More, More." The soundtracks of both Deep Throat and Deep Throat Part II were released on LP in 1974, and although the first soundtrack album didn't identify any artists, Deep Throat Part II did. This track by T.J. Stone was even released as a single. 

Lindy Lovelace – "Be My Baby" (1974)

The name was surely intended to make people believe it might be Linda Lovelace of Deep Throat fame, but it's not. A disco remake of The Ronettes "Be My Baby," this was the artist's only release, at least under this name. Arranged and conducted in the UK by Richard Hewson, the record wasn't a hit, and I've never heard it. I tried to contact Hewson a while back to ask about the story behind this single but didn't get a reply.

Los Indios Tabajaras – "Theme from 'Deep Throat'" (1975)

Los Indios Tabajaras were a prolific Brazilian instrumental guitar duo who specialized in easy-listening music that had a light "world music" touch. The Japanese picture sleeve for their interpretation of "Theme from 'Deep Throat'" included a photo of Linda Lovelace and an illustration of her that appeared on theatrical posters and the Deep Throat soundtrack album. I'm guessing that no one asked for permission.

Dolphin – "Linda Lovelace" (1977)

The UK band Dolphin included the original song "Linda Lovelace" on their debut album, Goodbye. The following year, it was released as the B-side of the single "Carry Me Away."

Some 1970s LPs that include "Theme from 'Deep Throat'" 

• Rusty Bryant on For the Good Times (1973) (listen here)
• The Richard Gold Orchestra on New Screen Theme Music (1976)
• The original soundtracks of both Deep Throat and the R-rated sequel, Deep Throat Part II (1974) (listen here)

Homer Lee Sewell – "Ring Around the Bath Tub" (1965)

 

With its reference to vomiting and depiction of a sentient ring of soap scum, Homer Lee Sewell's "Ring Around the Bath Tub" is one of the weirdest old country songs I've heard in a while. 

It sounds like a song poem but was written and recorded by Sewell himself, a Texas country singer, recording engineer, and recording studio owner who once cut a single for Pappy Daily's D Records label with a young Willie Nelson on lead guitar. 

Sewell was born in Wills Point, Texas, in 1920 and died in 2018 at the age of 98 in Haltom City just outside Fort Worth, about an hour and a half from Wills Point. His grave marker describes him as a "Country Poet."

He ran Oakridge Music Recording Service and Demo Studio in Haltom City as well as Oakridge Records, on which he released his own music and music by other country and even rock 'n' roll artists. His entry on Discogs lumps together records by Sewell and Homer Lee, but Homer Lee was a different artist. 

Sewell's recording career appears to have begun in the late '50s. He recorded the previously mentioned D Records single, "She's Mad at Me" b/w "Whisper Your Name," both original songs, in 1959, but that wasn't necessarily his first record. These two songs are more conventional country fare than the bizarre "Ring Around the Bath Tub." 

The book Willie Nelson: An Epic Life by Joe Nick Patoski talks about how Nelson came to play guitar on a recording by Sewell, whom Patoski identifies as "another Cowtown Hoedown regular," referring to the Fort Worth country music radio show that aired on KCUL from 1957-61:  

"I found out he [Willie Nelson] was a good lead man," Sewell said, "so I asked him if he wanted to play on my record." Sewell rounded up Willie, Paul East, an upright bass player named Bill Bramlett, and two fiddlers and paid Uncle Hank Craig $200 to get his recording made and released on D Records. An alternate version of "Whisper Your Name," recorded on the stage of the Majestic with Sewell on fiddle and Willie and Paul East on guitar, supported by Jack Zachary, Hank Craig's son Eddie Craig on bass, and Bill Bramlett—members of the Hoedown house band—was used as the B side of the single. "I got more airplay on that than I did with 'She's Mad at Me,'" recalled Sewell. "It had a good beat to it." Lawton Williams played the record on KCUL, and so did the disc jockeys on KTJS in Sewell's hometown, Hobart, Oklahoma. But sales were feeble....

Around that time Sewell also launched his Oakridge label and began releasing singles by himself and others that probably had been recorded at his Oakridge studio. If the catalog numbers can be believed, it appears that his first release was "Open Arms" b/w "Always Broke" (Oakridge OR101). A later single, "Country Boy Shuffle" and "Two Silver Dollars," was numbered OR 104 and was released in 1959, according to 45cat, so "Open Arms" might have preceded the D Records single. 

None of these were hits, but some recordings Sewell released on Oakridge—of himself and others—have been included in modern anthologies of vintage country and rockabilly music.

That brings us to "Ring Around the Bath Tub," which, according to 45cat, was released in 1965. It is a surreal account of a man's conflict with an anthropomorphized ring of bathtub soap scum that keeps him awake at night. 

The offbeat story and slurping sound effects at the end might qualify this as a novelty record, but the narrative is played straight and even includes some religious imagery in the chorus. The mention of vomiting is very unusual for a song of this era, and the almost random length of each line in the lyrics keeps the listener guessing about where the melody is going. 

The B-side, "Image of Daddy and Me," is a sad but somewhat confusing recitation that breaks into song on the choruses. It's one of those country weepers in which a child begs its parents to stop fighting, but the story is told by an observer in a courtroom who alternately quotes the child and the mother, the latter of whom says the titular line that the child is the "image of daddy and me." 

Here are the lyrics of "Ring Around the Bath Tub":

Friends, that old ring around the bathtub sure must be lonesome…

The towel is on the towel rack

And soap is in the container

The garbage disposal is all stopped up

And the ring around the bathtub makes me want to throw up

I’m drying myself off with the towel from the rack

And the dripping from faucet is running down my back

The ring around the bathtub has just about wore me out

I’ll try and get some sleep now if that ring around the bathtub don’t interrupt

I dreamed last night I was in Heaven

I was sleeping away in a room on flight eleven

When I awoke I’m-a whirling sound

The ring around the bathtub was up walking around

I got me some scouring pads and I put him back in place

And when I got through, he said, “You’re a human disgrace”

“If you go to sleep,” he said, “I’ll just interrupt again”

“I may be a ring around the bathtub, but brother, your troubles have just begin”

I dreamed last night I was in Heaven

Sleeping away in a room on flight eleven

Then I awoke I’m-a whirling sound

The ring around the bathtub was up walking around

That ring around the bathtub was up walking around 

(slurp)