When you listen to classic rock or oldies stations you get a really good idea of the type of music people listened to in previous eras. However, you are not getting a complete picture of all the music that was produced in the past. Probably the most underappreciated "genre" of music has been the novelty song. After all, if it wasn't for Dr. Demento many classic novelty songs would simply have faded into a forgotten past.

Now, if you want to check out a really cool, long lost novelty song with a Cold War era theme then you may wish to check out I Dreamt I Saw Khrushchev (In A Pink Cadillac).

I purchased a CD boxed set THE ATOMIC PLATTERS which provides a treasure trove of old Cold War era songs and rather than describe this song myself I figured I would cut/paste an excerpt from www.atomicplatters.com/more.php?id=49_0_1_0_M

"This hilarious novelty tune was inspired by Nikita Khrushchev's headline-making tour of the United States in 1959. The Soviet leader became something of a media sensation during his whirlwind visit, particularly when Disneyland refused to host him due to security concerns. This song, which is performed by man-of-a-thousand voices Walker Edmiston (half of the record is sung in the guise of Edmiston's TV kiddie show character Barky the Dog and the other half as the Russian Premier), uses a broad rock 'n' roll beat to convey the cartoonish caricature that Khrushchev had solidified in the press by the time he flew back to the Kremlin. This clever song imagines the ultimate Communist embracing decadent American treats like baseball, hotdogs and a certain pink luxury automobile."

As funny as the song sounds in that description it is actually a thousand times funnier to actually hear. It is a dreadful pleasure of mine and it is in my CD player right now. Honest.