Makin' Whoopee

"Makin' Whoopee!" is a jazz/blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!. Walter Donaldson wrote the music and Gus Kahn the lyrics for the song as well as for the entire musical.

The title is a euphemism for sexual intimacy,^[1] and the song itself is a "dire warning", largely to men, about the "trap" of marriage.^[2] "Makin' Whoopee" begins with the celebration of a wedding, honeymoon and marital bliss, but moves on to babies and responsibilities, and ultimately on to affairs and possible divorce, ending with a judge's advice.

In popular culture and other versions

• Frank Sinatra recorded the song on his 1955 album Songs For Swingin' Lovers.
• Dinah Washington recorded the song on her 1956 album "The Swingin' Miss "D".
• Ella Fitzgerald recorded this on her 1959 Verve release Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers, accompanied by the Frank DeVol Orchestra.
• Germany's best selling violinist Helmut Zacharias played a version in the early 1960s.
• Doris Day recorded the song on her 1959 Cuttin' Capers and in the soundtrack of the 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams in a duet with Danny Thomas.
• The Don Lusher Big Band CBS album of 1967 had, as its main title, Makin' Whoopee.
• The Elton John track "Big Dipper" features an adapted version of "Makin' Whoopee" in its final verse.
• Hawkeye Pierce sings the song at the end of an episode of M*A*S*H titled "Dear Dad... Three".
• Dr. John and Rickie Lee Jones performed "Makin' Whoopee" on Dr. John's 1989 record, In a Sentimental Mood.
• Paul Rodriguez performs his rendition for the end credits of the 1986 comedy film The Whoopee Boys.
• Michelle Pfeiffer sang "Makin' Whoopee", sprawled over a piano in a red evening dress, in the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys. An homage to this scene featured in Season 3, Episode 10 of Eureka ("Your Face or Mine?"), as well as being spoofed in the film Hot Shots! and an episode of the TV series Ellen.^[3] A parody of this scene was make by Marina Massironi, an Italian actress, during the show Tel Chi El Telùn.
• During the late 1990s, Cadillac used the song in ad campaigns for the DeVille sedan. Many different versions of the song were recorded, most notably by Ray Charles, Anita Baker and Dave Koz (the last two in a duet).
• Woody Allen's 1996 musical film Everyone Says I Love You features Tirome Jerome's rendition of the song.
• In 2006, "Makin' Whoopee!" was covered by Rod Stewart in a duet with Elton John on his album The Great American Songbook, Volume 4. Harry Nilsson had previously covered it.
• Saxophonst Jimmy Sommers covered the song for his release Time Stands Still.^[4][5]
• Vocalist Stacey Kent included a version of the song on her 2003 album The Boy Next Door.
• In 2008 for the music series Spectacle, Elton John revisits "Whoopee" as part of a trio with Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. This version stays true to the campy original. Elton executive-produced the series and Krall married Costello on December 5, 2003 at Elton John's estate outside London.
• The SuperJazz Big Band of Birmingham, Alabama recorded the song on the CD, UAB SuperJazz, Featuring Ellis Marsalis.
• Cookie Monster did a parody of this song called "Eatin' Cookie" on Sesame Street.
• At her March 7, 2010 performance at the Sydney Opera House, Amanda Palmer covered the song on the ukulele, and a recording of her performance was included on her third album, Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under.
• A version of the song is performed by Diana Krall, Elvis Costello and Elton John, at the end of Spectacle: Elvis Costello with....

References