Paul Leka, RIP

[GA Russell]

Paul Leka wrote and produced a number of hits, but the LA Times obit focuses on Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-paul-leka-20111026,0,7625180.story

[JSngry]

They began recording the song in the early evening "without a full complement of musicians," Bronson wrote. Leka, who played keyboard, spliced in a drum track from one of DeCarlo's previously recorded songs.

a-HA!

[Big Beat Steve]

Paul Leka wrote and produced a number of hits, but the LA Times obit focuses on Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-paul-leka-20111026,0,7625180.story

Fame seems to be fleeting.

This post title had me wondering if we were talking about Paul ANKA or Henry LECA (Latin bandleader of way back ...). But Paul Leka? Total blank ...

"Na na na hey hey ..." yes, of course ... there was something ... omnipresent on the airwaves and pubilc events in the early to mid-70s even over here in various recordings/cover versions, in a way it almost stifled my very early interest in music due to its its totally inane, insipid character that blared from every radio. Only really something for those (over here) satisfied with being weaned on an exclusive diet of James Last and Les Humprises Singer .... ugh ... But those la-la-la singalong "singers" choirs of early 70s pop (decidedly NON-rock) music just made you go "yikes" anyway.

OTOH in a way maybe I ought to be grateful for this kind of early exposure because that taught me early on to search out something decidedly more "meaty" and honestly "handmade" (rockabilly, swing, jazz, blues etc.)

But oh well ... de mortuis nil nisi bene, so ... RIP indeed.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Big Beat Steve