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Was (Not Was)
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Artist · chart history

Was (Not Was)

Band Detroit United States Formed 1979

Was (Not Was) formed in 1979 in Detroit, United States. Was (Not Was) has 30 chart appearances on 20 radio countdowns from 5 stations on RockLists, spanning 1988–2025. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “I Feel Better Than James Brown”, which appears on 13 lists with a best position of #77. The station that charted Was (Not Was) most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 24 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1988.

30appearances
20countdowns
4songs charted
5stations
0#1 finishes
1988–2025years

Was (Not Was) started in Detroit in 1979, the brainchild of David Weiss and Don Fagenson, two jokers who renamed themselves David Was and Don Was and set about blurring every line in sight. Pop, rock and anything with a groove went into the blender, called in guest musicians from wherever they could find them, and let the soulful voices of Sweet Pea Atkinson and Harry Bowens carry the tunes. They recorded for ZE, Chrysalis and Fontana, and built a reputation for smart, scrappy, danceable weirdness.

What Up, Dog?, in 1988, gave them the big one: "Walk the Dinosaur", a goofy stomp that turned into a worldwide hit, along with the deadpan "Dad I'm in Jail". Are You Okay? followed in 1990, with "I Feel Better Than James Brown", a strutting, grinning groove that showed they could still make a joke dance.

The band drifted into an indefinite hiatus in the mid-'90s, though they have come back now and then since the turn of the century, most recently with Boo! in 2008.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

Songs by Was (Not Was) on radio countdowns

#SongStrengthListsBest#1sPeak year
1 I Feel Better Than James Brown
747		 13 #77 – –
2 Walk The Dinosaur
447		 15 #898 – –
3 Dad I'm in Jail
35		 1 #71 – 1988
4 Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)
34		 1 #532 – –

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Every countdown appearance

Year#SongCountdown
2025 532 Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball) The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs
2021 898 Walk The Dinosaur 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s
2014 1838 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2013 1776 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2011 1713 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2010 1649 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2009 1605 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009 1964 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2008 1591 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008 1939 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2007 1633 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007 1963 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2005 79 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005 1046 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2004 77 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004 1045 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003 77 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003 1045 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2002 77 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002 1060 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2001 77 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2001 1061 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2000 111 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
2000 1058 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
1999 110 I Feel Better Than James Brown CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999 1058 Walk The Dinosaur CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1996 482 I Feel Better Than James Brown WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996)
1994 417 I Feel Better Than James Brown WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994)
1991 261 I Feel Better Than James Brown WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)
1988 71 Dad I'm in Jail KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988

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