"Walk the Dinosaur" is a song by

Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often fea ...

, released in 1987, from their album '' What Up, Dog?''

Song info

The tune features a tight, funky sound, punctuated by horns and a cowbell. When released in the UK in 1987, the song reached No. 10 on the singles chart, becoming the group's first UK top 10 hit. The

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 ...

featured four scantily clad 'cavewomen' dancing while a ''

Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...

''-style TV played clips from ''

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur ''Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur'' is a 1939 Warner Bros. ''Merrie Melodies'' animated cartoon short directed by Chuck Jones. The cartoon was released on April 22, 1939, and is the first Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Jones. ''Daffy Duck and the D ...

''. Modern people danced to the song during the "Everybody kill the dinosaur" part. The video received heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. The song reached No. 7 on the US chart in 1989, two years after its UK success and became the band's biggest hit single in their home country. According to an interview with co-writer Randy Jacobs, it "was an infectious sing-along with a Flintstonesque video that probably got played on MTV way too much. But even that seemingly good-time anthem had a dark side. ..The song's about nuclear Armageddon. It became a dance (anthem) because of the video. They connected it with the girls in the little Pebbles and Bam-Bam outfits. All the sudden it became, like, 'do the mashed potato' or 'the twist.'"

Track listing

;7" vinyl # "Walk the Dinosaur" – 3:38 # "11 Miles an Hour ( Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" – 4:04 ;7" vinyl / Cassette (US) # "Walk the Dinosaur" – 3:38 # "Wedding Vows in Vegas" – 3:38 ;12" vinyl (1) / CD (1) (Europe) # "Walk the Dinosaur (The New York Dangerous Mix)" – 6:58 # "Walk the Dinosaur (Bruce's Prehistoric Dub)" – 6:43 # "11 Miles an Hour (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" – 4:04 ;12" vinyl (2) (UK) # "Walk the Dinosaur (Jeffrey B. Young Hearts Run Free Remix)" – 6:08 # "Walk the Dinosaur (A-Cappella Saurus)" – 3:46 # "Walk the Dinosaur (Full Instrumental)" – 5:03 # "11 Miles an Hour (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" – 4:04 ;12" vinyl (US) # "Walk the Dinosaur (The New York Dangerous Version)" – 6:58 # "Walk the Dinosaur (Bruce's Prehistoric Dub)" – 6:43 # "Walk the Dinosaur (The Debunking Of

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...

Mix)" – 4:30 # "Walk the Dinosaur (7" Version)" – 3:38 ;CDV (2) (Europe) # "Walk the Dinosaur (Jeffrey B. Young Hearts Run Free Remix)" – 6:08 # "Walk the Dinosaur (A-Cappella Saurus)" – 3:46 # "Walk the Dinosaur (Full Instrumental)" – 5:03 # "11 Miles an Hour (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" – 4:03 # "Walk the Dinosaur (video)" – 3:36

Remixes

# "7" Version" – 3:38 # "The New York Dangerous Mix" – 6:58 – remixed by Bruce Forest. # "Bruce's Prehistoric Dub" – 6:43 – remixed by Bruce Forest. # "Jeffrey B. Young Hearts Run Free Remix" – 6:08 – remixed by Jeff Young. # "A-Cappella Saurus" – 3:46 – mixed by Bruce Forest and Frank Heller. # "Full Instrumental" – 5:03 – mixed by Bruce Forest and Frank Heller. # "The Debunking of

Mix" – 4:30 mixed by

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...

and

Jamie Muhoberac Benjamin Edward "Jamie" Muhoberac is an American session keyboardist with numerous credits. He is best known for his work with Seal and Was (Not Was). Biography Muhoberac has worked with acts including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, Bob ...

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

The original recording of "Walk the Dinosaur" appeared on the soundtrack of the 1994 film ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

''. A version performed by George Clinton appeared on the ''

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...

'' soundtrack in 1993, and was also featured in the credits. The song is one of the songs that can be heard playing at DinoLand U.S.A. at ''

Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...

''. Interesting enough, the song was even one of the sing-along songs with a few of the lyrics that have been changed for ''Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom'' (1999) from the ''

Disney Sing-Along Songs ''Disney Sing-Along Songs'' is a series of videos on VHS, betamax, laserdisc, and DVD with musical moments from various Disney films, TV shows, and attractions. Lyrics for the songs are sometimes displayed on-screen with the Mickey Mouse ...

'' series. In the movie '' Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs'' a version of the song by

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

(who also voices Ellie in the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

franchise) appeared during the film and the credits. This version featured minor lyrical changes to make the song more family-friendly, notably substituting the word "slave" with "friend".

References

{{Authority control 1987 songs 1987 singles 1989 singles Chrysalis Records singles Fontana Records singles Funk songs George Clinton (funk musician) songs Phonogram Records singles Song recordings produced by Don Was Songs about dinosaurs Songs about nuclear war and weapons Songs written by David Was Songs written by Don Was Was (Not Was) songs