"What's New Pussycat?" is the theme song for the eponymous movie, written by Burt Bacharach and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

, and sung by Welsh singer Tom Jones. The original single included a 13-second instrumental introduction, ending in the sound of shattering glass, but later issues omitted this introduction.

Chart performance

It was Jones' third UK

top 30 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

record, and peaked at number 11. In the US, "What's New Pussycat?" peaked at number 3, and was Jones' second entry on the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

Accolades

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1966, and lost to "

The Shadow of Your Smile "The Shadow of Your Smile", also known as "Love Theme from ''The Sandpiper''", is a popular song. The music was written by Johnny Mandel with the lyrics written by Paul Francis Webster. The song was introduced in the 1965 film '' The Sandpiper' ...

In popular culture and cover versions

It has also been performed by: *

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and f ...

Stefán Karl Stefánsson Stefán Karl Stefánsson (; ; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series '' LazyTown''. Career Stefán Karl's career ...

* Anita Kerr *

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

* The Four Seasons *

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

performed several lines in her "Color Me Barbra Medley" from the TV special and album '' Color Me Barbra''. *The song was covered by Alvin and the Chipmunks in their 1965 album ''

Chipmunks à Go-Go ''Chipmunks à Go-Go'' is an album by Alvin and the Chipmunks and David Seville, released by Liberty Records in 1965, again in 1982, and on compact disc in 1990. Early pressings of the album incorrectly list the song "Sunshine, Lollipops and ...

''. *It has also been referenced in

John Mulaney John Edmund Mulaney (born August 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He first rose to prominence for his work as a writer on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 to 2013, where he contributed to numerous ...

’s popular segment “The Salt and Pepper Diner,” the last segment in his stand up routine ''The Top Part''. *

Wendy Carlos Wendy Carlos (born Walter Carlos, November 14, 1939) is an American musician and composer best known for her electronic music and film scores. Born and raised in Rhode Island, Carlos studied physics and music at Brown University before moving ...

recorded a version performed with a moog synthesizer on her album ''By Request'' (1975). This version features cat's meow voices imitated with a synthesizer. *A

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

version of the song was recorded by Leo Moracchioli for his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel, Frog Leap Studios. *The song was also used in the episode '' Husbands and Knives'' 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 ...

'' where Milo (voiced by Jack Black) plays the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

-language version. *In a ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the Ame ...

'' 1995 family special: "Once Upon a Time", a rat group called "The Rat Pack" performs this song while taking over The Jukebox Band's place. *In ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Bal ...

'', the song appeared in the credits. *In ''

Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan a ...

'', the song appeared in the credits. *In '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'', in the casino in Monte Carlo, Alex lifts up the disguise of the King of Versailles to reveal the chimps and the penguins. Mason covers himself saying, "What's new, pussycat?", and Skipper says, surprised, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa." *In ''

Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...

'', the song played on Turbo's music shell while moving in the grass. * Carole Baskin performed the song in Episode 2 of the 29th season of '' Dancing with the Stars''.

References

{{Authority control Barbra Streisand songs Tom Jones (singer) songs 1965 songs 1965 singles Film theme songs Songs about cats Songs written for films Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs with lyrics by Hal David RPM Top Singles number-one singles Decca Records singles Song recordings produced by Peter Sullivan (record producer)