Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

I like the song. Too bad he didn't. One of those one hit wonders.

Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for sharing the music video of Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye performed by the band Steam which was put together by producer/writer Paul Leka to tour. "In 1970, the "Steam" was let out of the band and the band disbanded."

"Steam
Listen to Steam
on Amazon Music
Album: Jock Rock, Vol. 1 (1969)
Charted: 9 1
Get the Sheet Music
SONGFACTS ®LYRICS

One of the strangest #1 hits in history, this song was written as a throwaway B-side, but became a cultural phenomenon used for years to come as a musical goodbye.

The song was written by Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka, who had been in a band together called the Chateaus in the early '60s. One of the unfinished songs they wrote as the Chateaus was a tune called "Kiss Him Goodbye," which they worked on in 1961.

In 1968, Leka co-wrote and co-produced the song "Green Tambourine," which was a huge hit for The Lemon Pipers. The following year, he started working with DeCarlo, who was using the stage name Garrett Scott. Working for Mercury Records, they set to work writing singles for "Garrett Scott," recording four songs, which Leka produced. The first one released was "Working On A Groovy Thing," which was written by Roger Atkins and Neil Sedaka. The 5th Dimension also recorded the song and released it first, which tanked the Garrett Scott version (The 5th Dimension recording made #20 US; Patti Drew recorded the song a year earlier, taking it to #62).

The next single planned for DeCarlo was "Sweet Laura Lee," a ballad written by Larry Weiss, composer of "Rhinestone Cowboy." Needing a B-side, Leka and DeCarlo went back to the studio, where they were joined by their old bandmate Dale Frashuer, who suggested they use their 1961 song "Kiss Him Goodbye." That song didn't have a chorus, so Leka wrote one, lazily using "na na"s instead of actual words. They started the session around 7 p.m. and finished at 5 a.m., but when they emerged, they had the completed song.

When Bob Reno, the A&R man at Mercury, heard the song, he loved it and didn't want to waste it as a B-side. He needed singles for the Mercury subsidiary Fontana Records, so the song was released on that label and credited to the group Steam (named because after the session to record it, the guys were crossing 7th Ave and a subway train went beneath the roadway, shooting steam up from a manhole).

From there, the story gets convoluted, but when the single was released it became a surprise hit. Another song called "Now That I Love You" was used instead on the Garrett Scott "Sweet Laura Lee" single, which went nowhere when it was released. DeCarlo had a huge hit on his hands, but not as a solo artist but as part of an anonymous group.

The most-repeated story is that the three writers were embarrassed about "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," so they created the name Steam to hide their identities. DeCarlo told Songfacts, however, that he was never embarrassed by the song, and that he was promised more of the action. "I was supposed to be the singer and road act for 'Na Na' as it was my B-side," he said. "When Paul and the company got together they decided to split the record, meaning there would be two out. Paul said I would be able to do both as Garrett Scott, which I was later told I had no group. Paul said he would get me a group from a booking agency in New York, which never happened. 'Na Na' was never done with a group in mind, it was the B-side of my single. The name Steam wasn't invented until the album was being done."
The group chant is the hero of this song, but it does tell a story, as the singer is asking the girl to kiss-off the guy she's with and get with him, since he will appreciate her. As Gary DeCarlo tells us: "It was and still is about the love factor. Anyone who's been in a love triangle can identify with this. Trying make the girl realize that he's not the guy for her."
This is commonly used at sporting events when the home team is about to win or an opposing player is removed from the game. It seems almost custom made for that purpose, with a stadium-ready chorus that is taunting but playful. The first major league stadium to put it in their regular rotation was the Chicago White Sox, whose organist, Nancy Faust, started playing it in 1977."
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/steam/nanaheyheykisshimgoodbye.html


"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" written by Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer and Paul Leka
Lyrics
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

He'll never love you, the way that I love you
Cause if he did, no no, he wouldn't make you cry
He might be thrillin' baby but a-my love
(My love, my love)

So dog-gone willin', so kiss him
(I wanna see you kiss him, wanna see you kiss him)
Go on and kiss him goodbye, now

Na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

Listen to me now

He's never near you to comfort and cheer you
When all those sad tears are fallin' baby from your eyes
He might be thrillin' baby but a-my love
(My love, my love)

So dog-gone willin', so kiss him
(I wanna see you kiss him, I wanna see you kiss him)
Go on and kiss him goodbye, na na na na, na na na

Na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

Hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

Hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

Hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye
Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye

I really love you girl
I really need you girl
I need to have you near me every day
C'mon girl

You know that's true girl
I really need you girl
I can't let you be with him
Well, all right
Give it to me one time"

FYI LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SSG David Andrews TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL

We use to March to this in the Army!