"Gitarzan" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

released by

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their

pet monkey A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. The practice of keeping monkeys as pets is controversial. Monkeys have often been favorite pets of queens such as Catherine de' Medici and Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. Ship's monkeys When the Britis ...

. The song features

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

, a quote from the song "

Swinging on a Star "Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film '' Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, ...

", with the line "Carrying moonbeams home in a jar" superimposed over an insistent G Major ostinato, and a melody from Martha and the Vandellas' " Honey Chile" in its chorus. The song reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 31 May 1969 and #10 in Canada in May 1969. It did best in New Zealand, where it reached #2. The music and lyrics were written by Stevens with a title supplied by

Bill Justis William Everett Justis Jr. (October 14, 1926 – July 16, 1982) was an American pioneer rock and roll musician, composer, and musical arranger, best known for his 1957 Grammy Hall of Fame song, " Raunchy". As a songwriter, he was also often credi ...

. Justis is officially credited as Bill Everette.

Cover versions

A cover version was recorded by

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

parodist

Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and ...

on his tribute album '' Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens'' in 2007. Judd's cover features

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

and

Heidi Newfield Heidi Kay Newfield (born October 4, 1970) is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit ...

(former lead singer of

Trick Pony Trick Pony was an American country music group, formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Keith Burns (lead guitar, vocals), and Ira Dean (bass guitar, vocals). They recorded three studio albums: '' Trick Pony'', ...

). An earlier cover appeared on

Ralph's World {{Portal , Children's literature Ralph's World is a children's music group created by Ralph Covert, previously of Chicago-based indie-rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Z ...

's ''Green Gorilla, Monster and Me!'' (a children's music album) in 2006.

Animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

robot band

The Rock-afire Explosion The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic character band that appeared in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1992. Since 1992, independent companies and people have been preserving it and one can still view the show in various location ...

performed the song on the "Fatz for President" showtape, created in June 1983 for

Showbiz Pizza Place ShowBiz Pizza Place, often shortened to ShowBiz Pizza or ShowBiz, was an American family entertainment center and restaurant pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering. It emerged after a separation between Brock an ...

. This cover version, styled "Guitarzan", was arranged by the band's creator, inventor

Aaron Fechter Aaron Fechter (born December 21, 1953) is an American engineering entrepreneur, voice actor, singer and musician who owns and operates Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI). He is best known as the creator of , an animatronic show featuring a variety ...

References

{{authority control 1969 singles Novelty songs Ray Stevens songs Cledus T. Judd songs Heidi Newfield songs Songs written by Ray Stevens 1969 songs Monument Records singles Tarzan parodies Songs written by Bill Justis