The Singing Dogs

Top row: Pussy, Pearl, Dolly
Bottom row: King, Caesar

The Singing Dogs was a musical recording project under whose name two 45rpm singles were released in the 1950s.

The idea for the Singing Dogs came from Don Charles, a record producer working in Copenhagen, Denmark (not the same person as an English record producer also named Don Charles).^[1] He made recordings of five dogs barking (their names were Dolly, Pearl, Pussy, Caesar, and King), spliced them on reel-to-reel tape, and arranged the pitches to the tune of the Stephen Foster song "Oh! Susanna". This was eventually released by RCA Victor as the A-side on a 7" single, with the B-side a medley of "Pat-a-Cake", "Three Blind Mice", and "Jingle Bells". The novelty record became a hit, reaching #22 on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart.^[1] The disc eventually sold over half a million copies.^[2] In 1956, the troupe of dogs (with a fifth member, Pussy) were again recorded, yielding the single "Hot Dog Rock 'n Roll" b/w "Hot Dog Boogie". This recording is listed as being "directed" by Carl Weismann.

In 1973 RCA reissued "Jingle Bells" as a single, becoming a Christmas hit on virtually every radio format, since then the track has received frequent media exposure during the Christmas and holiday season although it appears its fame and popularity peaked in the 1970s.

Years later, the American record producer Craig Huxley produced his own version of the Singing Dogs, renamed Top Dog. To date, he has recorded three albums, Howliday Favorites in Dog,^[3] a favorite of Top 40 Radio and David Letterman, Slam Dunk'n Hoes^[4] and Howlin' Classics - from Bark to Beethoven.^[5] As of 2012, he is working on his fourth album, Patriotic Pooches, to be released during the 2012 election.

References

External links

• Wildlife recordings of Carl Weismann - streamed audio from The British Library