Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
Single by Steam
from the album Steam
B-side	"It's the Magic in You Girl"
Released	November 1969
Format	7" single
Recorded	1969 in New York at Mercury Sound Studios
Genre	Pop
Length	4:08 (LP version) 6:20 (long version) 3:45 (45 version) 2:59 (45 radio version)
Label	Fontana F 1667 (US)
Writer(s)	Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer
Producer	Paul Leka
Steam singles chronology
"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (1969) "I've Gotta Make You Love Me" (1970)

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"
Single by Bananarama
from the album Deep Sea Skiving
B-side	"Tell Tale Signs"
Released	February 1983
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	February 1982
Genre	Pop/New Wave
Length	3:30
Label	London Records
Writer(s)	Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka
Producer	Jolley & Swain
Bananarama singles chronology
"He's Got Tact" (1982) "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (1983) "Cruel Summer" (1983)

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a number one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969, and remained on the charts in early 1970.^[1] The song's chorus remains well-known, and is frequently used as a crowd chant at many sporting events.

History

Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer wrote a primitive version of the song in the early 1960s when they were members of a band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, called The Chateaus. The Chateaus disbanded after several failed recordings. In 1969, DeCarlo recorded several singles at Mercury Records in New York with Paul Leka as producer. The singles impressed the company's executives, who wanted to issue all of them as A-side singles. In need of "inferior" B-side songs, Leka and DeCarlo resurrected an old song from their days as the Chateaus, "Kiss Him Goodbye", with their old bandmate, Dale Frashuer.

With DeCarlo as lead vocalist, the three musicians recorded the song in one recording session. Instead of using a full band, Leka spliced together a drum track from one of DeCarlo's four singles and played keyboards himself. "I said we should put a chorus to it (to make it longer)," Leka told Fred Bronson in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. "I started writing while I was sitting at the piano going 'na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na'... Everything was 'na na' when you didn't have a lyric." Someone else added "hey hey" (Bronson, 2003). "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" reached number one in the United States for two weeks, on December 6 and 13 of 1969; it was Billboard's final multi-week #1 hit of the 1960s and also peaked at number twenty on the soul chart^[2]. By the beginning of the 21st century, sales of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" had exceeded 6.5 million records.

In 1971, vocal doo wop group The Belmonts sang an a cappella cover of the song for their Cigars Acappella Candy album.

The song made its debut in the world of sports at the University of Minnesota when basketball coach Bill Musselman began to use it in a pre-game warm-up routine that took the showmanship of the Harlem Globetrotters and brought it to the college court. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" became a regular event at Gopher basketball games for many seasons.^{[citation needed]}

The original recording of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" has been released in many collections of oldies songs and re-recorded by other groups. In February 1983, UK girl group Bananarama released the song as a single off their album Deep Sea Skiving. This version became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom (#5), but only a minor hit in the US (Billboard #101) later that year. In a sketch on the early 1980s comedy show Three of a Kind, Tracey Ullman spoofed Bananarama singing "Na Na Hey Hey" (as well as "Shy Boy"), with the words "We are nanas".

A disco remake of the song was recorded by original vocalist Gary DeCarlo (credited to his stage name Garrett Scott) and released as a 12-inch single in 1976 on the West End label as "Na Na Kiss Him Goodbye (Disco Version)". Another disco version was released by Pattie Brooks in 1977, as part of a medley that also included "Popcorn" and "Black is Black".

In 1987, Canadian quartet The Nylons released an a cappella version of this song as a single under the shortened title "Kiss Him Goodbye". It became their biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twelve that summer.^[3]

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.

The song is featured prominently in the 2000 Boaz Yakin film Remember the Titans.

In 2000, the German heavy metal band Axxis recorded a cover of the song on the album Back To The Kingdom.

Since 1977, thanks to Nancy Faust, then-organist for the Chicago White Sox, the song had a revival as a stadium taunt to visiting teams. The song was played at Hartford Whalers home games if the team won.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, the song was used in a TV commercial for Kohler High Efficiency Toilets.

The song was sung in Lafayette Park during celebrations of the death of Osama bin Laden. David Arquette tweeted: "They are singing the Star Spangled Banner and The Beatles 'Na Na Na Na Goodbye.'"^[4]

Bananarama

This was the fifth single released from their first album in 1983. It peaked at number five in the UK singles chart.

Music video

The music video features the girls playing in a school playground and then being made to move by a group of lads. They then decide to join a boxing club so the video features them singing the song whilst boxing. By the end of the video they return to the playground wearing leathers and this time make the group of lads move away. They then ride off into the night on motorbikes.

Track Listing

7" vinyl NANA4

1. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" 3:22
2. "Tell Tale Signs" 2:58

12" vinyl NANX4

1. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (Extended Version) 4:52
2. "Na Na Hey Hey Na (Dub) Hey" 4:12
3. "Tell Tale Signs" (Extended Version) 4:46

References

1. ^ "Steam Biography". Pandora Internet Radio. http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/steam. Retrieved May 16, 2011. 
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 550. 
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th edition). Record Research. p. 464. 
4. ^ Politico, May 3, 2011, p. 25.

Preceded by "Something / Come Together" by The Beatles

Billboard Hot 100 number one single 6 December 1969 (two weeks)

Succeeded by "Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter, Paul, and Mary