Friday, March 10, 2023

Jerry Samuels (a.k.a. Napoleon XIV), R.I.P.


Singer and talent agent Jerry Samuels, who in 1966 had an unexpected novelty hit with "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" under the name Napoleon XIV, passed away on Friday at the age of 84

"They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" was a spoken word performance accompanied by percussion about a man descending into madness over losing his girlfriend. It would become a Top 5 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

This spooky song sparked several sequels including "I'm Glad They Took Him Away" by Josephine XV, a backwards version of the song titled, "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" and a 1988 sequel called, "They're Coming To Take Me Away Again" though none had the success of the original. Nevertheless, Napoleon XIV did reign however briefly. R.I.P.

No comments:

Post a Comment