Was (Not Was) - Walk the Dinosaur

With a really catchy backbeat and a fun, Flintstones-esque video, "Walk the Dinosaur"  became a big hit in the late 1980s.  The song was originally released in 1987 in the UK, where it would climb to #10, but it would not peak on the U.S. charts (at #7) until 1989.  Needless to say, it became Was (Not Was') biggest hit, although it is worth noting that the band had an additional top 40 hit, as "Spy in the House of Love" reached #16 in 1988.

Was (Not Was) was founded by David and Don Was (really David Weiss and Don Fagenson) in the late 1970s, and over time the band gained a small following with their funky, slightly strange dance pop sound.  However, only 1988's What Up, Dog?  broke the top 50 on the Billboard album charts.  By the early 1990s, the band went on hiatus, as David and Don Was pursued other endeavors -- Don became a successful record producer while David became a journalist (and produced several soundtracks).  They reunited in 2004 and continue to perform together to the present time, even releasing a new CD in 2008.

Curiously, "Walk the Dinosaur" is an upbeat song with dark lyrics -- the song is about nuclear Armageddon. (Somehow that part didn't make it into the video).  Also, the song has taken on a life of its own -- it has appeared on several soundtracks (including the 1994 version of The Flintstones movie) and was used at Chuck E. Cheese's and Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Go figure.

Oh and consider yourself warned -- this thing will bounce around your head at random times for a few days. It is a damn catchy beat.  And with that warning ... "Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom."

Cool trivia fact:  Rolling Stone ranked What Up, Dog? as the 99th greatest album of the 1980s.