1961.

I appear to have woken up with nonsense in my head this morning. Nothing new there then, some might say, but it’s a nice bit of fluff for a Friday.

This is, quite literally though, a song about nonsense lyrics. Specifically the type of nonsense lyrics used in the doo-wop style of music.

Written by Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin, this was first recorded by Mann, complete with backing vocals by The Halos who had previously had success with Curtis Lee on Pretty Little Angel Eyes.

The song entered the US charts on 7 August 1961 and spent a total of twelve weeks there, eventually peaking at number seven. Whilst Mann’s version didn’t chart in the UK, later the same year British group The Viscounts recorded a cover that reached number twenty-one here. Later still, in 1982, Showaddywaddy released their version that peaked at number thirty-seven.

It is said that this song inspired the name of the US rock fanzine Who Put the Bomp, later shortened to just Bomp!, that was published from 1970 – 1979.