1965 Little Jimmy Dickens – May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose

1965 Little Jimmy Dickens – May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose 

James Dickens grew up in West Virginia and quit college to pursue a full-time career as a Country music singer. Due to his short stature (he missed being five feet tall by about an inch) he initially toured as Jimmy the Kid.

He donned rhinestone studded clothing and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1948, changing his stage name to Little Jimmy Dickens. Jimmy signed with Columbia Records and produced a series of singles that tended to be novelty songs. He began charting top ten Country singles in 1949. 

Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s Tonight Show for years and usually began each show with a humorous monologue.

Well, he intended it to be funny, but sometimes the audience responded with groans…or, worse yet, silence. He often responded to such criticisms with a verbal threat to the audience. Perhaps those witticisms led to the catchphrase, “Up your nose with a rubber hose,” and similar comments on Welcome Back, Kotter.

It almost certainly led to a song sung by Jimmy. Neal Merritt wrote the song May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose, Jimmy recorded it, and Columbia released it as a single in 1965. The single reached the top of the Country chart and even got as high as #15 on the Hot 100.

 Jimmy only reached the top forty on the Country chart twice more after that hit and never touched the Hot 100 again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Jimmy_Dickens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_the_Bird_of_Paradise_Fly_up_Your_Nose

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