"The Stripper" 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 David Rose, recorded in 1958 and released four years later. It evinces a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

influence with especially prominent

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

slides, and evokes the feel of music used to accompany

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

artists. "The Stripper" reached #1 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s Top 100 chart in July 1962. It became 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 me ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the #5 song of 1962. The tune came to prominence by chance. Rose had recorded "

Ebb Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

" as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of a record. His record company, MGM Records, wanted to get it on the market quickly, but discovered there was no B-side available for it. Rose was away at the time the need for the B-side surfaced. An MGM office boy was given the job of going through some of Rose's tapes of unreleased material to find something that would work; he liked "The Stripper" and chose it as the flip side for the record.

Legacy

It was the theme melody in the Swedish record sales list Kvällstoppen in the 1960s. It also became known as the background music for a contemporary

Noxzema Noxzema ( ) is a brand of skin cleanser marketed by Unilever. Since 1914, it was sold in a small cobalt blue jar; but is now sold in a blue plastic jar. Noxzema contains camphor, menthol, phenol and eucalyptus, among other ingredients. Original ...

Shaving Cream commercial, featuring Swedish model

Gunilla Knutsson Gunilla Knutsson (sometimes as Gunilla Knutson, Gunilla Knudson or Gunilla Knudsen) is a Swedish model, actress and author, from Ystad. She was named Miss Sweden in 1961 and was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant the same year. She i ...

, and for key scenes in the films ''The Scarecrow'' (1973) and ''Slap Shot'' (1977). The piece also features in the films ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...

'' (1997) and '' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'' (2005). It was used on BBC Television in 1976 by the British comedians

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

in their "Breakfast Sketch" routine, where they perform a dance using various kitchen utensils and food items. It was also used on ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...

'' when

Gene Rayburn Gene Rayburn (born Eugene Peter Jeljenic; December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the American television game show '' Match Game'' for over t ...

or one of the panelists began "getting antsy". Professional wrestler

Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling ...

used a version for his entrance and disrobing routine in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. The band

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

used ''The Stripper'' to introduce the show on their 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls-Tour as well as at the

Moscow Music Peace Festival The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a rock concert that took place in the USSR on August 12–13, 1989 at Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow. Occurring during the glasnost era, it marked the first time hard rock and heav ...

in 1989. The British comedy troupe

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

used the song in two skits on their show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus:'' *A beachgoer (

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

) is trying to change into a bathing suit on the beach, only to be exposed as he begins taking his clothes off. His last attempt finds him in front of an audience, to whom he gives a show. As the song ends, the words "It's a man's world, taking your clothes off in public" appear onscreen, echoing the episode's running gag about infringing on the British Army's recruitment slogan. *An economic minister (Terry Jones) gives a report on the British economy while doing a striptease to the song. The song was put into regular use for British ITV kids series ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format to o ...

'' from 1998-2003, most particularly during the "Strippin' Vicar" and "Chums" sketches when the vicars such as one of the hosts Ant McPartlin and one of the guests Frank Skinner destroy the set. It was also used once on CBS-ABC game show ''

'' which host Gene Rayburn and one of the celebrity panelists Betty White had a showdown.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stripper, The 1962 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Erotic dance 1962 songs MGM Records singles 1960s instrumentals Compositions by David Rose