Dancing with Napoleon XIV

I've had this promo record for quite some time, and always assumed it was by an obscure pop vocalist. (Jerry Simms looks like an obscure pop vocalist, doesn't he?) Then I decided to listen to it, and discovered it is actually a mild form of rock 'n' roll. And when I looked into the identity of Jerry Simms, I discovered something completely unexpected - Simms (real name Jerry Samuels) later became Napoleon XIV.

For those not tuned in to mid-60s American popular music, Napoleon XIV was responsible for an unlikely hit in 1966 titled "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Haaa!" As may be apparent, this was a novelty song, and it told the tale of the singer being removed "to the funny farm, where life is beautiful all the time." It was fully as tasteless as it sounds. (However, I did enjoy the title of one of his other songs, "Photogenic, Schizophrenic You".)

This 1959 single, in contrast, does not deal with mental health issues, rather dancing - "Dancing Partners" and "Dancing with a Memory" - and displays all the usual influences of the time - Elvis, calypso, doo-wop, big-voice belters and even a little Nashville sound. It's actually a reasonably good record.