Novelty records served a special niche in 1950s pop music. They reminded us not to take the world too seriously, and that clever lyrics in stupid songs could sell zillions of copies then be forgotten forever. Eisenhower was in the White House, Elvis was in the Army, it was time to play. Take the case of The Nitwits from Waterbury, Connecticutt. They changed their name to the Playmates, signed with Roulette records in 1958, then rose to the number 4 position on the Billboard Top 100 with a song about fast cars and the funny sounds their horns make. Here’s the song, written by Carl Cachetti and Donald Claps of the Playmates, from December 1958, Beep Beep…