Boodlehiemer
Growing up in the 1960’s we used to have a thing called a record player. For you younger folks, a record player was the way we listened to music before CDs and MP3 players.
As a 5 year old child, the single most important record in my collection was Stuart (Stoo) Hample’s The Silly Record. I must have spent days, weeks and months listening to The Silly Record. Amazingly, nearly 40 years later, I am STILL ABLE TO RECITE MOST of it! My wife thinks I’m a freak!
If you don’t know about The Silly Record read no further as this will be of no interest to you. Only a Silly Record fan would care to know that when I was a teenager, in a moment of rare insightfulness, I made a cassette tape recording of The Silly Record. I don’t know what happened to the LP record. And now as an adult I have recently uncovered the tape of The Silly Record and have now ripped it to MP3 for all former fans. Do I dare play this for my 4 year old son? I’m sure he’ll love it, but will he turn out like me? Scary!
So to you 40 to 50 year old fellow freaks out there who actually remember The Silly Record, I present our pal Boodlehiemer in all his glory (Boodlehiemer is the thing with 12 toes standing on top of the record).
I hope Mr. Hample is okay with this post. As this record is currently no where to be found (to purchase) I assume I’m not stepping on any toes.
Right-click the following link and select “Save target as…” to download your copy of The Silly Record (21MB, Mp3 format, 23 mins)
A special thank you goes out to Satoauto.com and his unlimited bandwidth hosting account for hosting this file. I also want to acknowledge PopCereal for having the seemingly only image scans of The Silly Record front and back covers. Also, please visit PopCereal for really complete background info about The Silly Record and Stoo Hample. Groovy!
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your prescience has saved the silly record from extinction! MY 3 y.o. girl now demands it constantly. I didn’t get very far with this through official channels, and spent a fair amount of time inquiring. kudos to you my friend.
Left by M. Reid Johnson on December 22nd, 2007
Dear Netsato Silly Record Fan,
Thanks for posting your story about The Silly Record.
I, too, am a big fan of The Silly Record. In fact, I went on an all-out search for a copy so that I could send it to my brother as a memorable gift of our 1960’s childhood. It took several years to finally find one, but I did at Springfield, Missouri during February, 2007.
Finding The Silly Record was truly amazing. The way that I found it is an even better story, however.
As an avid record collector, I find most of my collection in thrift stores throughout the USA. If you are not familiar with the type of stores I am referring to, these are charity organizations that set up retail establishments where people donate their unwanted items for resale to the public. Goodwill, Salvation Army, and St. Vincent de Paul are just a few of the stores I frequent.
While visiting Springfield, Missouri last year I found two thrift stores next door to each other. The first store had at least a thousand records, but most of them were not desirable. It takes quite a long time to go through this many, and while doing so another collector began looking, too. We had a small conversation and I mentioned The Silly Record on Columbia Harmony label to him. I rarely mention specifics to other browsers in thrift stores, though.
Since The Silly Record is on Columbia Harmony label, a budget label, it is not considered a “collectible” to just anyone that doesn’t have an interest in a specific title. And the other collector said that he probably would not look at the record twice because of this fact.
Since the other collector knew I had looked through so many of the records in the store, he left the store. Now, I was wondering where he was going next and figured that it would be to the thrift store next door if he hadn’t already been there. So I quickly finished looking and checked out so that I could get to the other thrift store, too.
I was right. There he was holding a small stack of records. As I approached the much smaller selection of records in this store I exclaimed, ” Just what goodies have you found here.” He turned to me and handed me The Silly Record and then said that I could have it! WOW! What an amazing gift. He repeated that he would have never picked it up if I hadn’t mentioned it, so he felt I should have it.
So that’t my story. What do you think of that?
Now. This brings me to your scans of the cover that you received from PopCereal. If you would like a scan of the entire back cover, I’d be happy to provide you with one. The one you and PopCereal show is less than one-fourth of the original cover. The front cover is shown in its entirety, though. You probably already know this, but I wanted to offer you a full scan if you want it.
That’s it in a nutshell. I’ll keep searching for more copies of The Silly Record even though I’ve already found one. There just has to be more out there for sale.
Thanks again for posting your story about The Silly Record.
Yours truly,
Barrie
Left by Barrie Lynn Bryant on December 23rd, 2007
I am silly you are silly all of us are silly nilly….. I too LOVED the silly record. So much so, that my older brother hid it from me. Years later, (in my teens, he now in his 20’s )I found it and played it for him. He went nuts. I too made a cassette recording but someone taped over it with country music. Booo!
This 50 year old is now thrilled to play your recording. I hope I do it correctly. Sincere thanks for sharing The Silly Record. Just yesterday I was singing the songs to my teenager and he suggested I google it. I never dreamed I would ever hear those words which still are part of my memory. Bless you, Stephanie
Left by stephanie goodman on December 26th, 2007
Thank you!!!!!
i have been looking for this for 4 years to play to my 3 kids. The book is already a favorite.
