''The Simpsons Sing the Blues'' is the first album released as an offshoot of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

''. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode " Moaning Lisa", which aired in the United States on February 11, 1990. The album was released on December 4, 1990, and peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200. An early musical number, "

Do the Bartman "Do the Bartman" is a song from the 1990 album '' The Simpsons Sing the Blues'', featuring the voice cast of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was performed by ''The Simpsons'' cast member Nancy Cartwright (the voice ...

", leads the album as the first track and the first single released. It was an international success, including being the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

number one single on February 16, 1991, staying there for a further two weeks being certified gold after selling over 400,000 copies. The second single released, "

Deep, Deep Trouble "Deep, Deep Trouble" is a rap song from the 1990 ''Simpsons'' album '' The Simpsons Sing the Blues'', performed by the fictional character Bart Simpson (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) about his trouble-making antics. It was written by Matt Groening ...

" also did well in the UK, reaching number 7. "Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble" were released as

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s in 1990 and 1991. Different cast members lent their voices to the album with both new material and cover songs. There were a number of notable musicians who appeared on the album, including

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, alo ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

, and

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut a ...

Background

David Geffen, founder of

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

, had the idea to record an album based on ''The Simpsons'', to be released in time for Christmas 1990. According to series creator

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

, "James L. Brooks walked into the office one day and said 'The Simpsons Sing The Blues'...Then we spent a lot of time deciding what the blues was...". The writers wrote humorous lyrics for the actors to perform over blues and hip hop. The voice actors for the series recorded the album in September 1990. The album was difficult to produce in between production for the second season of ''The Simpsons'', which was due to premiere just two weeks later. The album's title was penned by producer James L. Brooks. "We plundered a number of different styles for the record", admitted creator

in a 1990 interview. The disc contains an eclectic mix of old blues tunes such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

's " God Bless the Child" and original songs such as "Deep, Deep Trouble", which was produced by

and written by Groening. Noticing how Bart had been embraced by the African-American communities of America, Matt Groening sought to write Bart a hip hop number. By September 28, 1990, the vocal cast had been recording for around a month, and had completed two rough cuts of songs in between recording for the TV show. At this point, the album was due out in November. Fox had ordered around a dozen camera crews to interview and tape the voice cast, though instead of recording tracks the actors mostly pretended to sing for the cameras.

Release

The album faced great publicity before its release, with several details leaking out. Fox attempted to keep the record under wraps until negotiations with performers such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

were nailed down. One particular element that was highly publicized was Jackson's involvement, which was denied around the time of the album's release. "Oh, it's so frustrating," lamented Groening in a 1990 interview. "I said to a reporter a while ago that I would like to have this happen and it was printed as if it was true." Early published reports attributed Jackson as the composer of "Do the Bartman", which led to James L. Brooks issuing a press release apologizing for any misunderstanding about who actually wrote the song, instead revealing that Bryan Loren wrote the song. Fox also organized a media event around the album, pulling in nearly a half-dozen camera crews to interview and tape the would-be recording stars in action. ''The Simpsons Sing the Blues'' was released on December 4, 1990, and was a success, peaking at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200, making it the highest charting ''Simpsons'' album. The album was also a success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at #6 on the albums chart and was eventually certified gold. The lead single from the album, "Do the Bartman", was released on November 20, 1990, followed by the unveiling of animated music video after the ''Simpsons'' episode "

Bart the Daredevil "Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1990. In the episode, Bart decides he wants t ...

" on December 6. After the Fox network premiere, the video was exclusive to MTV. The song wasn't actually released as a physical single in the US, which perhaps helped sales of the album. The music video for "

" debuted after " Bart's Dog Gets an "F" on March 7, 1991. On December 14, 1990, the album was certified platinum, having sold over 1 million copies in its first week of release. Within a matter of weeks, the record was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, on February 13, 1991, for sales of over 2 million copies. On July 22, 2013 the album was certified Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

in the UK.

