Napoleon XIV

Jerrold "Jerry" Laurence Samuels (May 3, 1938 – March 10, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and talent agent. Under the pseudonym Napoleon XIV, he achieved one-hit wonder status with the #3 hit novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" in 1966. Samuels occasionally revisited the Napoleon XIV character to record other songs, usually comedy records with an insanity theme.

Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with Larry Kusik, a top-10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote "The Shelter of Your Arms", a top-20 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.

Jerrold Laurence Samuels was born in Manhattan and was raised in the Bronx. He played the piano and wrote music throughout his childhood, and began his recording career in 1956 when he cut the single "Puppy Love" for the Vik Records subsidiary of RCA Victor Records.

Samuels was an acclaimed songwriter during the early 1960s. Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with Larry Kusik, a top-10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote "The Shelter of Your Arms", a top-20 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964.

In 1966, Samuels concocted "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" while working at Associated Recording Studios in New York. The public found out his true identity when Cousin Brucie of WABC revealed his name. The record quickly climbed the charts, reaching the top ten nationally in just its third week on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #3 and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. In the Cash Box Top 100 the record climbed to #1 for one week, in its second week on the charts.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.