Sidney Castel’s “The Pukatawagan Song” has hit the big time, but for all the wrong reasons.
The song was featured on the Tuesday, May 2 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as part of the show’s “Do Not Playlist” feature.
During the feature, Fallon and comedian Chris Rock listened to a series of obscure records, commenting on short snippets of songs.
About four minutes into the segment, Fallon produced a copy of Castel’s Live at the Beaver Lodge album.
Fallon and Rock each cracked jokes, with Fallon fumbling the pronunciation of Pukatawagan as “Puck-at-a-wagon.”
Once the song began, smiles turned to grimaces as both comics were rendered silent.
After a brief moment of awkward silence, Rock replied with one word: “Wow.”
Fallon also chipped in, saying, “I don’t believe that was live. I’ve been to the Beaver Lodge – unless there was nobody there that night, that sounded like a clear recording.”
“The Pukatawagan Song” was released in 2001 after Castel, a former railway worker, community health worker and trapper, won the first-ever Pukatawagan Talent Search.
Castel became a regional sensation with his humorous lyrics and often-off-key voice. He went on to perform on CTV and CBC, and booked shows across Western Canada.
Castel passed away in 2003.