The unrelenting verbal onslaught of 1978’s “Bin Wieder Frei” by German heartthrob, Benny, immediately made me think of Joey Levine‘s famous feat of rapid-fire elocution from 1974, “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)” – which later helped inspire REM’s “End of the World (As We Know It)” and Billy Joel‘s “We Didn’t Start the Fire“:
“Bin Wieder Frei“
Benny (1978)
As it turns out, Benny (born Hans Jürgen Schnier) is doing a German version of Plastic Bertrand´s “Ça Plane Pour Moi” released two months previously:
“Ça Plane Pour Moi“
Plastic Bertrand (1978)
I think it’s fair to say that Bob Dylan helped open the door for this sort of lyrical bombardment with the release of his landmark 1965 single, “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” especially its iconic promotional video with Dylan himself holding oversized flash cards of the song’s key lyrics. But who before Dylan dazzled listeners with similar demonstrations of verbal dexterity at breakneck speeds?
*
LINK to German Pop
LINK to Non-Stop Verbal Barrages
*
