User:Dementofan/sandbox

Frosty the Dopeman is a character created by American songwriter, visual artist and social critic Marc Zydiak (1953-) in a song of the same name from his self-titled debut LP (Nirvana Records NR-1009) released in 1977.

While a college student, Zydiak wrote the song in 1972 after reading a newspaper article on the Illinois Crime Commission’s issuance of its advisory to radio stations with a list of popular songs containing “drug-oriented lyrics”. Among the titles on the Commission’s banned song list were Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”, The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Puff The Magic Dragon”, each of which to Zydiak’s mind were rooted in children themes.

Thinking back to his family’s endless listenings to Mitch Miller’s Christmas LPs of his own childhood, Zydiak recognized that the original lyrics to the perennial holiday classic “Frosty the Snowman”, with his “corn cob pipe”, “magic hat” and authoritarian “cop” were already primed for a drug song parody.

After the song's release, Dr. Demento began playing Zydiak’s “Frosty the Dopeman” on his syndicated radio program and included the song on his "Dementia Royale" compilation (Rhino Records 1980).

The song utilizes a unique combination of both musical parody and political satire and has been recognized for its influence on popular culture in the books Just Say Noel : A History of Christmas from the Nativity to the Nineties and The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends – A Very Trippy Miscellany.

"Frosty the Dopeman" has also been referenced by Kemper Wolf-Reinhard in his scholarly treatise Kokain in der Musik : Bestandaufnahme und Analyse aus kriminologischer Perspektive

“Frosty the Dopeman” has been given new life in the internet age. The song has been much imitated ever since by everyone from school kids to rap artists with many different versions and videos of it viewable on Youtube.

Personnel: Marc Zydiak: acoustic guitar, vocal, sleigh bells, policeman’s whistle Frank Giasullo: piano and arrangement Don Smith: audio engineer, trumpet, horn arrangements Alfie Grillo: drums, temple blocks John Zakieta: clarinet, tenor sax Tom Cirigliano: trumpet Ron Baron: trombone Bob Vass: bass guitar