This one is all about my weird fetish for early Rhino records.

I’m not sure what that’s all about. I think more than anything I’m fascinated by the idea that a little record store became a record label for novelty records and reissues, eventually growing into the catalog division of Warner Music Group. It’s kind of the “technology garage start-up” success story for record geeks.

As for Dickie Goodman; well, he was Mr. Novelty Record for a couple of decades. His big hit was “Mr. Jaws,” which every kid in my elementary school knew by heart.  I’ve never read Goodman’s biography, written by his son John, but given that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound I suspect that Dickie was the crying on the inside kind of clown. That’s a shame, as his novelty records brought a lot of joy to a lot of people.

Dickie Goodman’s Greatest Hits will only cost you $3-5, but stay away from the rest of those early Rhino records. I might not have them yet, so I call dibs. Happy hunting.