Althought it appears to have since been edited, Damian and I were dying when he looked up "The Name Game" entry on Wikipedia -- a song he fell in love with when Jessica Lange's character lip-syncs it on "American Horror Story" -- which then took him to the singer Shirley Ellis's page. In it, it talked about her great success with the song but made a point of saying she wasn't "just a novelty act," having also charted with "The Clapping Song"(!).
I replied: "Toni Basil wasn't just a novelty act, either. She also had 'Shopping From A to Z' ... A, apple! B, banana! C, cherry!"
No sooner did I recount this to my friend Christopher, he saw my Toni Basil and raised me an Ebn-Ozn: "Bag Lady (I Wonder)" was the duo's embarrassing if well-meaning followup to the rather infectious "A, E, I, O, U Sometimes Y." At least the video had Imogene Coca although Deb and Lucy could have probably used the work more!
P.S. This whole ordeal led me down a rabbit hole, where I learned that Ned "Ebn" Liben died of a heart attack in1998, leaving behind and wife and son.
And that Robert "Ozn" Rosen officially changed his name to Robert Ozn and went on to become a Hollywood script analyst, screenwriter and producer.
Yesterday at work I was sitting next to a fellow '80s reject when we started throwing out old songs we still love but rarely hear. I suggested Translator's "Everywhere That You're Not," and Ron countered with EBN-OZN's "A E I O U and Sometimes Y." After a couple of Blancmange and Modern English moments, Ron mentioned seeing "the bass player of KajaGooGoo" on some VH1 "Where Are They Now?" type of show about 10 years ago, teaching some kind of music class while pathetically pondering if there "could have been another 'Too Shy' if things had turned out differently." The conversation went from fun to serious in an instant. DO NOT BAD MOUTH Nick Beggs, I "warned" him. I'm not too proud (or is it too ashamed?) to admit that I was a huge KajaGooGoo fan back in high school. I did everything in my book to get my hair to look just like Limahl's. (With occasional lapses into Howard Jonesdom.) And even after he was unceremoniously booted from the band for being too cute (talk about revenge -- "The Never-Ending Story" was a huge international hit!), I still loved the band through two more releases and a name change to Kaja and Nick as the singer. (The second LP, "Islands," was recently reissued on CD and still holds up nicely, unlike the debut with "Too Shy.") When I questioned Ron if he might have had the wrong GooGoo in mind (I've always thought Nick was working steadily over the years, playing bass for Belinda Carlisle, ABC and others), I did a Google image search and was startled to find this photo on the band's official Web Site:
My first thought was it was some kind of computer-aided aging done to a classic old photo, like they do to missing children to show what they might look like now. But soon I realized it really is what they look like now. (Ouch, I thought. If this is how pin-up pop stars age maybe I'm not being realistic about my own plight.) Once I got over the initial shock, though, I was delighted to see they were doing some live gigs again and even talking about a new album after being on the outs with Limahl for so many years, barely making it through that VH1 "Bands Reunited" episode in 2003.
No sooner had Ron positively ID'd Nick Beggs as the pathetic guy from the decade-old VH1 show when I suddenly get an e-mail from a reader that read as follows:
Hi Kenneth -- I'm a huge music person as well. I know you love the Go-Go's. I saw them in '84. Great show. INXS opened for them. Here's an obscure 80's song for you. Not sure if you like it or know it. It's definitely 80's. AEIOU SOMETIMES Y by EBN OZN. And of course there is another. JUKEBOX by The Flirts.
Take care and best wishes. I hope your eye condition is improving.
Nicholas
I was floored and turned my monitor toward Ron so he could see the message. He's married with child yet turned into just as big a screaming queen as yours truly. To say we were freaked out doesn't begin to cover it. I haven't thought of EBN OZN in more than 25 years, then suddenly we mention them and get an e-mail from a complete stranger bringing it up? Too funny, and too bizarre. As a result, I've since found out EBN died in 1998 and OZN, the one who looks like a cross between the lead singer of A Flock of Seagulls and Vitas Gerulaitis and delivered the classic stream-of-consciousness rap about "this incredible-looking Swedish girl having a cappuccino across the street from Lincoln Center," became a script analyst for Oliver Stone and a screenwriter!
For those who don't know what the hell I'm talking about (although I know there can't be many of you Class of 80something who don't), here you go. Be on the lookout for OZN's rat tail and "Flashdance"-inspired get ups, and for the young boy who is a little too into singing the chorus (undoubtedly a future bar-back at the Works):
