Let’s start the year with…country! Specifically, the Oak Ridge Boys. Now, this group has been around forever; I remember hearing “Y’all Come Back Saloon” on my parents’ record player when we were living in West Virginia, 1978-1979. (Love that song, by the way.) “Elvira” came along a few years later, and was a big hit, with its catchy tune and the crazy way it features the group’s bass singer, who gets to respond to the rest of the band’s “Giddyup!” with “pa-OOM pa-pa-OOM pa-pa-OOM pa-pa-MOW MOW”. This is one of those ear-wormy songs that can lodge in your head, but it’s also fun to listen to.
The sound on this particular performance isn’t the best, but I like the multi-camera footage that highlights the way each one of these guys looks different (and only one of them actually looks like he should be singing country), and for some added humor, check out the band’s guitar player during the first minute, when he realizes he’s on camera and gets a little too “into the moment”.
Here’s Elvira. Papa-oom-mow-mow!
Wish I could sing that low…