Artists who started out in other kinds of music but hit it big by going novelty

American jazz pianist and vocalist John Larkin released a self-titled album of avant-garde jazz with some vocal pieces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW_a2t3q9bA

It sold very, very poorly (although I think it's excellent) and he languished in obscurity for another 8 years or so until he used his scat-singing skills to become Scatman John in 1994 and had a massive worldwide hit that year.

Any other artists who did the same - started out in a "respectable" (not sure how else to distinguish that) genre but only hit it big upon going novelty?

This might not fully fit the bill of your theme, but if you consider disco "novelty" Patrice Rushen had a respectable career as a jazz pianist, only to "sell out" with the album Pizazz and her hit disco single Haven't You Heard.

tbqh I prefer her "sell out" music more than her jazz releases

I should hear more Patrice Rushen - Straight from the Heart's an album that's come up before and anything with RYM's sophisti-pop tag on it is something worth investigating.

this is kind of Scooter's origin story...they were a kinda crappy Depeche Mode-imitating New Wave band who would moonlight doing remixes, one day HP Baxxter started yelling over something which became "Hyper Hyper" and from there they became a ruthless novelty hit machine

Not a crazy diversion, but The Grid started out as a fairly straightforward ambient techno outfit but didn't hit it big until "Swamp Thing", which became something of a Jock Jam at sporting events.

Working from possibly faulty memory here, but IIRC wasn't The Who's "Squeeze Box" their highest charting single?

Buster Poindexter

Chuck Berry only had that one no. 1 single - and both sides of the Atlantic too.

Parvo -> Kaiser Chiefs

The Who's "Squeeze Box" their highest charting single?

LOL this is blowing my mind. i never, ever knew this was the Who!!!

i thought it was Sanford-Townsend Band or Loggins and Messina or something like that!

hahaha I can't think of a way that song could get worse - except for a Loggins & Messina cover!

i love that the klf is legitimately in this conversation too.

also hi: patrice rushen is goated. kindly try to keep pace. bless.

Blowfly was a Southern soul singer and songwriter before the dirty songs took off

Also Parry Gripp of “Hamster on a Piano” fame was in Nerf Herder

fame?

Anyway last week I read at-the-time review of Patrice Rushen’s second album that complained she had forever ruined the artistic potential shown on her first, a year earlier, by selling out and taking malign influence from the novelty of Head Hunters

The Bee Gees

Genesis were steered by their first manager to make straightforward pop music for their first album. They hit their prog rock stride afterwards.

The debut albums of Jethro Tull & Led Zeppelin are both blues rock albums, I guess both of them became the legends they are with the more signature style work which followed.

Bowie's early work sounds like it's part of a stand-up comedian's repertoire. He kept hitting it big with many novelties afterwards.

The Bee Gees OTM!

Bobby McFerrin. My college roommate from 1986 was a big fan of his highly original all-vocal but hardly a cappella (in the conventional sense) jazz pieces, and convinced me to catch his show, then touring on the Spontaneous Inventions album, both qhich were quite impressive. But his next album from a year later had that song on it, and his career never really recovered.

Bobby McFerrin's album with Chick Corea is great and shows off his jazziness well

it has always seemed to me that Led Zeppelin hatched fully formed

Landscape were a fairly standard jazz-funk band, they discovered synths and then came ‘Einstein a Go-Go'.

Want to say Babybird

Also Parry Gripp of “Hamster on a Piano” fame was in Nerf Herder

― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, May 2, 2024 9:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

fame?

― bae (sic), Thursday, May 2, 2024 10:20 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Maybe you know him better from Raining Tacos?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjF032TDDQ

The Bee Gees

how so?

The Bee Gees suggestion is completely wrong. Multiple massive hits across four decades, one of the biggest selling bands of all time etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3w8I8boc_I

would also argue against their disco era as being "novelty", it was absolutely in line with their natural artistic development, they were always huge R&B afficionados

Also Parry Gripp of “Hamster on a Piano” fame was in Nerf Herder

― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Thursday, May 2, 2024 8:25 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

what??!

Shakey, my Bee Gees listening thread homie, OTM