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"Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a
popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
by Italian composer Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film '' Sweden: Heaven and Hell'' (''Svezia, inferno e paradiso''). On its own it was a minor radio hit in the United States and in Britain, but became better known internationally after it was used by
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
and on ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...
''. "Mah Nà Mah Nà" gained popularity in
English-speaking countries The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
from its use in the recurring
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
blackout sketch for the 1969–1970 season of ''
The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his tele ...
'' first airing in October 1969. ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' producer Joan Ganz Cooney heard the track on the radio and decided it would be a perfect addition to the show. Its first Sesame Street performance was by
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
,
Frank Oz Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through ''The Muppets'', ''Sesame Street'', and '' ...
and Loretta Long (Susan) on the fourteenth episode of the show, broadcast on November 27, 1969. The following Sunday, Henson and his Muppets performed the song on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
''. Seven years later the song was part of the premiere episode of ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...
''. Starting in 1971, ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...
''—in its second incarnation now at
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
where it launched in 1969 in colour—included "Mah Nà Mah Nà" as part of a background music medley during their frequent slapstick sketches. The medley became a ''Benny Hill Show'' tradition for the rest of its run.


Original version

Although Umiliani used a very similar theme in 1966 for the soundtrack of the Italian film '' Ring Around the World'', "Mah Nà Mah Nà" debuted as part of Umiliani's soundtrack for the Italian mondo film '' Sweden: Heaven and Hell'' (1968), an exploitation documentary film about wild sexual activity and other behaviour in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The song accompanied a scene in the film set in a
sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...
which gave its original title "" ("Hooray for the Swedish Sauna"). It was performed by a band called Marc 4 (four
session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
s from the RAI orchestra) and the lead part was sung by Italian singer/composer Alessandro Alessandroni and his wife Giulia. The song also appeared on the 1968 U.S.
soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...
released for the film. "Mah Nà Mah Nà" was a hit in many countries in 1968–1969. In the United States, it peaked at No. 55 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and No. 44 on the ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' magazine chart in October 1969. It also reached No. 12 on the United States Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song reached No. 22 in the ''RPM'' magazine top singles charts, October 11, 1969, and No. 5 on the AC Chart a week later. The original UK single release, on the Pye International label (7N 25499), left the artists name uncredited on the label, and a cover version by
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...
, pseudonymously credited to "The Great Unknowns" and released the same year on the Major Minor label (MM 658), featured Moroder's "Doo-be-doo-be-do" on the B side (also sometimes featured in ''The Benny Hill Show''). Umiliani's original version, now credited to Umiliani on the label, was reissued by
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...
in the UK in 1977 and reached No. 8 in the charts. During its 1–15 September 1969 run on the WLS 890 Hit Parade, the surveys erroneously credited the record to someone named Pete Howard. WPTR did much the same, except that the credit was given to the station's disc jockey, J.W. Wagner. The song's
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
contain no actual words, only iambic nonsense syllables resembling
scat singing Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal Musical improvisation, improvisation with Non-lexical vocables in music, wordless vocables, Pseudoword#Nonsense syllables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, t ...
. At times, melodies from other songs are quoted. One quoted melody is the First Swedish Rhapsody of Hugo Alfvén. The Italian tune " Santa Lucia" is also quoted. (What is the THIRD song quoted in the original version?) In the movie soundtrack version, from which the record was edited, there is a quote of Army bugle call "Assembly", but this verse was omitted from the record, which instead repeated the first three verses. The Muppets' version includes part of " Lullaby of Birdland" by George Shearing.


