| "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" | |
|---|---|
Original 45 rpm disc |
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| Single by The Rivingtons | |
| from the album Doin' the Bird | |
| B-side | Deep Water |
| Released | 1962 |
| Format | 7" record |
| Genre | Doo-wop |
| Length | 02:17 |
| Label | Liberty |
| Writer(s) | Carl White, Al Frazier, Sonny Harris, Turner Wilson Jr. |
| Producer | Adam Ross |
| "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Rivingtons from the album Doin' The Bird | |||||||
| Released | 1962 | ||||||
| Genre | Doo-wop | ||||||
| Label | Liberty | ||||||
| Writer | Carl White, Al Frazier, Sonny Harris, Turner Wilson Jr. | ||||||
|
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"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[1] and #35 on the Cashbox charts.[2]
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The song was later covered by The Beach Boys 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".
Together with The Rivingtons' 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.