Hey everyone! It’s the first of April, "April Fools Day", and to celebrate, the Dial continues its annual tradition of bringing you a wacky tune to mark the occasion! Born in Painesville, Ohio, but hailing from Australia, its Joe Dolce and "Shaddap You Face"!
"When I was a boy, just about the eighth-a grade, Mama used to say ‘don’t stay out-a late with the bad-a boys… always shoot-a pool, Giuseppe going to flunk-a school!’"
"Shaddap…" concerns a young Italian man named Giuseppe, and an argument he had with his Mom regarding his rebellious behavior. You see, Giuseppe wasn’t keen to the idea of following rules and not being true to himself. He wanted to hang out with the wrong crowd, and become a big star in television and movies, but his Momma wasn’t having any of that, which leads to the famous chorus… sung by his frustrated mother.
Released as a single internationally in 1980 under the band name Joe Dolce Musical Theater (sans "The"), Joe’s wacky tune topped the singles charts in the UK, Australia, France, Ireland, and several other countries, yet only managed #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon a belated April 1981 U.S. release. Interestingly, the song did not chart in Italy…
The "Shaddup You Face" LP was released in 1980, and also contained "Aint No UFO Gonna Catch My Diesel", and Dolce’s cover of Jimmy Soul’s 1963 chart topper "If You Wanna Be Happy". This was followed by "The Christmas Album" in 1981, featuring renditions of standards like "Jingle Bell Rock", "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Blue Christmas" and others. In recent years, Dolce has received extensive recognition as a poet and essayist, winning awards in Australia where he relocated from the U.S. in 1978.
"Boy it make-a me sick all the t’ing I gotta do… I can’t-a get-a no kicks… always got to follow rules."
Much like how I equate "An American Dream" by The Dirt Band and Linda Ronstadt with first grade (see my review of that song for more info), Dolce’s tune is a "second grade song", which I vividly recall hearing on the radio in the morning during that school year, while eating breakfast with Mom before catching the school bus. Lennon’s "(Just Like Starting Over)", Springsteen’s "Hungry Heart", and Rocky Burnette’s "Tired of Toein’ the Line" are also second grade tunes, and just like "Shaddap…", they instantly transport me back to that time of my youth.
On a un-related note, the morning show on that station featured three hosts, one woman and two men (their names have long since escaped my memory…), but one of the guys frequently did a character named "Ed" who was a spoof of Ed Sullivan. On one show, the woman made some reference to a song with piano in it (perhaps an Elton John tune), and she stated that the artist was "tinkling on the ivories". In response, "Ed" happily declared "and so am I!" (but he didn't mean piano playing!)
The hosts laughed. My Mom and I cracked up. Hurray! Urination humor on the crazy morning zoo!!!!
"But soon-a come-a day, gonna be a big-a star… then I make-a TV shows and-a movies… get-a myself a new car…"
Anyway, Dolce’s ditty popped back into my life in 1999 rather unexpectedly via a daily "name that tune" style radio contest on rock station DC101. The DJ would play a song that he derided as cheesy, and the first person to correctly identify the artist and title got a $101 gift certificate to the historic Old Ebbit Grill in downtown Washington DC. As I called in and correctly identified "Shaddap", my knowledge of that Joe Dolce tune was directly responsible for my enjoyment of several tasty dinners! Thanks, Joe!
So is "Shaddap You Face" offensive to Italians? It certainly uses over-the-top exaggerated accents and clichéd speaking patterns for a humorous effect. In fact a People Magazine article from July 27 1981 (archived online) mentions that the song features ethnic humor with "all the subtlety of cement shoes". But yet, I found no articles stating an outcry from the Italian community regarding the song. Does anybody recall any controversy from back then, or did Italians tend to embrace the song as light hearted humor? Drop me a message if you have some insight.
So for a bit of an April Fools chuckle, check out Giuseppe’s tale of his Momma’s retort to his youthful ways. And don’t be surprised if you get caught up in the sing-along portion as the song draws to a close. Its okay, I won’t judge.
"Whats’a matter you? Hey! Gotta no respect? What-a t’ink you do? Why you look-a so sad? It’s-a not so bad… It’s a nice-a place… Ah SHADDAP-A YOU FACE!"
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