Dead Skunk

"Dead Skunk" is a 1972 novelty song by Loudon Wainwright III. Released as a single in November 1972, it eventually peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 31, 1973 and appears on Wainwright's 1972 album Album III.

"Dead Skunk"
Single by Loudon Wainwright III
from the album Album III
B-side	"Needless to Say"
Released	November 1972
Recorded	1972
Genre	Bluegrass[1] novelty[1]
Length	3:04
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Loudon Wainwright III
Producer(s)	Thomas Jefferson Kaye
Official Audio
"Dead Skunk" on YouTube

Background

The song is musically a simple folk song based on banjo, accompanied by guitar, drums and fiddle. The lyrics describe a dead skunk in the middle of a road and the smell it produces for people as they drive by. Wainwright has said that the song came out of an actual accident involving a skunk, and that he wrote it in 15 minutes. ("Someone had already killed it, but I ran over it)".^[2]

Although the single was released in November 1972, it was not until well into 1973 that it caught on with radio stations, and its number 16 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was not reached until the week ending 31 March 1973. It peaked at number 12 on the Cashbox charts on April 14.^[3] It was the only record to chart for Wainwright.^[4] "Dead Skunk" also reached number 8 in Canada and number 12 in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

In 1974, a Dutch version was issued called "Een witte eend op het midden van de weg" ("A white duck in the middle of the road"). The song was performed by Ciska Peters & Ronnie Tober.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1973) Peak position Australia KMR[5] 12 Canada RPM 8 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] 16 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [7] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Australia [8] 66 Canada [9] 73 U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[10] 128

References

1. Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 591. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
2. "Loudon Wainwright III Opens up About the 'Exes & Excess' That Inform His Music". NPR.org.
3. "Casey Kasem American Top 40 - 3/31/73". Archived from the original on 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
4. "Dead Skunk by Loudon Wainwright III Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 2008-07-26. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
5. "Australian Chart Books". Australianchartbooks.com.au. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
6. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
7. "Cash Box Top 100 4/14/73". Tropicalglen.com. 1973-04-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
8. "australian-charts.com - Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
10. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.