Left by Lisa S on January 16th, 2008
Thank you! I’ve been searching for over a year for this album. Stuart is fantastic – I’m so happy!
Left by Alison on February 3rd, 2008
I am happy to report that my 4.5 year old son is now a Silly Record fan. I loaded The Silly Record MP3 on my iPod and my son listens to in the car. He thinks it is the funniest thing ever! Now we can recite the versus together. What a bonding experience!
I don’t know what it is, but something about The Silly Record strikes a chord with the young ones – and the young at heart. I’m amazed at how timeless somethings are.
Left by Netsato on February 8th, 2008
OMG! I can’t believe it! I’ve been searching high and low forEVER for this!
I have tears in my eyes listening to this long lost and much adored recording.
I could NEVER find those silly nothings – and I remember searching high and low for them!
Thank you SO much for posting this recording, while I hope one day to find the vinyl recording of it, this is a wonderful discovery!
Be well!
Jenn
Left by Jenn on February 19th, 2008
Our whole family has been seaarching for this record for years on behalf of our 42 year old daughter through stacks of records through the internet everywhere and never found a trace of it.
It is now a perfect gift for our three year old granddaughter who already has the right sense of humor for it,:when we play crazy eights she has renamed the game silly eights. More sillies for her. Thank you berry berry mush.
Left by Dorothy on February 19th, 2008
wow!
thank you merry berry mush for saving the silly record from oblivion…
and for sharing it!
ps i even named my cat boodleheimer!
Left by gioielli on April 15th, 2008
I’m so happy I’m in tears. This album was a huge favorite of our family just about the same time my brother and I were able to walk. The story goes that our parents went out for an extremely rare outing without us. They felt so guilty that they bought this album for us. Our sister came along and got indoctrinated into the Silly Record. We too have much of this memorized. As an adult, I had an interest in many of the albums once we had grown up, and took some of them over to my house. Time followed along, my life became chaotic for awhile, and although I wasn’t sure that I had ever had the album, the truth was..it was not to be found anywhere. I have searched hard, and blamed myself for years. I agree, the Silly Record is nowhere to be found. My sister just found in today at this site. Sadly, we lost our father about 6 months ago, so I can’t say our family is whole again, except in spirit. THANK YOU for finding this silly record, and posting the album cover. I am 3 years old all over again. Be sure to brush your bed, and go right to teeth….
Left by Rusty and Family on May 23rd, 2008
Netsato,
I am 39 years old & until very recently had never heard of The Silly Book, record or even Stoo Hample.
I saw the book for sale (new) in a discount store here in Tampa, FL. I considered buying it for my newly-reading 6-year-old so thumbed through it. I bought it because I liked the wording, plus the illustrations really intrigued me…it has since become my daughter’s #1 fave book.
I proceeded to look in to Mr. Hample’s other works and you can see that he has a few that he’s written recently by going to http://www.candlewick.com/authill.asp?b=Author&m=bio&id=3031&pix=y , but unfortunately some are out of print.
Thank you for the generous MP3… I just went through a nasty divorce, so The Silly Book has been a bonding experience for my daughter and me and I can hardly wait to play the “record” for her on my next visit!
PS: My toddler girl will love it too, as will my 9-going-on-13-year-old daughter, who I can tell secretly loves Boodleheimer!
Left by Scott Ulm on June 26th, 2008
My sister and I listened to this record together over and over thirty years ago. We loved it so much that, when she had kids, she tried to find a copy. She finally located the book, and then was so desperate for the music that she tried to get me, a non-singer, to record the songs for her kids. Fortunately, all I could remember was “boodlehiemer, boodlehiemer, clap clap clap” so we couldn’t do it. Her 43rd birthday is in two weeks, and I’m downloading this to send to her. She’ll be astonished. I can’t wait. THANK YOU!!!
Left by Laura on August 5th, 2008
Oh, THANK YOU! I am silly, you are silly, all of us are silly-willy all of us but cousin Billy….
Left by Gavin on August 22nd, 2008
I feel like I have recovered a wonderful part of my childhood I thought I lost forever. I can’t wait to share this with the children in my life. Thank you so very much for posting this record! I am watching for silly nothings again.
Left by Rob on September 1st, 2008
I guess we are all of that “special” age where we now have kids we want to share something genuinely funny and intelligent and yes— SILLY!
I am so happy that i found others anxious to locate this record–and that someone’s parents saw fit to actually save the record!!!! YAY!
Left by Donna on September 26th, 2008
What does one say when they suddenly relive their childhood? WOW!! The memories this has brought back. Thank you VERY much for posting this.
