"Popcorn" (first version "Pop Corn") is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

composed by

Gershon Kingsley Gershon Kingsley (born Götz Gustav Ksinski; October 28, 1922 – December 10, 2019) was a German-American composer, a pioneer of electronic music and the Moog synthesizer, a partner in the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley, founde ...

in 1969 for the album ''Music to Moog By'' on Audio Fidelity Records label. The

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

instrumental became a worldwide hit, first in 1972 when a version by

Hot Butter Hot Butter were an American instrumental band fronted by the keyboard player and studio musician Stan Free. The other band members were John Abbott, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, and Danny Jordan and Dave Mullaney. They were best known for their 19 ...

was released. Since then, multiple versions of the piece have been produced and released, including those by Vyacheslav Mescherin,

Anarchic System Anarchic System was a French pop group formed in the early 1970s. The band's members were parts of other groups from the rock scene of northern France. They were in good friendship when the opportunity of recording the "Popcorn" cover was given ...

, Popcorn Makers,

the Boomtang Boys The Boomtang Boys are Canadian dance-remix musicians and music producers. They are known for both their remix work and pop-dance music, in particular their singles " Squeeze Toy" and "Movin' On", which both topped the Canadian Singles Chart. ...

, M & H Band, Crazy Frog and

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

Hot Butter version

In 1972, a rearranged version of the instrumental was recorded by Kingsley's First Moog Quartet. This was intended for the namesake album (''First Moog Quartet'') which had otherwise been a re-release of the 1970 First Moog Quartet album with the same name. The 1972 version of the instrumental had the now current title "Popcorn". In that same year,

Stan Free Hot Butter were an American instrumental band fronted by the keyboard player and studio musician Stan Free. The other band members were John Abbott, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome, and Danny Jordan and Dave Mullaney. They were best known for their 19 ...

, a fellow member of the First Moog Quartet, re-recorded another instrumental, based on the 1972 version, with his own band

. This was released as a single and became a hit in mainland Europe, spending several weeks at No. 1 in numerous countries on the continent, including

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(4 weeks at the top) and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(10 weeks), ultimately becoming the biggest-selling single of 1972 in both countries. "Popcorn" was also a No. 1 hit in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(3 weeks), the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(7 weeks) and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(9 weeks).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Crazy Frog version

In 2005, Crazy Frog released a cover of "Popcorn", the remix of which was arranged by

Jamba! Jamba (formerly Jamba!) was a German company, operating under the name Jamster in China, Armenia, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, France, Kuwait, Turkey, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Austria, Brazil, Israel, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, ...

, and also marketed as a

ringtone A ringtone, ring tone or ring is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Originally referring to and made by the electromechanical striking of bells, the term now refers to any sound on any device alerting of a new incoming ...

. The song differs from Crazy Frog's debut release "

Axel F "Axel F" is the electronic instrumental theme from the 1984 film ''Beverly Hills Cop'' performed by Harold Faltermeyer. It was an international number one hit in 1985. Background The title comes from the main character's name in the film, Axel ...

" in that it does not contain the trademark "Crazy Frog sound" by Daniel Malmedahl. The single was a hit in various countries, particularly in

, where it enjoyed its greatest success. Replacing Crazy Frog's own song "

" at No. 1 on 24 September 2005, the track remained at the top spot for seven weeks, with its best weekly sales of 71,777 copies in its second week. Certified Diamond status just three months after its release by the SNEP, as of August 2014, this version of "Popcorn" is the 40th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 458,000 copies sold. The track also topped the charts in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The music video, CGI-animated, was produced by Kaktus Film and Erik Wernquist of TurboForce3D and features Crazy Frog causing chaos at the undersea labs of the drones. A significantly shortened version of this video was also used for the Frog's version of "

U Can't Touch This "U Can't Touch This" is a song co-written, produced, and performed by American rapper MC Hammer. It was released as the third single from his third album, ''Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em'' (1990), and has been considered his signature song. Along ...

Track listings

7" single # "Popcorn" – 2:30 # "At the Movies" – 2:31 UK # "Popcorn" (radio mix) # "Popcorn" (radio mix instrumental) # "Popcorn" (potatoheadz mix) # "Popcorn" (radikal mix) # "Popcorn" (resource mix) # "Popcorn" (video) Australia # "Popcorn" (radio mix) # "Popcorn" (potatoheadz mix) # "Popcorn" (resource mix) # " Who Let the Frog Out?"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy and influence

Soviet animated series "

Nu, pogodi! ''Well, Just You Wait!'' (russian: Ну, погоди!, Nu, pogodi!, p=ˈnu pəɡɐˈdʲi) is a Soviet, later Russian, series of animated short films produced by Soyuzmultfilm. In the 2014 all-Russian poll, ''Well, Just You Wait!'' won by a ...

" featured this song in the 10th episode of the series. The

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese release of Pengo used an

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

interpretation of "Popcorn". French electronic composer and musician Jean-Michel Jarre recorded a 1972 version under the pseudonyms ''Pop Corn Orchestra'' and ''Jammie Jeferson''. Later he was inspired by this song to compose his 1976 biggest hit Oxygène (Part IV). A version of "Popcorn", performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass appeared on season 3 episode 9 of

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, '' Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

. In early 2019, when Kingsley died, the experimental composer

Blanck Mass Blanck Mass is a British electronic solo project by Ivor Novello Award-winning composer Benjamin J Power. He is a founding member of Fuck Buttons. In 2022 Power announced he joined Editors as a full-time member. Career His track "Sundowner" wa ...

chose "Popcorn" as one of the 10 most influential compositions of his career. In 2022, Swedish singer Tove Lo sampled the

version in her single "2 Die 4".

Other versions

The 1972 cover by the Popcorn Makers reached No. 7 on the

German charts The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

and No. 1 on the

Dutch Charts Dutch Charts, GfK Dutch Charts, MegaCharts is a chart company responsible for producing a number of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Single Top 100 and the Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Dutch Charts are also part of GfK ...

. The version by French band

was released in 1972 and reached at No. 13 on the German charts, No. 10 on the Dutch charts and No. 1 on the Ultratop 50. In 1987, the French M & H Band (sole member Mark Haliday), released a version of "Popcorn" which peaked at No. 8 on the Norwegian charts and at No. 20 on the Swedish charts. This single's release was accompanied by the first purpose-produced

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

. Canadian group

covered "Popcorn" in 1999, their version peaked at No. 26 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart, where it stayed for 9 weeks. It also reached No. 10 on ''RPM'''s Canadian dance chart. Richárd Moldován known as ''Richi M'' released in 2000 year a cover version which reached at No. 9 on the Swedish charts.

References

{{Authority control 1960s instrumentals 1969 songs 1972 debut singles 2005 singles American synth-pop songs Pop instrumentals Gershon Kingsley songs Anarchic System songs Crazy Frog songs Ministry of Sound singles Music published by Bourne Co. Music Publishers Musicor Records singles Novelty songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Switzerland Number-one singles in New Zealand SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles

Hot Butter version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Crazy Frog version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy and influence

Other versions

See also

References