HOF Inductee No. 14: "Rock Me Amadeus," Falco

And we come to Falco.

This is an earworm centered around the repeated incantation of the middle name of (possibly) (apologies to Ludwig von Beethoven) the greatest classical composer of all time: Wolfgang. Amadeus. Mozart. Let's all sing along: "Amadeus Amadeus Ammmm-adeus / Amadeus Amadeus Ammmm-adeus / Amadeus Amadeus o o Ammmmm-adeus" The hook most definitely is not found in the Austrian-accented, German-language rapped verse.

The genesis of this song was from the opinion of Falco that, if his fellow Viennese musical superstar Mozart, were alive today, he would not be composing classical music for small audiences in concert halls, but that he would be an international pop music sensation. The video captures this perfectly. THe song rocketed up the pop charts in the U.S. (and most of the western world), hitting #1 for three weeks in March 1986. It then plummeted down the charts as rapidly as it climbed up, as if the music-listening public collectively concluded: "what were we thinking?"

But there is no denying it's a fun song. Do you prefer your Amadeus in an orchestral setting? Here's the symphonic version of this song:

As catchy as this song, it is completely un-cover-able. There seem to be no versions of this song by any other pop artists. Just Falco and some versions from various symphonies, particularly the one in Vienna. But no artsy-quirky pop band from Stockholm or Brooklyn or Austin has ever attempted even a tongue-in-cheek cover.

My favorite Falco song? It's also un-cover-able. It's the song that kept playing on a loop in my brain -- a personal earworm -- during the time I visited Vienna:

Hello. Hello. "Vienna Calling."

Sadly, Johann "Hans" Hölzel, who the world knew as "Falco," passed away in 1998, killed in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic. He is buried in Vienna's Central Cemetery in a lavishly-decorated plot:

Vienna calling indeed.

HOF Inductee No. 13: "It's A Small World (After All)," Disneyland Children's Chorus

This may not have been a Top 40 hit, but that has not affected the ubiquitous in American -- née global -- culture.

If you've ever been to Disneyland in California, or the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Florida, or any of the global Disney theme parks in Europe or the Pacific Rim of Asia, you've heard this song. Even if you've only walked near the "It's A Small World" ride, and not gotten on board for a float, you've heard this song. And if you've entered the "It's A Small World" and floated through it's miniaturized global villages, you can't get this song out of your head. Ever.

Like so many aspects of American Boomer culture, "It's A Small World" made its debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Originally, the intended musical accompaniment of the ride "Children of the World" were to be the national anthems of the various countries of this earth, playing simultaneously.  Walt Disney heard this in the ride's prototype and decided that the resulting cacophony would not do. He asked Disney staff songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman to write one simple song to be played throughout the ride, as the patrons floated through various global villages. This was the song they wrote. They wrote it as a slow ballad. Walt wanted something peppier, so they sped it up. Walt was so thrilled with the final product that he renamed the attraction for the song: "It's A Small World."

Some people consider a float through Disney's "It's A Small World" to be a pleasantly amusing rest from the heat and crowds of the theme park. Others consider the ride to be a nightmarish hellscape where the ultimate earworm gets permanently implanted in their brains. But, like the old saying, it's a dessert topping and a floor wax. It's both!

Earlier this year, in 2022, the Library of Congress selected the original 1964 recording by the Disneyland Boys Choir for the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, artistically, or aesthetically significant":  

It is all that and more. Of course, it did not need such a designation by the Library of Congress to maintain its preservation. It's forever preserved in the minds of everyone who has ever ridden the ride at a Disney theme park.