"Shama Lama Ding Dong" is a song written by and performed by fictional band

Otis Day and the Knights Otis Day and the Knights was created as a fictional R&B band to perform in the 1978 movie ''National Lampoon's Animal House''. Career They are best known for their R&B/ black rock version of " Shout" and "Shama Lama Ding Dong". Both songs were s ...

in the 1978 film ''

National Lampoon's Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulc ...

''. Although Otis Day was portrayed by

DeWayne Jessie DeWayne Jessie (a.k.a. "Otis Day"; born September 21, 1951) is an American character actor best known for his portrayal of Otis Day in ''National Lampoon's Animal House''. In the movie, the songs "Shama Lama Ding Dong" and " Shout" were sung by ...

in the film, the lead vocals were actually performed by Lloyd G. Williams, with backing vocals provided by Melvin Britt and Sidney Juston. A version of the song, by

beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

group

Band of Oz The Band of Oz is a prominent band of the United States beach music genre. Starting in the mid-1960s with high school students, the band turned professional in the early-1970s with a core group mostly from the Greenville, North Carolina Rose High ...

, won People's Choice Song of the Year at the 1995 Carolina Beach Music Awards. It was also covered by

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

as the B-side of his 1987 single "

Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diamet ...

." It also is often covered by the

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

Goose A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...

. The song was included on two albums by the

University of California Men's Octet The UC Men's Octet, sometimes termed the ''Cal Men’s Octet'' or the ''UC Berkeley Men’s Octet'', is an eight-member male a cappella group at the University of California, Berkeley. Founded in 1948 as a member of the UC Choral Ensembles, the ...

. It has also been performed and recorded by the Dartmouth Aires at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, the school on which ''Animal House'' was modeled.Dartmouth Undying: A Tribute to Our Alma Mater
, Dartmouth Aires, retrieved 2011-01-09.

References

{{Authority control Songs written for films 1978 songs Rhythm and blues songs John Mellencamp songs Onomatopoeia

See also

References