"Crazy Downtown" is a song written and performed by

Allan Sherman Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon or Allan Gerald Copelon; November 30, 1924 – November 20, 1973) was an American musician, satirist, and television producer who became known as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, '' M ...

. The song is a parody of

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mu ...

's song "

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

" which was a hit for

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

(because of the use of the melody, Hatch also receives songwriting credit). The song reached #6 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and #40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1965; it was Sherman's last top-40 hit.Allan Sherman, "Crazy Downtown" chart positions
Retrieved May 5, 2013 The song is sung from the point of view of a father whose teenaged children have gone " frooging" downtown with their car and money. At first, the parents are relieved that they can now use the phone and the bath tub but, as the hours pass, they get increasingly nervous. Meanwhile their offspring frug to the songs of Petula Clark while they are downtown. Eventually, the parents take Miltown in order to calm themselves down. However the father gets a phone call telling him that their children have been arrested as the result of a car accident, prompting him to angrily borrow someone else's car to get his sons home. He then vows to ground the teenagers and go downtown with his wife, where he promises to do "very nice dances" including the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

, and bunny hop, instead of the dances of the younger generation such as the Frug, the Swim, the Mashed Potato or the Jerk.

References

1965 singles Songs written by Tony Hatch Allan Sherman songs Warner Records singles Novelty songs 1965 songs {{1960s-single-stub