"Goofus" is a 1930 popular song with music written by Wayne King

Wayne King

Wayne King was an American musician, songwriter, singer and orchestral leader. He was sometimes referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "The Waltz You Saved For Me" was his standard set closing song in live performance and on numerous radio...

 and William Harold and lyrics by Gus Kahn

Gus Kahn

Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...

.

Popular cover versions

Les Paul

Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...

 recorded the song in 1950 and his version was released by Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

 as catalog number

Catalog numbering systems for single records

This article presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single records.- Capitol :...

 1192. The record first reached the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 charts on September 29, 1950, peaking at number 21.

Phil Harris

Phil Harris

Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...

 released his version on October 13, 1950. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-3968. Chet Atkins

Chet Atkins

Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...

 recorded "Goofus" in 1960 for the studio album Chet Atkins' Workshop

Chet Atkins' Workshop

Chet Atkins' Workshop is a recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins. Full of pop and jazz stylings and no country, this became his best-selling LP to date, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Pop album charts.-History:...

, RCA Victor catalog LSP-2232.

The Carpenters version

The Carpenters attempted to repopularize the song in 1976, when it was released as a single from their album A Kind of Hush. However, as a sign of the duo's declining popularity at the time, it was the first Carpenters A-side single (not counting 1971's "Bless the Beasts and Children

Bless the Beasts and Children (song)

The theme song to the 1971 film Bless the Beasts and Children was performed by The Carpenters, and was featured on the B-side to their then-recent hit, "Superstar". The B-side charted on the Billboard Hot 100, eventually topping out at #67. In order to promote it, The Carpenters performed it on...

," the B-side of "Superstar

Superstar (Delaney and Bonnie song)

"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell that has been a hit for many artists in different genres and interpretations in the years since; the best known version is by the Carpenters in 1971.-Original Delaney and Bonnie version:Accounts of the song's origin vary...

") since "Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride

"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...

" in 1970 to fail to make the top 40 portion of the Billboard Hot 100, or to reach either #1 or #2 on the Easy Listening chart.

Chart performance

Chart (1976)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	56
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	4
Canadian Singles Chart	82