No matter how funny a joke is, there will always be people who don't get it. That's what I understood. Randy Newman, releasing the song that would eventually become his biggest hit... even though he received death threats over the lyrics.
Released as a single from Newman's 1977 album Little Criminals , The song "Short People" was written as a hilariously satirical statement against prejudice in general. Declaring that "short people have no reason to live," Newman unleashes a litany of pointless complaints:
They have little hands And little eyes And they walk around Telling big lies They have little noses And tiny, tiny teeth They wear platform shoes On their pesky little feet
It's clear the song was intended as a joke, but many took it differently. Despite the fact that "Short People" reached number 2 in Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Cash Box Top 100 in 1978, it caused such a stir that, according to American Songwriter , Newman received a number of threats against him.
As Newman told it Rolling Stone In 2017, he was "surprised by the reaction. Because the song became a hit, it reached people who aren't looking for irony. For them, the lyrics mean exactly what they say. I can imagine myself as a short kid in high school. I thought about that before I released the record. But I was like, 'What the hell?' I know what I meant—the guy in that song is crazy. He wasn't believable.".
In an interview with the publication Performing Songwriter Newman noted with surprise that "anyone could believe that someone was as crazy as this character.".
Randy Newman. Photo by Shepard Sherbell, Getty Images.
«"To have such a dislike for short people, and then to sing about it, to put it all into songs and build a philosophy on it," he continued. "And yet, there were people who were truly humiliated. After all, who wants, you know, 'Here's your song again, dear, ha-ha-ha'?"„
«"I don't regret almost anything I've written, and I don't regret it because I love it," Newman added. "But there's a case to be made for that song. Of course, I didn't mean to, but it's no good if someone goes to the office every day and gets teased about being short or being told, 'Mom, I don't want to go to school today... that damn song.' And when they stopped playing it—one station complained—it immediately jumped to every other station, went to number one very quickly, and then disappeared. It was my biggest hit. And it was probably my most successful album in the U.S.".
Indeed, the song "Short People" which Record World magazine called "one of the funniest singles of the year," was not only banned by some radio stations, but a Maryland politician named Isaiah Dion even tried to pass a law that would ban the song from radio airplay. (According to The Baltimore Sun , this never happened.)
Fortunately, Newman's fans had and still have a sense of humor.
On the topic: The one-hit wonder from 1967 was banned from radio airplay before becoming a sun-kissed pop classic.
This article was originally published by Parade on May 30, 2026, in the News section. Add Parade to your list of recommended sources by clicking here.