"Alley Oop" is a song written and composed by

Dallas Frazier Dallas Frazier (October 27, 1939 – January 14, 2022) was an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma, on October 27, 1939, but was raised in Bakersfi ...

in 1957. The song was inspired by the V. T. Hamlin-created comic strip of the same name.

The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles The Hollywood Argyles were an American musical ensemble, assembled for studio recordings by the producer and songwriter Kim Fowley and his friend and fellow musician Gary S. Paxton. They had a US number one hit record, " Alley Oop" (Lute Records ...

, a short-lived

studio band Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, recorded the song in 1960, and it reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #3 on the US R&B chart. It also went to #24 on the UK chart. It was produced by

Gary Paxton Gary Sanford Paxton (born Larry Wayne Stevens; May 18, 1939 – July 17, 2016) was an American record producer, recording artist, and Grammy and Dove Award winning songwriter. Paxton was a member of Skip & Flip and the Hollywood Argyles and was ...

, who also sang lead vocals. At the time, Paxton was under contract to Brent Records, where he recorded as Flip of

Skip & Flip Skip & Flip was a U.S. pop duo, consisting of Skip ( Clyde Battin) and Flip ( Gary S. Paxton). They met while attending the University of Arizona in the late 1950s. Career Once known as The Rockabillies, they recorded on Rev Records as The Pled ...

. According to Paxton:

Other versions

Also in 1960,

Dante & the Evergreens Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

released a version that went to #15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while The Dyna-Sores released a version that went to #59 on the same chart. Both Dante & The Evergreens' and The Hollywood Argyles' versions were credited as number ones in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine's singles chart. The Pre-Historics released a version called "Alley Oop Cha-Cha-Cha" in 1960, with Gary Paxton (who had performed lead vocals on the Hollywood Argyles' version) and

Skip Battin Clyde "Skip" Battin (February 18, 1934 – July 6, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, bassist, performer, and recording artist. He was a member of the Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. Εarly life C ...

performing backing vocals.

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

recorded and released their version on their 1965 album ''

Beach Boys' Party! ''Beach Boys' Party!'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, and their third in 1965, consisting mostly of cover songs played with acoustic instruments. It reached No. 6 in the US and No. 3 in the UK. The album spawned o ...

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ...

used the melody of "Alley Oop" for their song "Annie Fanny" (U.S. #47, 1965). The British satirical art rock/pop group,

The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde ar ...

, recorded a version of "Alley Oop," which was released as their second single in October 1966. The song's composer,

, released his own version on his 1966 album ''Elvira''. It was also performed by

Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters ''Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters'' is a 1967 album featuring Dave Van Ronk. Van Ronk on the album "The six Dusters cuts on this disc make me think that we were probably too eclectic for the market we were courting, and that a thinking man' ...

on their self-titled album, released in 1967. The British group,

The Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departure ...

, recorded a version of the song as well. There is a Brazilian Portuguese-language version of the song, titled "Brucutu", recorded by

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

in 1965, with lyrics by Rossini Pinto.

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

did a version of the song in a prehistoric times themed sketch from their TV show. Actress-singer

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

recorded a version of the song for the 1984 film ''

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States and sometimes in Canada), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia), is a party held/arranged by th ...

''. George Thorogood also performed a version of this song with his band, the Destroyers, and it was on his

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

that was released on February 15, 1989.

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

's version was on his album ''

Gitarzan "Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky ...

.'' The lyric "look at that caveman go" is referenced in

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's "

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...

" from the album ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...

''.

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

's " Truck On (Tyke)" references Paxton's pronunciation of the word Dinosaur in its second verse line "I'm a space age cowboy, ride dinosaurs..." A variant of Alley Oop called Ollie Oop was written by Paul T. Clark and Gary S. Paxton. The song was a tribute to Col. Oliver North, again performed by Gary S. Paxton while Paul was part of the background singers. The record was released as a single and was played in some major markets, but never quite took off.

Use in pro wrestling

In the late 1970s in the Memphis, TN-based CWA wrestling promotion, there was a wrestler on their roster named "Dream Machine" (local wrestler

Troy Graham Troy Rolland Thompson Jr. (October 26, 1949 – March 7, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Troy Graham and The Dream Machine. Professional wrestling career Thompson was discovered by Jimmy Hart and firs ...

wearing a mask) and on one episode of the local Saturday morning CWA TV program, host

Lance Russell Lance Russell (March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017) was an American sports broadcaster and ring announcer, primarily serving as a professional wrestling announcer and commentator in the Memphis region from 1959 to 1997. In NWA Mid-America and its ...

showed a video of Dream Machine footage set to "Alley Oop". After the video, Russell chuckled about it, causing an angry Dream Machine to run out and start choking Russell. After Dream Machine was separated from Russell by his manager Jimmy Hart, CWA promoter

Eddie Marlin Edward Marlin (August 13, 1930 – August 15, 2019) was an American promoter and professional wrestler. He was the father-in-law of promoter and professional wrestler Jerry Jarrett and the grandfather of professional wrestler and promoter Jeff J ...

fined Dream Machine and threatened to suspend him. Also, in Mario Savoldi's International Championship Wrestling, wrestler Giant Gustov used it as his entrance music.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1957 songs 1960 debut singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Dallas Frazier Novelty songs

The Hollywood Argyles

Other versions

Use in pro wrestling

Charts

See also

References