Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh
Encyclopedia
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" is a Grammy Award-winning novelty song
by Allan Sherman
, based on letters of complaint he received from his son Robert while Robert attended Camp Champlain in Westport
, New York
. The song is a parody
that complains about the fictional "Camp Granada" and is set to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli
's "Dance of the Hours
". The name derives from the first lines:
After the song scored #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
list for three weeks beginning August 24, 1963, Sherman wrote a new 'back at Camp Granada' version, "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!", for a May 27, 1964 performance on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
. Sherman wrote a third version for, and acted in, a 1965 TV commercial for a board game about Camp Granada
, a "real rotten camp".
The song won a 1964 Grammy Award for comedy. The song has been played numerous times on the Dr. Demento
Show and is featured on the Rhino Records compilation album, Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection.
Variations of the song include translations in Swedish
("Brev från kolonien" by Cornelis Vreeswijk
), Finnish
and Norwegian
("Brev fra leier'n" by Birgit Strøm).
.
), and "Glory, Glory Harry Lewis" (with the melody of ["[the Battle Hymn of the Republic]]").
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
by Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
, based on letters of complaint he received from his son Robert while Robert attended Camp Champlain in Westport
Westport, New York
Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,362 at the 2000 census.The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is south of Plattsburgh and south of Montreal. Westport is inside the Adirondack Park.Westport is...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The song is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
that complains about the fictional "Camp Granada" and is set to the tune of Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
's "Dance of the Hours
Dance of the Hours
Dance of the Hours is a short ballet from Act 3, Scene 2 of the opera La Gioconda composed by Amilcare Ponchielli. It depicts the hours of the day through solo and ensemble dances. The opera was first performed in 1876 and was revised in 1880...
". The name derives from the first lines:
- Hello Muddah,
Hello Fadduh.
Here I am at
Camp Granada.
Camp is very
entertaining.
And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
After the song scored #2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
list for three weeks beginning August 24, 1963, Sherman wrote a new 'back at Camp Granada' version, "Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh!", for a May 27, 1964 performance on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. Sherman wrote a third version for, and acted in, a 1965 TV commercial for a board game about Camp Granada
Camp Granada
Camp Granada is a 1965 children's board game by Milton Bradley Company based on Allan Sherman's popular 1963 novelty song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh. Campers take turns driving a breakdown-prone bus to gather ICKY animals from various summer camp locations to be the first to leave the real rotten...
, a "real rotten camp".
The song won a 1964 Grammy Award for comedy. The song has been played numerous times on the Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
Show and is featured on the Rhino Records compilation album, Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection.
Variations of the song include translations in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
("Brev från kolonien" by Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
), Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
("Brev fra leier'n" by Birgit Strøm).
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (book)
In the Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! children's book, a wide-eyed, snaggle-toothed narrator seems befuddled by problems at Camp GranadaCamp Granada
Camp Granada is a 1965 children's board game by Milton Bradley Company based on Allan Sherman's popular 1963 novelty song Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh. Campers take turns driving a breakdown-prone bus to gather ICKY animals from various summer camp locations to be the first to leave the real rotten...
.
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (musical revue)
The Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (note the slightly different spellings of the names of the original song, the 1964 song, the musical review, and the book) musical revue develops the song as the life story of Barry Bockman and Sarah Jackman through birth, school, summer camp, marriage, and parenthood in suburban New York to Florida retirement. Songs include the title song, "Harvey and Sheila" (with the melody of Hava NagilaHava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.-History:...
), and "Glory, Glory Harry Lewis" (with the melody of ["[the Battle Hymn of the Republic]]").
External links
- Hear the song at Alan Sherman Radio Accessed October 2009