"He's So Unusual" is a song from the late 1920s performed by

Helen Kane Helen Kane (born Helen Clare Schroeder, August 4, 1904 – September 26, 1966) was an American singer and actress. Her signature song was " I Wanna Be Loved by You" (1928), featured in the 1928 stage musical ''Good Boy''. The song was written for ...

, who was the inspiration for the

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

character. The song was written by

Al Sherman Avrum Sherman (September 7, 1897 – September 16, 1973), pen name Al Sherman, was a Russian-American songwriter and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era in American music history. Some of his most recognizable song titles include: "Yo ...

, Al Lewis and

Abner Silver Abner Silberman (28 December 1899, in New York City, New York, United States – 24 November 1966) as pen name Abner Silver, was an American songwriter who worked primarily during the Tin Pan Alley era of the craft. Career Usually composing the m ...

. Released on June 14, 1929, "He's So Unusual" was featured in the motion picture '' Sweetie''. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. Inc. are the publishers of record.

Helen Kane

This song is one of the Boop-styled songs which Kane sang. This is evidenced in the signature line featured in the lyric. This song and " I Wanna Be Loved by You" are two notable "Boop" songs, although Kane sang several other songs in this persona as well, such as "

Button Up Your Overcoat "Button Up Your Overcoat" is a popular song. The music was written by Ray Henderson, the lyrics by B.G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. The song was published in 1928, and was first performed later that same year by vocalist Ruth Etting. However, the mos ...

," " That's My Weakness Now," and others.

Homage

The song is referenced in the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

A Symposium on Popular Songs ''A Symposium on Popular Songs'' is a special cartoon featurette made by Walt Disney Productions in 1962. It features songs that were written by the Sherman Brothers, with music arrangements by Tutti Camarata. The Shermans also co-wrote the scre ...

'' during the song "Charleston Charlie", written by

's songwriter sons: Robert & Richard Sherman. Sherman, Robert B. '' Walt's Time: from before to beyond'', Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.

Cyndi Lauper version

"He's So Unusual" was later covered by

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

, in a short (45 second) version, on her

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

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 ...

She's So Unusual ''She's So Unusual'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released on October 14, 1983, by Portrait Records. The album was re-released in 2014 to commemorate its 30th anniversary, and was called ''She's So Unu ...

''. The sung lyrics continue in the background of the subsequent song, "Yeah Yeah", while the beginning of the song plays before "

Girls Just Want to Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a Single (music), single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the s ...

" in the song's music video.

References

{{authority control Songs written by Al Sherman Songs written by Al Lewis (lyricist) Songs written by Abner Silver Songs written for films Cyndi Lauper songs 1929 songs