Napoleon XIV

Jerrold Laurence Samuels (May 3, 1938 – March 10, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and talent agent.[1] Under the pseudonym Napoleon XIV, he achieved one-hit wonder status with the #3 hit novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" in 1966.[1] Samuels occasionally revisited the Napoleon XIV character to record other songs, usually comedy records with an insanity theme.

Napoleon XIV
Birth nameJerrold Laurence Samuels
Also known asJerry Samuels
Born(1938-05-03)May 3, 1938
New York City, U.S.
DiedMarch 10, 2023(2023-03-10) (aged 84)
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresComedy, novelty
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • agent
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1956–2021
LabelsWarner Bros. Records, Needlejuice Records

Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with Larry Kusik, a top-10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote "The Shelter of Your Arms", a top-20 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.

Biography

Jerrod Laurence Samuels was born in Manhattan and was raised in the Bronx.[2] He played the piano and wrote music throughout his childhood, and began his recording career in 1956 when he cut the single "Puppy Love"/"The Chosen Few" for the Vik Records subsidiary of RCA Victor Records.[2][3] In 1966, Samuels concocted "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" while working at Associated Recording Studios in New York. The public found out his true identity when Cousin Brucie of WABC revealed his name. The record quickly climbed the charts, reaching the top ten nationally in just its third week on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #3 and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[4] In the Cash Box Top 100 the record even climbed to No. 1 for one week in its second week on the charts.

The success of the single inspired a Warner Bros. album of the same name in 1966 (reissued by Rhino in 1985), most of which continued the mental illness theme (for example: "Bats in My Belfry" and "Split Level Head" which features different vocal parts in each stereo speaker.[1] A second single of two recordings from that album went relatively unnoticed. His manager was Leonard Stogel.

In his later years, Samuels worked as a singer and agent who booked various performers in the Delaware Valley.[2] In 1984, he founded the Jerry Samuels Agency, and later operated it with his second wife, Bobby. They retired in 2021.[2]

Samuels was married twice: first to Rosemary Djivre, divorcing in 1968, and then to Bobby Simon from 1996 until his death. He was also in a relationship with Petra Vesters from 1973 to 1987. He had a son from his first marriage and another from his relationship with Vesters. Another son predeceased him.[2] Samuels was a longtime resident of the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Philadelphia, though he moved to an assisted living facility in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, after retiring.[2][5]

Samuels died from complications of Parkinson's disease dementia at a hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, on March 10, 2023, at the age of 84.[2][5]

Discography

Singles
  • 1966 "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" / "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" Warner Bros. (5831)
  • 1966 "I'm in Love with My Little Red Tricycle" / "Doin' The Napoleon" Warner Bros. (5853)
  • 1973 "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" / "!aaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT ot gnimoC er'yehT" Warner Bros. (WB 7726) (reissue of WB 5831)
  • 1990 "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!" (1966 recording) / "They're Coming to Get Me Again, Ha-Haaa!" (recorded in 1988) Collectables (3859)
  • They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! / Photogenic, Schizophrenic You (Eric Records single, 1970s)

1966 They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!

Warner Bros. LP W 1661/WS 1661

Side 1
  1. "I'm in Love with My Little Red Tricycle"
  2. "Photogenic, Schizophrenic You"
  3. "Marching Off to Bedlam"
  4. "Doin' the Napoleon"
  5. "Let's Cuddle Up in My Security Blanket"
  6. "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"
Side 2
  1. "Bats in My Belfry"
  2. "Dr. Psyche, The Cut-Rate Head-Shrinker"
  3. "I Live in a Split Level Head"
  4. "The Nuts on My Family Tree"
  5. "The Place Where the Nuts Hunt the Squirrels"
  6. "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" (by Josephine XV)

1985 Reissue

Reissue of above on Rhino LP 816.

NOTE: The backward version of the album title track does not appear on either the original or reissue albums, although the backward title is listed on the front cover.

1996 The Second Coming

Rhino / WEA/Rhino R2 72402

  1. "Ode to a Farmer Boy" (New Recording 1995)
  2. "The Explorer" (previously unreleased, recorded in 1968 for second unissued album, For God's Sake, Stop the Feces)
  3. "They're Coming To take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!"
  4. "I'm in Love with My Little Red Tricycle"
  5. "Photogenic, Schizophrenic You"
  6. "Marching Off to Bedlam"
  7. "Doin' the Napoleon"
  8. "The Place Where the Nuts Hunt the Squirrels"
  9. "Let's Cuddle Up in My Security Blanket"
  10. "Goofin' on the Job" (Recorded in 1968)
  11. "Bats in My Belfry"
  12. "Dr. Psyche, The Cut-Rate Head-Shrinker"
  13. "I Live in a Split Level Head"
  14. "I'm Happy They Took You Away, Ha-Haaa!" – Josephine XV
  15. "The Nuts on My Family Tree"
  16. "I Owe a Lot to Iowa Pot" (New Recording – 1995)
  17. "Can You Dig It?" (Recorded in 1968)
  18. "The Song I Wrote for Robert Goulet" (New recording – 1995)
  19. "They're Coming to Get Me Again, Ha-Haaa!"
  20. "It May Appear Ridiculous" (New recording – 1995)
  21. "!aaaH-aH ,yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er'yehT" (unlisted bonus track)

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 889. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. Genzlinger, Neil (March 19, 2023). "Jerry Samuels, 84, Songwriter Who Recorded a Strange and Successful Hit". The New York Times. p. A26. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  3. "The Billboard - Reviews of New Pop Records". Billboard. March 31, 1956. p. 52. Retrieved August 19, 2015 – via Google Books.
  4. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 208–209. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  5. File, Nate (March 11, 2023). "Jerry Samuels, the Northeast Philly artist behind the 1966 hit novelty song 'They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!,' has died at 84". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 25, 2023.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.