The Unusual Path Joe Dolce’s “Shaddap You Face” Took to Becoming a Novelty Hit

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, pop culture provided fodder for a number of novelty hits. Songs like “Disco Duck,” “Rappin’ Rodney,” and “Pac Man Fever” capitalized on popular trends. While none had much of a shelf life, it was easy to understand their short-term appeal. On the other hand, “Shaddap You Face”—one of the most popular novelty songs of the era—was altogether different.

Joe Dolce, who wrote and performed “Shaddap You Face,” is not a comedian like Rodney Dangerfield nor a DJ like “Disco Duck’s” Rick Dees. He is a poet and songwriter whose compositions have been covered by the likes of Jonathan Edwards and Robert Earl Keen. “Shaddap You Face” was not a send-up of early ‘80s culture but a recollection of his ’50s upbringing in a family of Italian-American immigrants in a Cleveland suburb. So how did “Shaddap You Face” become an international hit? If not for a disparaging comment made by a popular radio personality, the song would almost certainly be far less known.

The Cabaret Origins of “Shaddap You Face”

Dolce’s music career began in the late 60s, and in the early ‘70s he wrote several songs for Edwards, who had been a bandmate of his. In 1978, Dolce moved to Melbourne, Australia, and he began performing a one-man show called Joe Dolce Music Theatre. One of his characters was named Giuseppe—the very same Giuseppe that narrates the story in “Shaddap You Face.” Dolce initially developed the song as part of his cabaret act, incorporating several expressions his relatives used when he was growing up.

In 1980, funded by a grant from the Australian Film Commission, Dolce recorded “Shaddap You Face” and made a video for the song. The song caught on in Australia and went to No. 1. It is one of the most popular songs ever to reach the Australian charts and is Australia’s biggest-selling domestically produced single ever.

All Attention Is Good Attention

The song caught the attention of BBC radio broadcaster Terry Wogan, who called it “the worst thing I ever heard.” The negative publicity only heightened interest in the song, and it ultimately spent three weeks atop the UK Official Singles Chart in February and March 1981. In getting to No. 1, it leapfrogged Ultravox’s first Top-10 single “Vienna,’ and it kept the rival song at No. 2 for three more weeks. Dolce told The Guardian Ultravox frontman Midge Ure was annoyed “Shaddap You Face” prevented “Vienna” from going to No. 1, as it tumbled down the chart after spending four weeks at No. 2. However, Ultravox’s keyboardist Billy Currie was actually a fan of the song.

“Shaddap You Face” also found fans in the U.S., though through a more niche channel. It received regular airplay on the syndicated radio show, Dr. Demento—the same program that brought “Weird Al” Yankovic to prominence. It would become one of the program’s most popular songs in 1981, and it would cross over to pop station playlists. “Shaddap You Face” would become Dolce’s first and only Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 53.

The Legacy of “Shaddap You Face”

Dolce would have a minor follow-up hit in Australia with “If You Want to Be Happy,” but he is essentially a one-hit wonder. While Dolce had only a brief presence on the charts, “Shaddap You Face” has defied a common trend of novelty hits by remaining relevant decades after its release. The song has been covered by several artists in various languages. For the soundtrack to the 2000 film Once in the Life, KRS-One interpolated the chorus from Dolce’s song for his track “Shutupayouface.” Performances of “Shaddap You Face” have been streamed roughly 14 million times on YouTube and nearly another 7 million times on Spotify.

Dolce continued to combine music and theater through his work in Difficult Women. He and his collaborator and partner Lin Van Hek created the long-running show, which focused on the lives of pioneering women, in 1992. Dolce also starred in the 1988 Australian film Blowing Hot and Cold, and in the 2010s published two collections of his poetry.

“Shaddap Your Face” had an unusual journey on the way to becoming a hit, mirroring the atypical career path that Dolce has followed. Not everyone loves it—Wogan and Ure being notable detractors—but enough people do to make it one of the more memorable novelty hits to come out of the 20th century.

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