The monkey is a

novelty dance Novelty and fad dances are dances which are typically characterized by a short burst of popularity. Some of them, like the Twist, Y.M.C.A. and the Hokey Pokey, have shown much longer-lasting lives. They are also called dance fads or dance craze ...

, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records:

Major Lance Major Lance (April 4, 1939, 1941Soul music A-Z 1995 p. 185 or 1942The golden age of American rock 'n roll: Volume 3; 2002 p. 556 – September 3, 1994) was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monk ...

's "

The Monkey Time "The Monkey Time" is a song written by Curtis Mayfield and performed by Major Lance. It reached No. 2 on the U.S. R&B chart and No. 8 on the U.S. pop chart in 1963. It was featured on his 1963 album ''The Monkey Time'', was arranged by Johnny ...

", and

the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

' "

Mickey's Monkey Mickey's is a brand of malt liquor made by the Miller Brewing Company. It has a 5.6% ABV. The brand was created by Sterling Brewery in Evansville, Indiana, which brewed it from 1962 through 1972. It is known for its bright green barrel-shaped, ...

" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963. The monkey is often referenced on the animated series ''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired from ...

'' (in every theme song in addition to many times in the actual show), although it may be a completely different dance. The TV series ''

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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' also referenced the dance at least twice (in seasons 4 and 8). The

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

reference the dance in their song "The Toxic Waltz" (from ''

Fabulous Disaster ''Fabulous Disaster'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Exodus. It was released on January 30, 1989 on the UK label Music for Nations, while the US version was released on Combat/Relativity Records. In 1999, Century Media ...

'') with the lyric "Used to do the monkey, but now it's not cool". Characters in the anime series ''

Overman King Gainer is an anime television series, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, and featuring character designs by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kinu Nishimura and Ken'ichi Yoshida. The series ran from September 7, 2002 to March 22, 2003 on ...

'' do the monkey in the opening animation and in the show itself. The Monkey # Taking a fighter's crouch, face your partner and stand with feet apart, knees bent. Bend arms and close fists, thumbs up. # Bend forward from waist to the left, raising right arm. As your body bobs, your head also bobs forward on each count. The whole effect is jerky. # Straighten up to original position. # Bend forward from waist toward your partner, facing centre, switching arms as you do so. # Straighten to original position. Hands and head should give impression of monkey holding two bananas. # Bend forward from waist to the right. Straighten to original position. # Bob back to centre, bending at waist and again switching hands. # Repeat entire pattern. Counts are double time, hitting every accent in the music.

References

Novelty and fad dances {{dance-stub