Left by Bruce on December 14th, 2008
As a record producer, one of my real joys would be to properly rerelease The Silly Record someday, even though I only grew up with The Silly Book. And I must admit that as my sister and I had hard-wired our own invented song melodies into our brains growing up, it was a bit of a shock to hear the “real” versions on The Silly Record when I first heard it decades later. If anything influenced me more than The Silly Book, I can’t think of it, because I also grew up to be a humor writer. And I tend to be very, very silly if left unchecked! Thank you, Stoo Hample, for making it all possible!
Left by David on December 21st, 2008
What a treat to finally be able to hear a major component to the soundtrack of my childhood….I had the book, and the Boodleheimer doll (With his yellow yarn mustache, that looked and felt nothing like a scrub brush!)
Thank you so much! I’m gonna eat a chocalate milk sammich, now. Mooney Gooney!
Left by George Rossi on January 6th, 2009
Dear Silly Record/SillyBook-lovers,
I’m delighted to hear that you’re still silly after all these years.
Know that Candlewick Press, publishers of the Silly Book, will issue The Silly Record in CD form, most likely this fall of ‘09.
So if you truly revere Boodleheimer, please buy the SR CD and tell all of your silly friends about it.
In closing, let me just say “Hello!”
Left by Stoo Hample on January 13th, 2009
I would safely bet Mr. Hample would reply with a lawsuit.
I tracked him down (Manhattan) and told him how much I loved the record & the book as a child. He very kindly wrote a typed reply with a hand-drawn Boodleheimer.
I made the tragic mistake of sharing a scan of that drawing with another fan online, and it got back to Mr. Hample – who then flamed me.
With my apologies, I sent back his drawing.
Left by Chris on March 2nd, 2009
Yay Boodleheimer!!!
I was just doing my dishes and for some reason “…the more you boodle the more you heimer, the more you heimer the more you boodle…” and that led me to check it out on Boodle- oops, I mean Google. How fun to find it here. Think I’m going to look for my old copy. Thanks to my “crap saver” mom, it’s probably in a box over her garage
Yay Boodleheimer!!
Left by Kat on June 17th, 2009
WoW! I have been looking for the source of the Boodlehiemer song for years. I taught my children the Boodlehiemer song when they were young. They are 29 and 31 respectivly now. I had thought I learned the ’song’ as a written poem, so all these years I had been searching for the print version of the Boodlehiemer ‘poem’. Happily you have provided the actual song. Thank you so much. I can’t wait to forward this link to the kids for their enjoyment. You ROCK! Boodlehiemer, Boodlehiemer, Clap, Clap, Clap! I obtained exposure to this song while attending elementary school in Washington, DC 1960 ish
Left by Denise on July 12th, 2009
OH.MY.GOD. Thank you. I havebeen looking for this for about ten years. I cannot believe how good the sound quality is. Thank you thank you thank you…
Lisa
Left by Lisa on August 31st, 2009
WOW!!! Been looking for years!!! Thank you so much. I, too, thought this part of my childhood was missing. My sister and I listened to this record over and over, so many great memories. Now, my 4-year-old can listen. She loves it!!!! Thank you again so much! Happy Mama in WA, Jeanne
Left by Jeanne Juneau on September 26th, 2009
I am listening to the MP3 for the first time in about 35 years. My Husband and Kids think I am crazy for knowing all the words to the whole album!!! THIS brings back so many happy memories of my childhood! THANK YOU!!!
Left by Therese Fury on September 26th, 2009
Thank you for this great public service! I adored this record as a kid in the 60’s but then my Mom lent it to my cousin for her kids. . .and when it was returned, it was completely trashed and unlistenable. I did get the book for my kids when it was reissued, but it’s just not the same!
We were so inspired by Stoo Hample’s silly masterwork that we named our lilac-point Siamese cat Boodleheimer. . .(Boodleheimer Boodleheimer CAT CAT CAT!)
Left by Cara Lawrence on November 18th, 2009
My family has been looking for this recording for years. I tried to download and save the file today but no go. it appears the link is broken. boo hoo ;-( I barely remembered this record but going thru all of the posts I’m remebering more and more. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fix the link so I can again become silly
Left by Kev R on February 2nd, 2010
Hi Thanks so much for posting!
I was just reminiscing about this album last night. My husband, the same age (45) ,had no idea what I was talking about. In 7th grade, I sang Boodleheimer at the school talent show and of course tried to get everyone to clap along. The audience sat stone faced staring at me and pitying my parents. I think that was the same year, I dressed like a Twit from Monty Python for Halloween.
I can’t wait to share it with my Dad who bought the album for us (now 82) and my sister, goo and brothers egg-drop!
Thanks again!
Left by Boodleheimer Lover on February 25th, 2010
I liked the Julia Child caricature in the Silly Recipe number. The Boodlehiemer song was copied for Wonderrama as the Fleingleheimer Song with the more the less sentences included, I did not understand Frank iBruxton, speaking in a high voice what the woodwind instruments are. Piccolos and flutes. I am not sure.
Left by Jordan Kamnitzer on May 17th, 2010