And now, folks, my story has ended. I think it is time I should quit. If any of you feel offended, stick your head in a barrel of ???
It takes time to become a legend; this is not something that can happen overnight. It takes years, a lot of hard work, and developing a name within your field of expertise to reach this level of appreciation. To be legendary you have to touch millions of people with what you have accomplished and be admired deeply for what you have done. Fans have to live, eat, and sleep with you on their mind. In 1970, Barret Hansen created a radio character and brought to life his alter ego of Doctor Demento. Over forty years later, the radio personality still exists after being enjoyed and loved by so many of his listeners. He is truly a radio legend.
The show idea began with one crazy song, “Transfusion” by Nervous Norvus and the comment that Hansen had to be “demented”. The D.J. began his transformation into the Doctor and the command soon came to “Wind up your radios!” The funny off the wall pieces attracted kids, the old memories brought in adult listeners, and his personality warmed the hearts of everyone.
In 1974, the comedy radio show went into syndication and the word started to spread quickly about the crazy radio disc jockey. The listeners tuned in to hear songs played like “Der Fuehrer’s Face” and “They’re Coming to Take Me Away”. The success of the show spawned out to approximately two hundred radio stations during the peak of its popularity. No other D.J. would play hysterical novelty songs and comical skits like “Last Will and Temperament (Boot to the Head)” and “Kinko the Clown”.
He didn’t just spin vinyl from his vast collection of records. The good doctor played the funniest stuff around. He brought laughter and happiness into your home. The show usually aired on FM radio on Sunday nights. Listeners would stay up late to hear each funny presentation, only to drag themselves into school or work on Monday morning half asleep. For the next week, the fans would be wondering what would be in the funny five countdown during the next broadcast.
Without the existence of this Doctor, a lot of songs and rare comedy bits that appeared on his show would not have been as popular as what they became. No one else was playing these comical creations. Certain artists, such as Frank Zappa, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Spike Jones, were made public to a lot of listeners.
Many listeners had never heard the incredible works by Frank Zappa. Doctor Demento was responsible for exposing him to so many new fans. An awesome song of Frank’s that was featured on the show was “Titties and Beer”. Sometimes when the song was played it was called “Bleep and Beer” because of censorship regulations and the funny parts had to be cut out. Demento has his view on Zappa. He stated that he was “Such a prolific artist and a workaholic.” He wasn’t only just a comical musician, but “also had so many serious pieces” that were wonderful. Frank was probably best known for his song “Valley Girl” that featured his daughter, Moon Unit. Zappa’s commercial success was long overdue, but not necessarily his best work. Many other songs had a certain comical intelligence that was recognized by Doctor Demento.
The musical career of “Weird Al” Yankovic may never have taken off it weren’t for the airing of his musical masterpieces by Hansen. “Weird Al” Yankovic came on his show several times. One of the most memorable times, Yankovic had just released “Another One Rides the Bus”. This song “was the best thing he had done up to that point”, according to the Doctor. He played the song live in the studio for the show. “Weird Al” was always one of Demento’s favorites. Hansen explained that Al has been able to maintain a certain amount of popularity over the years; he kept coming out with something new and hot almost every year since 1980.
Between Spike Jones and “Weird Al” Yankovic they had become the most played artists on the show, with Al also being the most requested. Musical artists and comedians sent in a bunch of material that was good and if Hansen liked it, he would play it for his listeners. He enjoyed Monty Python a lot and Ray Stevens as well as numerous others. He was one of the first DJ’s to play the Sex Pistols and probably the first person outside of Ohio to play Devo.
Comedians and actors came on the show as guests as well. George Carlin’s appearances are ones that sometimes were surprisingly serious with his conversation. John Cleese was on the air live when the movie A Fish Called Wanda came out. “It was a lot of fun,” recalls Demento. He came on to promote his new movie, but the topic of Monty Python ended up monopolizing most of the conversation.
Over the years, Demento played the song “Shaving Cream” by Benny Bell quite frequently. Demento himself would actually sing the song live on the air. Many different versions of the lyrics were performed and he sang it several dozen times. He recorded two commercially released versions of the song, but never recorded anything else. He commented stating that he was just a “One trick Pony”.
Demento released compilation records and CDs including Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection which sold over 500,000 copies, causing it to go gold by RIAA standards. The very best of Doctor Demento is coming out soon as he continues to stay busy. In 2009, all the hard work paid off for Hansen. He had been inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame which was a well deserved honor. The man and his show had been a part of so many lives over the years. Not many disc jockeys have been loved by so many fans on a nationwide basis. When he finally received the recognition for what he had accomplished, it was long overdue.
As times changed the creation of rap music came along. He tried to keep the show up to date with the ever changing music styles being presented over the years. Demento has an open mind about all types of music. He played some rap music even though some of the classic rock stations he was aired on despised rap. Even Demento didn’t enjoy rap as much as other genres, but he was keeping up with the times. His heart for music was more with the Delta blues and bluegrass, but he tailored his show for everyone, not just himself.
Different syndication carriers brought the Doctor Demento show across the airwaves over the years. Westwood One was this first and undoubtedly the one that brought him the most success. Later, On The Radio Broadcasting took over syndication and then finally he changed to Talonian Productions which was handled by Barret Hansen himself. The show started to lose listeners, advertisers, and money with the ever changing times of radio. In 2007, Hansen stated "unless the show's financial situation changes soon, I will be unable to continue the show much longer." Sadly, in 2010, the Doctor Demento show finally decided to discontinue syndication. The show will run until the end of the month, in Amarillo, Texas, on the last station that carries the show. At that point, Doctor Demento will say “Goodbye to radio”.
As luck would have it, the show will continue on Demento’s website, www.drdemento.com, so that the comical door, leading to the land of dementia, remains open. The genius D.J. who plays the crazy novelty songs and comedy skits still can be heard. A lot of the past shows can always be listened to on the website in the archives as well. Certain shows cannot be posted due to copy right laws, but a lot of the great gems are still there for the listening pleasure.
When asked about getting back into a syndication deal the response was “Nothing is impossible.” There wasn’t a lot of positive enthusiasm about it, but at least his show can still be heard when driving down the information highway. A lot of those old songs aren’t being played by anyone anymore, but Hansen. To release the old shows on CD, he would have to license every song which isn’t impossible, but appearing to be unlikely. There can be a lot of headaches with the copy right laws.
The legend of Doctor Demento created by Barret Hansen moves on from radio. The Doctor will still be on the internet playing all of the funny songs, comical bits, and rare recordings. The legendary man continues onward with his show, providing side splitting humor to put a smile on the face of listeners. He still ends each show reminding listeners to “Stay demented!" For Barret Hansen, a.k.a. Doctor Demento, is there any other way?
