The beloved Allan Sherman actually was a thoroughly depressed screwed-up man and his biography, ‘Overweight Sensation’, is so depressing that I haven’t watched/seen/thought of Sherman since I read it a few years ago. Today I’m breaking that self-imposed sanction with this delightful clip of Sherman singing ‘Crazy Downtown’, his parody of the Petulia Clark hit ‘Downtown’. This is from a Hollywood Palace show hosted by Tony Randall who we see briefly at the top of the clip. The dancers behind Sherman are some seriously swinging chicks and the set has that nice sparse black-and-white austerity-as-aesthetic thing, replete with standing torch-lamps and a sprinkling of cheap lights on the backdrop to indicate a starry night vibe. (I love when, during the dance break, Sherman simply announces ‘Choreography’). At the time, ‘Crazy Downtown’ was #41 on Billboard’s Top 100 Chart. The following week it would peak at #40 and ultimately spend eight weeks on the top 100. And now you officially have TMI on Allan Sherman’s ‘Crazy Downtown’.