Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow
Encyclopedia
"Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" is a 1962
novelty
nonsensical
doo-wop
song by The Rivingtons
. The song peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #35 on the Cashbox charts.
for their first live album, Beach Boys Concert
, in 1964—this track entering the Philippines top 10 February 26th 1966 according to Billboard—and, again sung by Brian Wilson, on their album Beach Boys' Party!
in 1965
. The track was also included on the Music for Pleasure
compilation album The Beach Boys Good Vibrations released in the UK in the 1970s.
In 1967
, The Freshmen
scored a Top 10 hit with the song in Ireland
. Versions by both The Sharonettes and Gary Glitter
made the UK Top 40 in 1975
.
Clifford
, Kermit the Frog
, and the Giant Clams (performed by Rockapella
) covered the song for the 1993 Muppet
album Muppet Beach Party.
It was also covered in 1966 by The Thunderbirds, a Hong-Kong band headed by the brother of martial-arts star Bruce Lee
, Robert Lee
.
Garage rock band, Nobunny
adds the songs lyrics at the end of "I am a girlfriend".
' 1963 novelty song
, "Bird is the Word", "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was the basis for the song "Surfin' Bird
" by The Trashmen
. Notably, a cover version of "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by The Persuasions
was briefly heard in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
.
In 1964, surf rockers Jan and Dean
morphed the song into "New Girl in School," with new lyrics and the refrain "Doo-ron-de-ron-de" substituted for "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". "New Girl in School" garnered significant U.S. airplay as the B-side of the Top 40 hit "Dead Man's Curve
."
In 1969
the song's distinctive titular nonsense lyrics appeared as a similarly-sung chorus in Giorgio Moroder
's first single Looky Looky and The Oak Ridge Boys
' 1981
hit "Elvira
" has an "oom-papa-mow-mow" chorus, an element that existed in songwriter Dallas Frazier
's 1967 original version of the song. (An Al Frazier was a member of The Rivingtons and is listed as a co-author of "Papa Oom Now Now." It has been erroneously reported over the years that he and Dallas Frazier were the same person.)
In 2010, heavy metal
artist Rob Zombie
repeatedly uses the song's title in the chorus of his song "Burn", which is the 8th track off of his solo album Hellbilly Deluxe 2
.
In 2011, the song is used in the film "Happy Feet Two".
1962 in music
-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only...
novelty
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...
nonsensical
Nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
song by The Rivingtons
The Rivingtons
The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop group. The group members were:lead vocalist Carl White , tenor Al Frazier , baritone Sonny Harris, and bass singer Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr.. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.-History:Their first hit was "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow"...
. The song peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #35 on the Cashbox charts.
Cover versions
The song was later covered by The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
for their first live album, Beach Boys Concert
Beach Boys Concert
Beach Boys Concert is a live album by The Beach Boys, released in 1964. It is their seventh album in all, and their third alone in the same year...
, in 1964—this track entering the Philippines top 10 February 26th 1966 according to Billboard—and, again sung by Brian Wilson, on their album Beach Boys' Party!
Beach Boys' Party!
Beach Boys' Party! is an album of cover songs by American rock and roll band The Beach Boys that was marketed during the lucrative Christmas season. The original album release included a sheet of photographs of the band 'appearing' to be at the party at hand. It was The Beach Boys' tenth album...
in 1965
1965 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
. The track was also included on the Music for Pleasure
Music for Pleasure (record label)
Music for Pleasure was a record label that issued budget-priced albums of popular and classical music, although the latter were marketed under the Classics for Pleasure name...
compilation album The Beach Boys Good Vibrations released in the UK in the 1970s.
In 1967
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
, The Freshmen
The Freshmen (Irish showband)
The Freshmen were among the most popular Irish showbands of the 1960s and 1970s. They specialised in recreating the complex vocal harmonies of international acts such as The Beach Boys and The 5th Dimension...
scored a Top 10 hit with the song in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Versions by both The Sharonettes and Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
made the UK Top 40 in 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
.
