"I'm a Little Teapot" is an American novelty song describing the heating and pouring of a

teapot A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. It is one of the core components of teaware. Dry tea is available either in tea ba ...

or a whistling tea kettle. The song was originally written by George Harold Sanders and Clarence Z. Kelley and published in 1939. By 1941, a ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' article referred to the song as "the next inane novelty song to sweep the country".

Creation

Kelley and his wife ran a dance school for children, which taught the "Waltz Clog", a popular and easy-to-learn

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

routine. This routine, however, proved too difficult for the younger students to master. To solve this problem, George Sanders wrote ''The Teapot Song'', which required minimal skill and encouraged natural

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. Both the song and its accompanying dance, the "Teapot Tip", became enormously popular in America and overseas. The song was recorded and made famous by Art Kassel and His Kassels in the Air orchestra with featured vocalist Marion Holmes singing the tune. It was published in 1941 by Bluebird Records. (Marion Holmes soon after married Broadway, film, and TV star

Don DeFore Donald John DeFore (August 25, 1913 – December 22, 1993) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' from 1952 to 1957 and the sitcom ''Hazel'' from 1961 to 1965, the former of w ...

.) The lyrics begin "I'm a little teapot, short and stout..." and go on to further describe the appearance and actions of the singer-as-teapot. The song may be accompanied with actions: extending one arm in a curve like the spout, placing the other arm like the handle, and bending sideways to pour.

Recordings

"I'm a Little Teapot" has been recorded by a number of artists, particularly on children's albums. It's been released as a single by various artists besides Kassel, including

Horace Heidt Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 19 ...

(1941), Lawrence Duchow's Red Raven Orchestra (1956), and

Two Ton Baker Dick "Two Ton" Baker (May 2, 1916 – May 4, 1975) was an American singer and entertainer who was a prominent Chicago radio and television personality for three decades; the 1940s to the 1960s. He gained some national exposure in the United Stat ...

(1947). It's included on Leonard Bernstein's 1973 album ''Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf plus 10 More Great Children's Favorites''.

External links

Art Kassel's version
(audio)

References

{{authority control American children's songs 1939 songs Teapots Novelty songs

Creation

Recordings

See also

External links

References