Dickie Goodman

One of the earliest instances of sampling in pop music came not from a hip-hop DJ, but a producer of comedic novelty records. As early as 1956, Dickie Goodman recorded a series of mock radio drama-styled question and answer records that lampooned subjects from Martian invasions to various political themes of the day. Termed “break-in” records, they include examples of an early, rough form of sampling that Goodman pioneered. His first hit using this technique, “The Flying Saucer,” is a news-reporter styled recording where Goodman posed questions answered by snippets of popular hits from artists such as Little Richard, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, and others. The song landed Goodman in court for copyright infringement, but the case was settled when the court determined his songs to be valid, original creations rooted in parody. His break-in records continued to have moderate success into the early-‘80s, but Goodman tragically died in 1989 from an apparent suicide.