"Old Pop in an Oak" is a song recorded by Swedish band

Rednex Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...

, released in 1994 as the second single from their debut album, ''

Sex & Violins ''Sex & Violins (''also known on later US releases as ''Cotton Eye Joe (Sex & Violins)'') is the debut studio album by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released on Jive Records in February 1995. Content Female vocals on the album are provided by ...

'' (1995). It reached number-one in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In the UK, it peaked at number 12.

Chart performance

Like its predecessor, "Pop in an Oak" was very successful on the charts in Europe, remaining one of the group's biggest hits to date. It peaked at number-one in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Additionally, the single made it to the top 10 also in Belgium, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Scotland and Switzerland, as well as on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, where it reached number two. In the United Kingdom, "Old Pop in an Oak" soared to number 12 in its first week at 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 March 19, 1995. In France, it was a top 50 hit. Outside Europe, the single peaked at number seven in New Zealand, number 17 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Dance/Urban chart and number 53 on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart in Canada, and number 70 in Australia. It earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

in Switzerland and a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in Austria, Germany and Norway.

Critical reception

British newspaper ''Lennox Herald'' noted that "Old Pop in an Oak" is a "similar sounding song" to their previous single, "

Cotton Eye Joe "Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") is a traditional American Country music, country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada, although today it is most commonly associated with the Southern Unite ...

". A reviewer from ''

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'' described it as "

techno-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

fun". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' viewed it as a " C&W/

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

mixture". ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' constated that "Rednex regurgitate Cotton Eye Joe – give or take the odd twang – and set out to prove that successfully following up a novelty number one isn't impossible." James Hamilton from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update declared it as a "speak of the devil, another thumbs in braces, boot stompin', high steppin' moonshine swiggin' gingham swirling Swedish

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

hoedown much too much like their last one". Also Chuck Campbell from ''

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'' deemed the song as a "very similar re-take" on the band's first hit.

Track listing

* CD maxi #"Old Pop in an Oak" (Original Radio Edit) – 3:30 #"Old Pop in an Oak" (Doug's Klub Mix) – 5:25 #"Old Pop in an Oak" (Original Extended Mix) – 5:38 #"Old Pop in an Oak" (Doug's Phantom Dub Mix) – 3:50 #"Old Pop in an Oak" (Original Instrumental) – 3:20

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs Rednex songs Songs written by Pat Reiniz Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Music videos directed by Stefan Berg