The 1960s File Feature
Still No. 2
Still No. 2: Ben Colder and the Comedy Country TraditionThe Parody ManCountry music has always made room for the clown alongside the tragedian. The same genr…
01 The Story
Still No. 2: Ben Colder and the Comedy Country Tradition
The Parody Man
Country music has always made room for the clown alongside the tragedian. The same genre that produced the most heartbroken voices in American popular song also had a proud tradition of comedic parody, of taking the biggest hits of the moment and deflating them with wit, wordplay, and a willingness to puncture the solemnity that sometimes gathered around country stardom. In the summer of 1963, that tradition was embodied with particular skill by Ben Colder, a comedic persona crafted by singer Sheb Wooley, who had already reached a general audience with the novelty hit Purple People Eater in 1958. Under the Colder alias, Wooley had found a more sustained creative identity in the parody business.
The Parody Formula
Ben Colder's approach was consistent and effective: take a current hit, keep the melody recognizable enough that listeners knew exactly what was being skewered, and rewrite the lyrics to comic effect, typically with a more cynical or absurdist slant than the original's romantic or emotional premise. The formula required a genuine musical intelligence; parody only works if the original is honored enough to be clearly recognizable while the new content diverges far enough to be genuinely funny. Wooley understood that balance intuitively, and the Ben Colder recordings had both a musical competence and a comic timing that kept audiences coming back.
A Brief Billboard Appearance
In the summer of 1963, Still No. 2 made a modest but real appearance on the Hot 100. The single debuted at number 98 on July 20, 1963, which was simultaneously its peak position, and spent 2 weeks on the chart. That brief run was enough to register the record as a genuine national presence, however modest. The title itself was a joke, a self-aware gag about the performer's perennial status as a secondary act operating in the shadow of the artists he parodied. That self-deprecating humor was part of the Ben Colder persona's appeal.
The World the Song Lived In
Country and novelty records occupied a specific and somewhat precarious position on the Hot 100 in 1963, when the pop chart reflected an enormously diverse range of styles competing for the same radio space. Getting any country-inflected or comedic material onto the national chart required either a genuinely broad appeal or a very specific moment when the stars aligned. The Ben Colder records generally charted on the country charts, where they had a devoted following; appearances on the pop chart were bonus moments that reflected spillover interest from a wider audience.
A Niche That Endured
The comedic country tradition that Ben Colder represented has never disappeared, even as its commercial visibility has fluctuated. 663,000 YouTube views for a track that spent exactly two weeks on the Hot 100 in 1963 suggest that Wooley's work retains an audience of enthusiasts who appreciate the craft in what he did. Parody requires a love of music and a skepticism about its pretensions, and that combination never goes entirely out of style.
To understand what Wooley accomplished under the Ben Colder name, it helps to appreciate the landscape of novelty and comedy recording in the early 1960s. The genre had produced legitimate chart sensations in the late 1950s, and radio programmers at the time were not averse to slotting a well-made comedy record alongside more serious pop material. Wooley navigated that landscape with genuine skill, understanding that his recordings needed to work as music first if the comedy was going to land. A poorly played or sloppily arranged parody was just noise; a well-crafted one was entertainment at two levels simultaneously. The best Ben Colder records operated exactly at that intersection, and Still No. 2, brief as its chart life was, earned its place there.
Queue it up and appreciate the particular pleasure of a performer who knew exactly how to make you smile at a song you already loved.
“Still No. 2” — Ben Colder’s singular moment on the 1960s charts.
02 Song Meaning
Still No. 2: Comedy, Parody, and the Art of the Second Place
The Philosophy of Second Best
The title Still No. 2 encodes its own worldview: a cheerful, slightly weary acknowledgment of permanent secondary status, delivered without bitterness or apology. This was part of the Ben Colder persona's consistent comedy of lowered expectations, a comic character who understood his place in the hierarchy of popular music and made that understanding the basis of his act. There is something genuinely liberating in that posture; the performer who never claims to be the best is also the performer who can never disappoint on those terms.
Parody as Critical Commentary
Parody has always functioned as a form of criticism, a way of interrogating the original material by exaggerating its conventions or subverting its emotional logic. When Ben Colder took a successful country song and rewrote its lyrics for comic effect, the result was never purely destructive; the best parodies illuminate something true about their targets by pushing one element past the point of plausibility. The humor comes from recognition, from the audience seeing clearly what the original was doing in a way that the original's own earnestness prevented.
The Comedic Country Tradition
American country music's comedy tradition runs alongside its serious heartbreak lineage with remarkable persistence. From the novelty songs of the 1940s and 1950s through the parody specialists of subsequent decades, there has always been an audience for country music that did not take itself entirely seriously. That audience understood the genre's conventions deeply enough to laugh at them, which is actually a form of deep appreciation. You cannot parody something you do not know well.
Self-Awareness as Style
The title's self-referential quality, explicitly naming itself as a sequel and as a runner-up, demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of how pop culture commerce worked. In 1963, the follow-up single was a fraught thing; the pressure to repeat a success was enormous, and most follow-ups failed to match their predecessors. By naming that dynamic directly and playing it for laughs, Wooley disarmed the expectation entirely. The audience knew what they were getting: not a breakthrough, but a well-crafted entertainment from a performer who understood exactly what he was doing and was happy about it.
The Lasting Appeal of the Comedy Record
Comedy records occupy a peculiar position in the history of popular music: briefly ubiquitous, then quickly dated, then rediscovered by enthusiasts who appreciate their specific craftwork. Still No. 2 rewards that kind of sympathetic listening. The musical competence required to execute effective parody is real, and the comedy, while tied to its era, still carries the particular pleasure of a joke well-made. There is also something quietly generous in the Ben Colder persona's self-deprecation; a performer who mocks his own secondary status is implicitly acknowledging the audience's intelligence and capacity for irony, trusting them to be in on the joke rather than above it. That trust, in 1963 and now, is the basis of a genuine comic contract between performer and listener, and Wooley honored it with enough consistency to sustain a career.
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