"Dumb Head" | ||||
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Single by Ginny Arnell | ||||
from the album Meet Ginny Arnell | ||||
B-side | "How Many Times Can One Heart Break?" | |||
Released | November 1963 | |||
Format | 7" | |||
Recorded | 1963 | |||
Genre | Pop/Rock | |||
Length | 2:12 | |||
Label | MGM – R K13177 | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Hess, Camille Monte | |||
Producer(s) | Jim Vienneau | |||
Ginny Arnell singles chronology | ||||
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"Dumb Head" is a song recorded by American girl-pop performer Ginny Arnell. It was written by David Hess and Camille Monte, arranged by Al Gorgoni, produced by Jim Vienneau, and released in November 1963. The single was a minor hit, entering the Billboard Hot 100, and was featured on her debut full-length LP, Meet Ginny Arnell. British girl group The Sharades later recorded the song.
Lyrically, "Dumb Head" tells the story of a girl who rejected a boy and now regrets it; she calls herself, among other self-demeaning names, a "dumb head" and "a stupid little girl." The song has an irregular phrase rhythm, meaning that Arnell varies the length and rhythm of her lines.
"Dumb Head" was Arnell's fifth solo single, released over three years after her solo debut, and her second for MGM Records, following "Trouble's Back In Town". Her earlier records had been commercial failures, never charting and receiving little press. The record company teamed her with arranger Al Gorgoni and producer Jim Vienneau. Arnell initially disliked the song "Dumb Head", later saying in an interview:
I said to my manager, "I'm not so sure about this song." I didn't like calling myself a dumb head, especially as I had just graduated high school with high honours. How could I call myself dumb and feel good about it? But when we recorded it, with the kazoos in the background and all, it was fun. It came out really good...
As well as kazoos, the song features a saxophone and organ, and an orchestra arranged by Gorgoni. She also recorded a version of "Dumb Head" in Japanese. Arnell said:
The record was a hit over in Asia and they asked me if I would be nice enough to record the song in Japanese for them. I thought "What?!" But MGM was very good about sending a tutor [who] taught me how to sing it phonetically. It was very exciting and it came out OK. I don't know if it's word-for-word as the American version, but it sure is nice to listen to...
The song was released as a 7" single, which included the B-side "How Many Times Can One Heart Break?" MGM Records promoted "Dumb Head," among other new releases, in a full-page advertisement placed in the October 26, 1963 edition of Billboard Magazine. Arnell toured to promote the record, and appeared on American Bandstand to lip-sync to the track. The producers mistakenly started playing Bobby Rydell's "Wild One" instead of "Dumb Head," but the mistake was soon corrected and, though Arnell was embarrassed, she completed the appearance. Arnell also embarked on several cross-country tours, spurred on by the song's popularity.