NEW YORK (WP) - The song is Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, and while some may not know it by that name, who does not know the immortal chorus: "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, hey, goodbye."

The song was last in the news in May when Democrats sang it to House Republicans, waving goodbye to them after they passed the American Health Care Act, the replacement for Obamacare.

For Gary DeCarlo, one of the co-writers, the revival in Congress was a sweet moment.

Confined to a hospice with lung cancer and forgotten over the years, reporters called him.

He was thrilled when the Democrats sang his song, he said, not for partisan reasons but because "it's exposure", he told MyNewsLa.

While his song became famous, he had not.

"Na na hey hey" soared to the top of the charts in 1969. But for DeCarlo, that was pretty much it.

He died this week at 75.

DeCarlo and the song's co-creators never expected much of it.

In 1969, they were recording a song called Sweet Laura Lee and their band, Steam, needed a B-side in a hurry. They dredged up a number they had written in 1961 called Kiss Him Goodbye.