"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a
popular
Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group.
Popular may also refer to:
In sociology
* Popular culture
* Popular fiction
* Popular music
* Popular science
* Populace, the total ...
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
. It was written by
Bob Merrill
Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...
and first registered on September 25, 1952, as "The Doggie in the Window". On January 27, 1953, its sheet music was published in
New York as "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window".
The best-known version of the song was the original,
recorded by
Patti Page on December 18, 1952, and released in January 1953 by
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
as catalog numbers 70070 (
78 rpm
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
) and 70070X45 (
45 rpm) under the title "The Doggie in the Window", with the
flip side being "My Jealous Eyes". It reached
No. 1 on both the ''
Billboard'' and ''
Cash Box''
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...
in 1953 and sold over two million copies. Mercury, however, had poor distribution in the United Kingdom. Therefore, a recording by
Lita Roza
Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to hav ...
was the one most widely heard in that country, reaching No. 1 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in 1953.
It distinguished Roza as the first British woman to have a No. 1 hit in the UK chart and was also the first song with a question in the title to reach the top spot.
Patti Page recording
Background
"Doggie" was one in a series of successful novelty songs since the 1930s, following on the success of songs such as
Bing Crosby's "
Pistol Packin' Mama
"Pistol Packin' Mama" was a " Hillbilly"-Honky Tonk record released at the height of World War II that became a nationwide sensation, and the first "Country" song to top the Billboard popular music chart. It was written by Al Dexter of Troup, ...
" and
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...
's "
I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" is a novelty song composed in 1944 (as "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Cocoanuts") by Fred Heatherton, a songwriting pseudonym for a collaboration of English songwriters Harold Elton Box (1903–1981) and Desmond Co ...
". Prior to the release of "Doggie", composer
Bob Merrill
Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...
penned "
If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake
"If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" is a popular song written by Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill, and Clem Watts and published in 1950.
In the U.S, the best known version of the song was recorded by Eileen Barton in January 1950. Joe Lipman ...
".
The original Page recording included the sounds of dogs barking, credited on the label as "Barks by Joe and Mac" (her arranger,
Joe Reisman, and a violinist). The recording also features Page's signature multi-part tight harmonies, all sung by Page. Throughout her career, she also recorded several other versions.
Popular reception
On April 4, 1953, singer Patti Page's rendition of "The Doggie in the Window" went to No. 1 in the US
''Billboard'' magazine chart, staying at that top spot for eight weeks.
The song was wildly popular across a wide demographic. The song had school children "yipping", Mercury Records was besieged with requests for free puppies, and the
American Kennel Club's annual registrations spiked by eight percent. In all, Page's record sold over 2 million copies.
It was the third best-selling song of 1953.
Following the UK top ten debut of Lita Roza's cover version on March 19, 1953, the Patti Page version of the song was released in the UK on March 28, renamed "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window" (sans question mark), under Mercury's
Oriole Records label. Given the delay getting to market in the UK, it was not as successful as the Roza version, entering the charts at No. 9 on April 2, before leaving the charts altogether five weeks later. The Roza version reached No. 1 on April 23, where it stayed for a single week. For five weeks between March 28, 1953, and April 25, 1953, there were two versions of "Doggie" in the UK's Top 12 singles chart.
Charts
Legacy
According to rock historian Michael Uslan, "novelty songs" like "Doggie" led to the "fervent embrace of
rock & roll"
by 1955. "A lot of songs at that time were extremely bland, squeaky-clean stuff. The music field was ripe for something new, something vibrant to shake the rafters."
The song has since become a popular
children's song
A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...
. Bob Merrill's lyrics were reworked by Iza Trapani into her 2004 children's book, ''How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?''.
In 2009, Patti Page recorded a version of the song with a new title ("Do You See That Doggie in the Shelter") together with new lyrics by
Chris Gantry, with the hopes of emphasizing the adoption of homeless animals from
animal shelter
An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would ...
s.
The rights to that song were given exclusively to the
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
. Said Page:
Upon Page's death in 2013, the Humane Society wrote in its online eulogy, "We remember her fondly for her compassion for animals."
