"Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" 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 ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

written by

Al Hoffman Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...

and

Dick Manning Dick Manning (born Samuel Medoff (Самуил Медов), June 12, 1912 – April 11, 1991) was a Russian-born American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman. Manning composed the first full-length musical to be ...

and published in 1954. It was a hit in 1954 in both the United States and United Kingdom, albeit for different artists.

The Four Lads

The best-known version in the United States was recorded by

the Four Lads The Four Lads was a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; "No, Not Much"; "Who Needs ...

with teenage girl Lillian Pasciolla and others on February 27, 1954. The recording by the Four Lads was released in the US by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as catalog number 40236. Released in May that year, it first reached the ''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on July 3, 1954, peaking at number 18.

Max Bygraves version

The best-known version in the United Kingdom is by

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

, with his performance recorded on 23 June 1954, with a children's chorus and orchestra directed by

Frank Cordell Frank Cordell (1 June 1918 – 6 July 1980) was a British composer, arranger and conductor, who was active with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also composed music under the name Frank Meilleur or Meillear (Meillear being his mother's ma ...

, and released in the UK by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

in September 1954 as catalog number B 10734. It entered 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 ...

on 10 September 1954. It spent eight weeks on the chart, peaking at number 7. The "children" were from the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play ''Where the Rainbow Ends''. For ...

Media

The song has been featured in the game known as "

One Song to the Tune of Another This is a list of games featured on BBC Radio 4's long-running "antidote to panel games", ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Some are featured more frequently than others. Ad-Lib Poetry The host gives a line of a poem, and each panelist has to co ...

" in the long-running

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic element ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

, ''

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody ...

'', such as in Series Nine, Episode 1, where it was performed by

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

Heino Gaze Heino Gaze (20 February 1908 – 24 October 1967) was a German composer.Fritsche p.249 He worked on more than thirty film scores during his career. He composed "La Le Lu (nur der Mann im Mond schaut zu)", sung by Heinz Rühmann in the film Wenn d ...

wrote the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

lyrics, although the German song title was rendered as "Gilli-Gilli, Oxenpfeffer, Katzenellenbogen".

Bibi Johns Bibi Johns is a Swedish singer and film actress active in Germany.Koepnick p.64 Filmography * ''Ten on Every Finger'' (1954) * ''How Do I Become a Film Star?'' (1955) * '' Ball at the Savoy'' (1955) * ''A Thousand Melodies'' (1956) * ''Beneath ...

und Die Starlets, with Franz Thon und das Tanzorchester des NWDR, Hamburg, recorded it in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

on September 5, 1954. The song was released by

Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925 the British Gramophone Company ...

(part of HMV).

References

1954 songs The Four Lads songs Songs written by Al Hoffman Songs written by Dick Manning Max Bygraves songs {{pop-standard-stub

The Four Lads

Max Bygraves version

Media

See also

References