Wonder What They'll Play At His Funeral

You probably never heard of Paul Leka, the songwriter/producer who just died, but you probably know some of his hits.  The biggest one he wrote was tossed off as quickie B-side to complete a single, but disc jockeys perferred it and it went to #1 in 1969.  Only after the song became a hit was the band Steam formed to tour and support it.



The song later got picked up by sports teams and can still be heard in stadiums across the nation. The official title is "Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)" though no one sings that.

Leka worked with many artists as a songwriter and producer. I think my favorite song of his was another #1 hit for another one-hit wonder, "Green Tambourine" for the Lemon Pipers. You might call it bubblegum psychedelia, which was just right for 1967.



The song cracks me up, because I try to imagine some guy on the streets demanding people pay him to play a tambourine. He'd probably do better if he demanded money not to play it. "Any song you want I'll gladly play." And how can we tell the difference?