The song, and Page's version in particular, gained some notoriety for its use in the infamous final scene of
John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
' 1972 film ''
Pink Flamingos
''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American film directed, written, produced, narrated, filmed, and edited by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Liv ...
''.
A season five episode of ''
Cold Case
A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
'', "Devil's Music", used Patti Page's recording in the opening.
Creative director
Ken Levine commented on the use of the song in 2007 video game ''
BioShock
''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the BioShock (series), ''BioShock'' series, it was released f ...
'' as choosing "the sort of crap pop of the time, what we consider pop music, like Patti Page, which holds up more for its nostalgic value than for being great music." He also remarked that the story of ''BioShock'' is "a sad story - not a horror story" and "we counterpoint it with
atti Page's'(How Much Is) that Doggie in the Window'". However, due to licensing restrictions, Levine noted they had to use "another version of the recording": the game does not use Page's original 1952 overdubbed Mercury recording and instead uses her 1966 re-recording with full orchestra for
Columbia Records.
Cover versions
Lita Roza version
Background
Roza was a singer with the
Ted Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
jazz band in the 1950s.
During this period, she was voted Favourite Female Vocalist in a ''
Melody Maker'' poll from 1951 to 1955 and in a similar ''
New Musical Express'' poll from 1952 to 1955.
In 1951, Roza recorded "
Allentown Jail" with the Heath Band, which led to her
A&R man
Dick Rowe
Richard Paul Brutton Rowe (9 June 1921 – 6 June 1986) was a British music executive and record producer. He was head of A&R ( Singles) at Decca Records from the 1950s to the 1970s, and produced many top-selling records during that period.
...
asking her to sing "(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window". Her initial response was negative: "I'm not recording that; it's rubbish." She recalled that he pleaded with her, responding, "It'll be a big hit; please do it, Lita." She relented, saying she would record it but never sing it again afterwards.
Roza's version was recorded on Wednesday, 18 February 1953, with accompaniment directed by
Johnny Douglas
John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to 1 ...
.
Reception
"(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window" was a new entry in the UK charts on March 14, 1953, at No. 9. It moved up to No. 3 in its second and third week of release before dropping down to No. 4 on April 4. On April 11, it moved up to No. 2 for a week, before reaching No. 1 on April 18. This made Lita Roza both the first female vocalist to top the UK singles chart and the first artist from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
to do so, long before the success of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
or
Cilla Black in the 1960s.
Roza held the top spot for one week, before gradually dropping down the top ten over the next five weeks, with its final week in the top ten being at No. 9 on May 23.
Other contemporary versions
Record sales in the UK were not a threat to the sheet music charts, broadcast on
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
, until around 1955. It is thought that the last sheet music million sellers were in 1953, and it has been suggested that "(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window" was the final title to reach this figure. The song entered the sheet music charts on February 28, 1953, and peaked at No. 1 on March 28, its fifth week on chart, staying there for six weeks in total. No recordings were commercially available until after the song had entered the sheet music charts, with several versions issued in March 1953: these were by Lita Roza, Patti Page, Carole Carr with Children's Choir and Rustler the Dog, and British actor
John Slater. The following month, a version by the British child star
Mandy Miller
Mandy Miller (born Carmen Isabella Miller, 23 July 1944) is an English child actress who made a number of films in the 1950s and is probably best remembered for her recording of the 1956 song "Nellie the Elephant".
Early life and career
She was ...
, who was aged just 8, was released. A parody version by American country music duo
Homer and Jethro (titled "That Hound Dog in the Window") was released in November in the UK, after the song had left the charts. In May 1954, the UK branch of Mercury re-issued Page's recording. The company had taken over distribution of American Mercury's repertoire from Oriole, who had originally released the Page version in the UK.
Charts
Legacy
Lita Roza was widely reported to have strongly disliked her song. In an interview in 2004, she revealed that she had kept her promise never to perform the song: "I sang it once, just one take, and vowed I would never sing it again. When it reached number one, there was enormous pressure to perform it, but I always refused. It just wasn't my style."
However, she would go on to be most widely remembered for that song.
