Ever since the dawn of MTV and Friday Night Videos, the music video has significantly impacted musical tastes and pop culture. It might not be as extreme as when the Buggles declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star", but there is no arguing that the music video certainly could make or break a song's popularity. So this regular Flashback Video feature will serve to remember some of the music videos from the great '80s decade that made an impact on me in one way or another.
This issue we will cover "The Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'n the Saddle Band. This song became an unlikely hit after this tribute to The Three Stooges was released in late 1983 and peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1984. Yes, a tribute to The Three Stooges made it into the Top 20 on the pop charts in the early '80s. This was over 60 years from when The Three Stooges first began and a couple decades since they had much new material, the Stooges have remained comedy royalty to many. The timing made no sense other than that The Three Stooges received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August of 1983. I remember really enjoying the song at the time because it was so different than most everything else on the radio plus I was only like 10 years old.
"The Curly Shuffle" first gained notice at a Milwaukee music festival, it went on to become a regional hit and then soon became a nationwide sensation after it was picked up by Atlantic Records. This included a fun music video which included lots of original footage from The Three Stooges short films. Here is a list of all of the films that were used for the music video:
An Ache in Every Stake, A Bird in the Head, Calling All Curs, Cash and Carry, Disorder in the Court, Dizzy Detectives, Dizzy Pilots, Dopey Dicks, Dutiful But Dumb, The Ghost Talks, Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb, Micro-Phonies, No Census, No Feeling, Pardon My Scotch, A Plumbing We Will Go, Pop Goes the Easel, Punch Drunks, Some More of Samoa, Studio Stoops, Tassels in the Air, Three Little Beers, Three Missing Links, Three Sappy People, Uncivil Warriors, Violent is the Word for Curly, and Woman Haters.
Fans of The Three Stooges will especially enjoy the music video for "The Curly Shuffle" by Jump 'n the Saddle Band...
The video became a tradition at Shea Stadium being shown regularly on the Diamond Vision screen during New York Mets games. So there are a lot of Mets fans that will always hold this song in a special place. Others might not remember the song at all, but it is certainly a fun part of '80s pop culture and pop music history regardless. Hey Moe! What are you, a wise guy? Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck.
Hope you enjoyed another trip back to the '80s thanks to Flashback Video!