(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?

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"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?"
No cover available
Single by Patti Page
Recorded 18-Dec-1952
Label Mercury Records
Writer(s) Bob Merrill
Chart positions

#1 Billboard (US)
#1 Cash Box (US)
#1 UK (Lita Roza version)

"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill in 1952, adapted from a well-known Victorian music-hall song.

The best-known version of the song was recorded by Patti Page on December 18, 1952 and released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70070. It reached #1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953. However, Mercury, the record company which distributed Patti Page's recordings at the time, had poor distribution in the United Kingdom. Therefore, a recording by Lita Roza was the one most widely heard in the UK, reaching #1 on the UK charts in 1953. Lita's recording is widely known as the most elusive original record of a #1.

The song tells the story of a young woman who "must take a trip to California," and wants to buy a dog for her boyfriend so that he will not be lonely (and, presumably, look for affection from another woman).

The song is famously played in the film Pink Flamingos during the film's final scene, wherein Divine consumes dog feces immediately after a poodle defecates. The director of the film, John Waters, maintains that the scene was not faked.

[edit] See also

Preceded by
Till I Waltz Again with You
Cash Box magazine best selling record chart
#1 record

March 21, 1953May 2, 1953
Succeeded by
The Song from Moulin Rouge