In 2001, Roza opened
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
's Wall of Hits on
Mathew Street, home of
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...
. On display were various discs from every British number-one from
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
, the first being her own.
The song returned to the spotlight briefly during the 1980s as the result of an interview with ''
Smash Hits'' magazine, wherein
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
, who was then serving as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
, admitted that Lita Roza's version of "Doggie" was her favourite song of all time.
Following Roza's death in August 2008, she left £300,000 in her will to charities, of which £190,000 went to three dog-related charities:
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It w ...
,
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known colloquially as Guide Dogs, is a British charitable organization founded in 1934. The Association uses guide dogs to help blind and partially blind people. The organization also participates in ...
, and
The Cinnamon Trust.
Parodies
The song has also been
parodied a few times, including:
* In 1953, the year of the original's release, country musicians
Homer & Jethro, "the thinking man's hillbillies," released their parody, "How Much Is That Hound Dog in the Window?" ("Window" was pronounced "winder", and the lyrics continued with, "''... I do hope that flea bag's for sale...''.") It was to become an enormous hit – their first
crossover hit – and rose to No. 2 on Billboard's country charts.
It also made number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
* A
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
version by
Mickey Katz
Meyer Myron "Mickey" Katz (June 15, 1909 – April 30, 1985) was an American musician and comedian. He was the father of actor Joel Grey and paternal grandfather of actress Jennifer Grey.
Early life
Meyer Myron Katz was born on Sawtell Court in ...
entitled "(How Much Is) That Pickle in the Window" was released when the song was first popular in 1953.
*Another notable (but hardly known) parody, according to David English, former president of
RSO Records
RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation.
RSO managed the careers of several ma ...
– which went on to become
Eric Clapton's and the
Bee Gees' record label – was the very first record released by that company in 1973, with
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...
and
Andrew Lloyd Webber. The record was "Window The In Doggie (That is Much How)" – sung to the tune of "Doggie", but with each line of lyrics sung backwards.
According to the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s listed on the label, the artist was "Rover", the song was produced by "Jo Rice", and it was arranged by "Don Gould". English would later quip that the record "sold about eight copies".
* "How much is that window in the doggie ?" was written by the quadriplegic cartoonist
John Callahan. A pane of glass falls from a building and slices into a man's seeing eye dog. A child observer asks the inverted question. Callahan's cartoons often dealt with taboo subjects.
* In the 1970s, the repertoire of the
Federation of Conservative Students included 'How much is that Trotsky in the window? The one with an axe in his head. How much is that Trotsky in the window? I'm so glad that Trotsky is dead.'
* In 2021, CEO of
Tesla, Inc.
Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...
and
SpaceX,
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
, who has been the driving force behind
Dogecoin
Dogecoin ( or , Abbreviation: DOGE; sign: Ð) is a cryptocurrency created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system as a "joke", making fun of the wild speculation in cryptocurrencies at the ...
's skyrocketing prices since earlier that year, tweeted "How much is that
Doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
in the window?", while on the dark background behind neon lights, an image of
Doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
has been superimposed onto an
$1 bill, referring to some pundits' bet that Dogecoin is on track to $1 per unit, an increase of at least 22,000% since its trading price on January 1, 2021.
See also
*
List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s
*
List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
The UK Singles Chart is the official record chart in the United Kingdom. Record charts in the UK began life in 1952 when Percy Dickins from ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') imitated an idea started in American '' Billboard'' magazine and began ...
*
List of number-one singles of 1953 (U.S.)
This is a list of number-one songs in the United States during the year 1953 according to ''Billboard'' magazine. Prior to the creation of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ''Billboard'' published multiple singles charts each week. In 1953, the followi ...
References
External links
Patti Page official websiteLita Roza official websiteImage of original record label of Page's "The Doggie In the Window" (45 rpm)Image of the same track released in the U.K. as "(How Much Is) That Doggie In the Window"Image of Lita Roza's singlechords
{{DEFAULTSORT:How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?
Songs about dogs
Songs written by Bob Merrill
1953 singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in the United States
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Patti Page songs
Novelty songs
American children's songs
1952 songs
Mercury Records singles