Steam (band)
Encyclopedia
Steam was a pop-rock music group best known for the 1969 number one hit song
and perennial favorite "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
." The song was written and recorded by studio musician
s Garrett DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, and producer/writer Paul Leka
at Mercury Records studios in New York City. The single was attributed to the band "Steam" although at the time there was actually no band with that name. Paul Leka and the studio group recorded the first album.
's in the early 1960s for Coral
. The trio separated but kept in touch. Leka became a songwriter with Circle Five Productions and in 1967, he wrote and produced The Lemon Pipers
' "Green Tambourine
" and other Pipers' numbers with Shelley Pinz. In 1969, Leka was working at Mercury Records
and he convinced the label's A & R man, Bob Reno, to sign on his old Chateaus' band mate and solo artist, Gary DeCarlo (performing as Garrett Scott). With Leka producing, DeCarlo recorded four singles, all of which Reno thought would do well issued as an A-side. To fill up the B-side of the first single, DeCarlo and Leka were asked to cut a throwaway flip side. Their former band mate from the Chateaus, Dale Frashuer, stopped by the studio the night of the recording and inspired Leka to dig up a song the three had written in 1961 during their Chateau days but had never recorded. The song was "Kiss Him Goodbye". With DeCarlo as lead vocalist, the trio recorded the song in a single night without the back-up of studio musicians. Leka used the drum track from one of DeCarlo's singles and played the keyboard himself. To make the song less palatable to DJ's, they lengthened the song with a repetitive chorus of "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye". Nobody believed that Na Na was worth anything and since neither Leka or DeCarlo wanted to have their names on it, the song was attributed to a non-existent band that they named Steam and was a one-hit wonder.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
and perennial favorite "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a number one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969,...
." The song was written and recorded by studio musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s Garrett DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, and producer/writer Paul Leka
Paul Leka
Paul Leka was an American songwriter, pianist, arranger, and orchestrator, most notable for his writing associations with the 1960s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", the latter of which has become a standard song at sporting events.-Life and career:Born in Bridgeport,...
at Mercury Records studios in New York City. The single was attributed to the band "Steam" although at the time there was actually no band with that name. Paul Leka and the studio group recorded the first album.
Origins
DeCarlo, Frashuer and Leka were members of a band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Chateaus. As the Chateaus, they recorded some failed 45Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
's in the early 1960s for Coral
Coral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
. The trio separated but kept in touch. Leka became a songwriter with Circle Five Productions and in 1967, he wrote and produced The Lemon Pipers
The Lemon Pipers
The Lemon Pipers were a 1960s psychedelic pop band from Oxford, Ohio, known chiefly for their song "Green Tambourine", which reached No. 1 in the United States in 1968...
' "Green Tambourine
Green Tambourine
"Green Tambourine" was the primary hit by the 1960s Ohio-based rock group The Lemon Pipers, as well as the title track to their debut-album Green Tambourine. The song has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper. Released towards the end of 1967, it peaked at number one on the U.S...
" and other Pipers' numbers with Shelley Pinz. In 1969, Leka was working at Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
and he convinced the label's A & R man, Bob Reno, to sign on his old Chateaus' band mate and solo artist, Gary DeCarlo (performing as Garrett Scott). With Leka producing, DeCarlo recorded four singles, all of which Reno thought would do well issued as an A-side. To fill up the B-side of the first single, DeCarlo and Leka were asked to cut a throwaway flip side. Their former band mate from the Chateaus, Dale Frashuer, stopped by the studio the night of the recording and inspired Leka to dig up a song the three had written in 1961 during their Chateau days but had never recorded. The song was "Kiss Him Goodbye". With DeCarlo as lead vocalist, the trio recorded the song in a single night without the back-up of studio musicians. Leka used the drum track from one of DeCarlo's singles and played the keyboard himself. To make the song less palatable to DJ's, they lengthened the song with a repetitive chorus of "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye". Nobody believed that Na Na was worth anything and since neither Leka or DeCarlo wanted to have their names on it, the song was attributed to a non-existent band that they named Steam and was a one-hit wonder.
Success
What happened next surprised everybody who was involved in the project. A DJ in Georgia flipped Mercury's promo copy over and played the B side "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" on the radio. Requests to replay the song began to pour in by phone. Then the radio station put the song on its tight play list and other radio stations picked it up. When Mercury Records' promotional department heard that radio stations in the South were playing Na Na, they authorized the purchase of 100,000 copies in order to put it on the Billboard popular hit chart. When radio stations in other states saw the record appear on the Billboard popular hit chart, they picked it up and airplay of the song snowballed. The investment of approximately $50,000 in promotional funds to buy their own records worked for Mercury and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" reached number one in the United States for two weeks in December 1969. By the beginning of the 21st century, sales of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" had exceeded 6.5 million records.Musicians
Key musicians on the record, "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye":- Paul Leka: Producer, Co-writer, Keyboards
- Dale Frashuer: Co-writer
- Garrett Scott: Lead vocalist
- Ken Lewis: drums
Album
- Steam (Mercury SR 61254) 1969
- Side 1
- "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
- "I've Gotta Make You Love Me"
- "It's The Magic In You Girl"
- "Come On Home Girl"
- "Love And Affection"
- Side 2
- "Come On Back And Love Me"
- "I've Cried A Million Tears"
- "I'm The One Who Loves You"
- "One Good Woman"
- "New Breed, Now Generation"
- Side 1
45s
- (Fontana F-1667) 1969
-
- "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
- "It's The Magic In You Girl"
- (Mercury 73020) 1970
- "One Good Woman"
- "I've Gotta Make You Love Me"
- (Mercury 73053) 1970
- "I'm The One Who Loves You"
- "What I'm Saying Is True"
Sources
- Hinckley, David, " 'Na Na Hey Hey' was an unexpected winner," Seattle Times, 4 April 2005, Northwest Life, p.E4. http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/search?c=0&skip=0&query=%22Na+Na+Hey+Hey%22&zsectionID=490172700&period=range&start_month=04&start_day=04&start_year=2005&end_month=04&end_day=05&end_year=2005&searchType=date&Search.x=24&Search.y=6
- Fred Bronson, ed., The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, 5th ed. (New York: Watson-Guptill), p. 263.