"Hello! Ma Baby" is a

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

song written in 1899 by the songwriting team of

Joseph E. Howard Joseph Edgar Howard (February 12, 1870May 19, 1961) was an American Broadway composer, lyricist, librettist, and performer. A famed member of Tin Pan Alley along with wife and composer Ida Emerson as part of the song-writing team of Howard and E ...

and Ida Emerson, known as "Howard and Emerson". Its subject is a man who has a girlfriend he knows only through the

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

. At the time, telephones were relatively novel, present in fewer than 10% of U.S. households, and this was the first well-known song to refer to the device. Additionally, the word "Hello" itself was primarily associated with telephone use—" Hello Girl" was slang for a telephone operator even through the First World War—though it later became a general greeting for all situations. The song was first recorded by Arthur Collins on an Edison 5470 phonograph cylinder. It was originally a "

coon song Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...

", with

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

caricatures on the sheet music and "coon" references in the lyrics. The song may be best known today as the introductory song in the famous

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

cartoon '' One Froggy Evening'' (1955), sung by the character later dubbed

Michigan J. Frog Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character from the Warner Bros.' ''Merrie Melodies'' film series. Originally a one-shot character, his only appearance during the original run of the ''Merrie Melodies'' series was as the star of ''One Fro ...

and high-stepping in the style of a

cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Uni ...

Influence

In Charles Ives's 1906 composition '' Central Park in the Dark'', it is quoted frequently. The short piano piece ''

The Little Nigar ''The Little Nigar'' (CD 122, L. 114) is the original title by composer Claude Debussy for a short piece for piano, composed in 1909 for a piano method and published the same year. It was later also published as a single piece, entitled ''The ...

'' (''Le petit nègre'') by Claude Debussy from 1909 features a melody very similar to "Hello! Ma Baby", and may have been inspired by the song.

Sheet music and the Warner Bros. acquisition of the song

The sheet music was published by T. B. Harms & Co., which was acquired by

before the

Stock Market Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

(during the advent of the "

Talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

" era of

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

In popular culture

* In the 1941 black-and-white film adaptation of

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

's novel ''

The Sea-Wolf Seawolf, Sea wolf or Sea Wolves may refer to: Animals * Sea wolf, a wolf subspecies found in the Vancouver coastal islands * Seawolf (fish), a marine fish also known as wolffish or sea wolf * A nickname of the killer whale * South American se ...

'', the song is being sung in the opening scene in a bar. * In the classic Chuck Jones directed Merrie Melodies cartoon '' One Froggy Evening'', a singing,

sings a number of songs from before the era the 1955 cartoon was made, with this song being the most remembered by viewers. * Bing Crosby included the song in a medley on his album '' 101 Gang Songs'' (1961) * In '' The Virginian'' season one episode "The Exiles", the song is performed by actress

Tammy Grimes Tammy Lee Grimes (January 30, 1934 – October 30, 2016) was an American film and stage actress. Grimes won two Tony Awards in her career, the first for originating the role of Molly Tobin in the musical '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' and the ...

. * In the 1966 film ''

A Big Hand for the Little Lady ''A Big Hand for the Little Lady'' (released in the UK under the misleading title ''Big Deal at Dodge City'', as the film is set in Laredo, Texas) is a 1966 American Western film made by Eden Productions Inc. and released by Warner Bros. The ...

'', the song is heard being sung in the background near the end of the film. * In the 1973 Disney film '' Charley and the Angel'', when asked about his life as a mortal, the angel Roy sings the song. * In the 1983

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

made-for-television movie, Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues, the character Kate Muldoon, played by

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

, sings the song on-stage in a town saloon. * In

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

' 1987 film '' Spaceballs'', parodying ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'', a chest-bursting alien escapes

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

's chest, homaging the Chuck Jones cartoon by dancing down a space- diner's counter while singing the song, prompting Barf to ask for the check. * In ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' third-season episode "

Treehouse of Horror II "Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual ''Treehouse of Hor ...

" from 1991,

Principal Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...

sings the song over the elementary school public-address system during the segment "The Bart Zone". In the fifth-season episode "

Homer's Barbershop Quartet "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 1993. It features the Be Sharps, a ...

" from 1993 (which takes place in Springfield in 1985),

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, Skinner, Wiggum and Apu sing a barbershop quartet rendition of the song. * In the 2004 TV series ''

Wonderfalls ''Wonderfalls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller that was broadcast on the Fox television network in 2004. The show centers on Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a recent Brown University gra ...

'', episode 1, the wax lion sings the song to irritate Jaye into doing what she is told. * In episode 7 of the Cartoon Network television program

Ninjago Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninja since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. Whilst it retains some elements of the previous ...

, the character Zane (a robot) begins singing the song once his "funny switch" is enabled. Does this again in episode 41. * The Jam Band Phish was known to perform the song fairly often in the 90's barbershop style huddle around a singular microphone. Prompting many people in the large arenas and stadiums to shush people to be quiet in order to hear the song in full. * In ''The Office'' (American TV series), episode 18 of Season 8, ''

Last Day in Florida "Last Day in Florida" is the eighteenth episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's 170th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC in the United States on March 8, 2012. "Last Da ...

'', Toby and Darryl compete in singing the song for Kevin Malone to win the right to sell him Girl Scout cookies. * In the ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'' season three episode "My Old Kentucky Home", Paul Kinsey performs the song after being confronted about his singing skills. * In ''

Red Dead Redemption 2 ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in 1899 and f ...

'', Polish singer Robin Koninsky (voiced by Robyn Adele Anderson of

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the initialism PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early ...

fame) performs the song in Saint Denis during a vaudeville show.

References

External links

Sheet music for "Hello! Ma Baby"
as published by T.B. Harms & Co. (as stored by the

Duke University Libraries Duke University Libraries is the library system of Duke University, serving the university's students and faculty. The Libraries collectively hold some 6 million volumes. The collection contains 17.7 million manuscripts, 1.2 million public documen ...

). {{authority control 1899 songs Songs written by Joseph E. Howard Rags Songs about telephone calls Looney Tunes songs