"Short People" is a song by Randy Newman from his 1977 album, Little Criminals. With lyrics demeaning to short people, the song was intended by Newman to be a satire about prejudice more broadly. As with many of his songs such as "Rednecks", Newman wrote the song from the point of view of a biased narrator.
Production and reception The song follows a basic musical formula with bass and drums centering on Newman's catchy pop piano line in the key of A major. A small brass section and an electric guitar occasionally rise into the mix and conga drums (played by Los Angeles–based session musician Milt Holland) also feature prominently in the song.
Although Newman had never charted a single before, and his preceding album, Good Old Boys, had been the first to reach the Top 150 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, "Short People" soon gained attention as a novelty song. The song consequently became a major hit on radio peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks; it was kept from reaching No. 1 by Player's "Baby Come Back" and the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive". It became a gold record.
Newman would later grow to dislike the song and its success, eventually calling it a "bad break", a "novelty record like The Chipmunks", and said it caused him to receive several threats regarding its misinterpreted message. He said, "I had no idea that there was any sensitivity, I mean, that anyone could believe that anyone was as crazy as that character. To have that kind of animus against short people, and then to sing it and put it all in song and have a philosophy on it." However, it ended up being included on almost every one of his greatest hits albums and he re-recorded it for his 2016 album The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 3.
Record World said the single was "one of the funniest of any year."
In 1978, Maryland State Delegate Isaiah Dixon attempted to introduce legislation making it illegal to play "Short People" on the radio. He was advised by Maryland Attorney General Bill Burch that such a law would be a violation of the First Amendment.
Chart performance
Weekly charts Chart (1977–1978)PeakpositionAustralia12Canada Top Singles (RPM)2Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)1Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)22U.S. Billboard Hot 1002U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary25U.S. Cash Box Top 1001
Year-end charts Chart (1978)RankCanada Top Singles30U.S. Billboard Hot 10041U.S. Cash Box15
Sales and certifications
Personnel Musicians
Randy Newman ‒ lead vocals, piano, synthesizer Glenn Frey ‒ backing vocals JD Souther ‒ backing vocals Jim Keltner ‒ drums Klaus Voormann ‒ bass guitar Milt Holland ‒ congas Timothy B. Schmit ‒ backing vocals Waddy Wachtel ‒ electric guitar Mike Boddicker ‒ synthesizer
Technical Lee Herschberg ‒ recording, mixing, mastering Lenny Waronker ‒ producer Loyd Clifft ‒ engineer Russ Titelman ‒ producer
See also List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1978
References
External links Lyrics of this song