Clifford
Clifford (Muppet)
Clifford is a Muppet character, performed by Kevin Clash. He is a violet-colored creature with multi-colored dreadlocks and big lips. Like many other Muppets, it is never specified what kind of creature he is, but it is speculated that he is in fact a catfish.He was created to be the bass guitar...
, Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
, and the Giant Clams (performed by Rockapella
Rockapella
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. Their name is derived from the words "rock" and "a cappella". They sing original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; over time, their sound has evolved from high-energy pop and world music...
) covered the song for the 1993 Muppet
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
album Muppet Beach Party.
It was also covered in 1966 by The Thunderbirds, a Hong-Kong band headed by the brother of martial-arts star Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
, Robert Lee
Robert Lee (musician)
Robert Lee is a Hong Kong musician and younger brother of martial artist Bruce Lee.-Biography:Lee's father, Lee Hoi-chuen , a leading Cantonese opera and film actor of the 1940s was all Chinese, and his mother, Grace Ho was half Chinese and half Caucasian...
.
Garage rock band, Nobunny
Nobunny
Nobunny is a character that garage/punk musician Justin Champlin has been performing as since 2001. His debut LP, Love Visions, was home recorded and released in 2008 to positive reviews.-Biography:...
adds the songs lyrics at the end of "I am a girlfriend".
Other appearances of the song's lyrics
Together with The RivingtonsThe Rivingtons
The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop group. The group members were:lead vocalist Carl White , tenor Al Frazier , baritone Sonny Harris, and bass singer Turner "Rocky" Wilson Jr.. Frazier was replaced by Madero White for a period in the late 1970s.-History:Their first hit was "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow"...
' 1963 novelty song
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...
, "Bird is the Word", "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" was the basis for the song "Surfin' Bird
Surfin' Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by the American surf rock band The Trashmen; it is also the name of the album that featured this hit single. It was released in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" by The Trashmen
The Trashmen
The Trashmen are a rock and roll band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. The group's original lineup was Tony Andreason on lead guitar and vocals, Dal Winslow on guitar and vocals, Steve Wahrer on drums and vocals, and Bob Reed on bass guitar...
. Notably, a cover version of "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by The Persuasions
The Persuasions
The Persuasions are an a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid 1960s. They have performed interpretations of both secular and non-secular music, and have covered a wide range of musical genres....
was briefly heard in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
.
In 1964, surf rockers Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
morphed the song into "New Girl in School," with new lyrics and the refrain "Doo-ron-de-ron-de" substituted for "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". "New Girl in School" garnered significant U.S. airplay as the B-side of the Top 40 hit "Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve
"Dead Man's Curve" is the unofficial but commonly used name given to hazardous curves on Interstate Highways and other roads in the United States that have claimed lives because of accidents.-Cleveland Innerbelt:...
."
In 1969
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
the song's distinctive titular nonsense lyrics appeared as a similarly-sung chorus in Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
's first single Looky Looky and The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet.The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in southern gospel during the 1950s...
' 1981
1981 in music
See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...
hit "Elvira
Elvira (song)
"Elvira" is a song written by Dallas Frazier which became a famous country and pop hit by The Oak Ridge Boys. A Number One hit on the Billboard country music charts, The Oak Ridge Boys' version is considered one of their signature songs.-Song history:...
" has an "oom-papa-mow-mow" chorus, an element that existed in songwriter Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier
Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma but was raised in Bakersfield, California...
's 1967 original version of the song. (An Al Frazier was a member of The Rivingtons and is listed as a co-author of "Papa Oom Now Now." It has been erroneously reported over the years that he and Dallas Frazier were the same person.)
In 2010, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
artist Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
repeatedly uses the song's title in the chorus of his song "Burn", which is the 8th track off of his solo album Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool is the fourth solo studio album by former White Zombie frontman Rob Zombie. The album is a companion to Rob Zombie's debut album Hellbilly Deluxe...
.
In 2011, the song is used in the film "Happy Feet Two".
External links
- The Rivingtons at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
, featuring the songs Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow and The Bird's the Word