Reception

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'' placed the album on their list of worst albums of the year in 1990, stating that "The television series was at least mildly subversive, not to mention funny; the album mangles old songs and takes no chances with bland new ones" People described it as a "slick, supercommercial novelty act", and that it seemed the producer's main goal was money rather than comedy or drama. '' Florida Flambeau'' expressed relief that the album wasn't a Christmas record, though felt that it was "mostly pointless" without being paired with the funny visuals of the show, and wished more songs had been written specifically for the characters. ''Thrust'' magazine expressed disdain that such a popular album was created by fictional recording artists, noting "Most people have to die before they sell so many records, but The Simpsons will never die. They don't exist". Commoner found it as an example of the rampant commercialization of The Simpsons in the early 90s. ''

Hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', ' axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be us ...

'' negatively compared it to the 1997 TV series soundtrack album ''

Songs in the Key of Springfield ''Songs in the Key of Springfield'' is a soundtrack/novelty album from ''The Simpsons'' compiling many of the musical numbers from the series. The album was released in the United States on March 18, 1997, and in the United Kingdom in June 1997. ...

'', noting that the latter is "actually funny". ''

Lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave ri ...

'' felt the new album would be a "nice change" from the former, whose single “Do the Bartman” had become tiring.

Legacy

''The Simpsons Sing the Blues'' is today regarded as a novelty from ''The Simpsons'' early popularity. Shortly after the record's release and success, record companies rushed to fashion music stars out of animated characters. In January 1991,

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

announced plans to record a

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

rock album titled ''The Look''. At the same time,

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

was finishing work on an album based on the

Mario Bros. is a 1983 arcade game developed and published for arcades by Nintendo. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures emerging from the ...

characters. SBK and Geffen also enjoyed huge success with albums based on the film ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' and ''The Simpsons Sing the Blues''. The record soon became the fastest-selling album to emerge from a television show since the ''Miami Vice'' soundtrack in 1985. Disney also issued an album of Caribbean songs sung by ''The Little Mermaid'''s Sebastian as well as an album of songs sung by the cast of '' Dinosaurs'', a series often compared to ''The Simpsons'' during its run. "Do the Bartman" inspired a dance, "The Bartman", that was popular in early 1991.

Track listing

# "

" (written by Bryan Loren &

) #* Bart Simpson # " School Day" (originally written and performed by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

) #* Bart Simpson #* Buster Poindexter #"

Born Under a Bad Sign ''Born Under a Bad Sign'' is the second compilation album by American blues musician Albert King, released in August 1967 by Stax Records. It features eleven electric blues songs that were recorded from March 1966 to June 1967, throughout fiv ...

" (originally performed by

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

; written by

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

and William Bell) #* Homer Simpson #* featuring

(guitar) and the horn section from

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

# "Moanin' Lisa Blues" (written by John Boylan,

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series '' The Critic''. He created and wrote ...

, Jai Winding) #* Lisa Simpson #* Homer Simpson (says "Lisa, KEEP IT DOWN!") #* featuring

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

(slide guitar),

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

(horns) # "

" (

) #* Bart Simpson #* Homer Simpson #* featuring

(scratches)

Rosemary Butler Rosemary Ann Butler (born April 6, 1947) is an American singer. She began her career playing bass guitar and singing in an all-female band named the Ladybirds while attending Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. The band appeared ...

(background vocals: "nothing but trouble; deep, deep trouble") # " God Bless the Child" (originally performed by

; written by

and Arthur Herzog, Jr.) #*

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...

#* featuring "Bleeding Gums" Murphy # "I Love to See You Smile" (originally by Randy Newman) #* Homer Simpson #*

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...

#* featuring

(piano solo) # "Springfield Soul Stew" (based on "

Memphis Soul Stew "Memphis Soul Stew" is a song by American saxophonist and bandleader King Curtis (1934–1971). The track is a narrative that describes the Memphis Soul sound in terms of a cooking recipe, with each instrument introduced by Curtis. This include ...

" by

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician ...

) #* Marge Simpson # "Look at All Those Idiots" ( Jeff Martin,

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

, Jai Winding) #*

Montgomery Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

(listed as J. Montgomery Burns on this album) #*

Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People *Alan Smithers (born 1938 ...

# "Sibling Rivalry" ( John Boylan, James L. Brooks, Jai Winding) #* Bart Simpson #* Lisa Simpson

Discography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

The Simpsons Discography (SNPP/The Simpsons Archive)
as of March 19, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons Sing The Blues, The 1990 debut albums Geffen Records albums The Simpsons albums Albums produced by John Boylan (record producer) Blues albums by American artists Albums produced by Michael Jackson Albums with cover art by Matt Groening