PAUL LEKA, 68, SONGWRITER
BEST KNOWN FOR "NA NA HEY HEY KISS HIM GOODBYE."
As a White Sox fan, believe me, I know this song well.
Mr. Leka died Oct. 12th.
He wrote the chorus to the song which was a #1 hit back in 1969. He also wrote and produced "Green Tambourine" for the Lemon Pipers which also went to #1 in 1967 and signed REO Speedwagon to their first contract.
I had never heard of him before, but sure knew his work.
In addition, he produced four Harry Chapin albums including 1974's Verities & Balderdash which had the #1 hit "Cat's in the Cradle."
In 1969, he was helping Gary DeCarlo fill out the "B" side of a single he was recording for Buddah Records. Leka was on keyboards and they were working on a bluesy shuffle "Kiss Him Goodbue" they'd written several years earlier. The big problem was that it was only two minutes. In order to make sure deejays wouldn't play the "B" side instead of the "A" they decided to add a chorus to stretch it to four minutes, longer than most station formats would allow.
Leka said he was at the piano going "na na na na na" something you say when you don't have lyrics. DeCarlo added the "Hey, hey."
The record company released it as the "A" side anyway and made up a fictitious group called Steam. It hit #1 and made a comeback in 1977 when Nancy Faust, the organist for the Chicago White Sox started playing it to taunt visiting players who struck out or when a relief pitcher was called in at old Comiskey Park. The song is ubiquitous now at sporting events all over the country.
Mr.Leka was born Feb. 20, 1943, in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
According to Wikipedia, the "A" side, if you're wondering, was "It's the Magic in Me." Wikipedia also said that a Georgia dj flipped it over to "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" when it took off.
A Song for My Sox.
No comments:
Post a Comment