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Although Weird Al Yankovic gets most of the credit for popularizing novelty songs and parodies, the godfather of the genre is unquestionably Dickie Goodman. Born on April 19, 1934, in Hewlett, NY, Goodman first came to the attention of the record-buying public in the '50s, when he scored a major hit with "The Flying Saucer," a song that nearly topped the U.S. pop charts (peaking at number three in 1956). As with all of Goodman's ensuing parodies, he used a then-unique method of sampling: he would act as a "reporter," while the responses from the "people" he was interviewing would be lines from pop artist's songs. Despite its success, Goodman's first hit caused some controversy when 17 different labels sued him for using samples without permission. But the judge in the case ultimately sided with Goodman, stating that "he had created a new work" and didn't simply copy another's work. Goodman continued to issue a steady stream of song parodies throughout the '50s and '60s (including such ...