Chart history


Other versions

In 1969,
Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...
recorded a variation titled "Mais non, mais non" ("But No, But No" or "Of Course Not, Of Course Not"), with lyrics he had written in French to Umiliani's tune.
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...
released a version in 1969 under the pseudonyms "The Great Unknowns" (UK 45) and the "Stop Studio Group" (French 45). In 1969, the Dave Pell Singers recorded a version for Liberty Records which achieved considerable radio exposure. In 1969, "Mah-Nà-Mah-Nà" was recorded in French by Midas ( Roger Giguère). During its 1969–70 season, ''
The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his tele ...
'' used the Umiliani recording as background music for a recurring blackout sketch (used as a cold open to the program, before the opening introductory sequence). The otherwise silent bits featured Red and another performer, dressed as
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
creatures, playing with equipment left behind by the
Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
astronauts. The song is the title track of a 1970 LP on GRT Records (Cat No.: GRT 20003), released after the initial success of ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
''; it is purportedly sung by a fuzzy Muppet lookalike, who is pictured on the sleeve. Other songs on the album, including "Peg O' My Heart", "Zip A Dee Doo Dah", "Mississippi Mud", and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town", are sung with the syllables "mah na mah na" filling in for the actual words of the song. Many tracks also feature
kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...
accompaniment. In 1971, a
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
version, "Parah Parah" ("cow by cow",
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
for "one thing at a time"), was released by the duo HaDudaim. In 1971 it was recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the
Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
for Polydor Records. In 1972, Ismael Rivera aka "Maelo" a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer, release the album "Esto fue lo que trajo el barco", which included the song Maña Maña that uses sample of the original song. In 1973, a rendition of "Mah Nà Mah Nà" on the
Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...
was released on the album ''More Hot Butter'' (Musicor MS 3254) by
Hot Butter Hot Butter were an American instrumental band fronted by the keyboard player and studio musician Stan Free. The other band members were John Abbott (arranger, guitar), brothers Bill (producer, engineer, percussion) and Steve Jerome (producer, ...
, best known for the pop tune "
Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...
". It was re-released on CD in 2000. In 1984,
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
comic and
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
group Maski debuted on television with their short theatrical performance "Vocal duet" () for '' Vokrug smekha'' comedy TV program. A
Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...
characters (Aleksandr Postolenko) spelling "mana mana", while his
Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...
partner ( Georgiy Deliev) singing motive of the rest of the song. American
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
group Lipstique released a disco version of the song in 1978. A heavy metal version was recorded by UK band
Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...
in 1996, for the " Perfect Day" single; a minor hit in the UK – No. 33. The song is however titled "The Muppet Song (Mah Na Mah Na)". The British pop group
Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...
also used the song as a basis for their first single "No Way, No Way" in 1997. A Canadian
Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...
commercial used the song to promote its "Mini Donuts" line in the early 1990s. In 1999, the Brazilian band Pato Fu used samples of "Mah Nà Mah Nà" in the song "Made In Japan" on the album ''Isopor''. In 2003, several cast members perform their version in the opening scene of episode 1, season 2 of the UK series ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
''. A sketch in the final episode of '' Jam'' in 2000 features a scene where two strangely dressed characters, one carrying a clarinet, sing the song where and when police are trying to find a dead body. When the police find the corpse and are still examining it, the two characters continue to sing the song at the corpse, whilst the clarinet carrier puts the clarinet into the corpse's mouth, who "plays" it out of key. The musical group
Cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...
recorded a horn-driven version of this song featuring many different sounds. This version was recorded as a children's song and appears on an album called '' For the Kids'', released in 2002, and on their compilation album, '' B-Sides and Rarities'', released in 2007. Surrounding
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
in 2006, a version of the song was recorded for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
, replacing the title syllables with " Polamalu", the last name of the Steelers' star strong safety. Since 2009, the pro soccer team
Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...
's fan supporters, the Sons of Ben, have used the song, substituting the group's name in place of the song's title. A version sung in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
was released by actor/singer Samir Ghanem using the words ''anam, anam'' (meaning "sleep, sleep"). In 2011, alternative rock band
The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut studio album, '' How to Save a Life'' (2005) was released by Epic Records and received quadruple platinum certific ...
released a cover of the song on '' Muppets: The Green Album'', though a remaster of the original version from ''The Muppet Show'' performance appears on the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
from the 2011 film ''The Muppets''. The Mexican department store chain Sanborns used a version of this song for their animated commercials featuring the "Tecolotes" (Owl) family mascots. A cover version of the song was made for the popular music/rhythm game '' Just Dance 2015''. Mexican rock band
Maná Maná () is a Mexican pop rock band formed in 1981. Originally called Sombrero Verde, the current lineup of members is vocalist-guitarist Fher Olvera, drummer Alex González (musician), Alex González, guitarist Sergio Vallín and bassist Juan ...
sung the song on
Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...
's show ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'' in 2016.


''The Benny Hill Show'' version

In 1969, British comedian
Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...
switched from
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
to
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
. This move also marked the major start of color television in the United Kingdom. As part of the new format by Benny Hill, many risque jokes and sketches were featured. As with the signature "Yakety Sax" instrumental on the end of each show, the implementation of "Mah Na Mah Na" on ''Benny Hill'' was used to great effect to reflect the comedy action of particular sketches — notably the ones transitioning into slapstick mode, providing the backdrop of the story of the moment, most often sped up and (mostly) with no audible dialogue. On the new Thames incarnation of ''The Benny Hill Show'', "Mah Na Mah Na" was part of an organized, horn-driven, four-song instrumental comic medley, starting off with a percussion tapping beat of the track leading into a rendition of "Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo", a very early track written by famed record producer
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer and music producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work ...
, which in itself was directly based on and, as a result, takes on a tightly identical rhythmic cadence and style to "Mah Na Mah Na". The four-song medley then continues with a rendition of " Für Elise" (which is always heard with the accompaniment of a flute and a muted trumpet), then "Mah Na Mah Na", finally finishing with " Gimme Dat Ding", then looping back to the start of the progression. This medley was first used on Thames Episode 10, which was first screened on British television on November the 24th, 1971. The original recordings of the instrumental medley often featured vocals by Benny Hill's backing chorus, The Ladybirds. However, as there were numerous recordings and renditions of the "Benny Hill Medley" throughout the entire Thames run, some versions featured other female vocalists (after The Ladybirds departed the show) while the rest of them were otherwise completely instrumental.


Versions by the Muppets

Aside from its notoriety as the primary silent comedy sketch scene music for ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketch comedy, sketches typified by slapstick, mime, parody, and ...
'', "Mahna Mahna" became familiar to many from its renditions by
the Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
on television. In 1969, the first season of ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' featured a sketch featuring two Muppet girls voiced by
Frank Oz Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through ''The Muppets'', ''Sesame Street'', and '' ...
and Loretta Long who are unsure of what to do, until they decide to sing a song. A short, shaggy-haired male Muppet character enters, and begins singing "Mahna Mahna", prompting the girls to join him. The male Muppet who led the "Mahna Mahna" call-and-response was referred to as simply "Mah Na Mah Na" or "Mahna Mahna" in scripts and most ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'' albums, though he was named "Bip Bippadotta" (ref. Kip Addotta) on the 1979 album ''Every Body's Record''. The character was originally performed by Muppets creator
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
, and has performed by Muppeteer veteran Bill Barretta since 2005. On 30 November 1969, "Mahna Mahna" was performed on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
'' by three new and more fully detailed Muppet characters. The male Muppet character was purple with wild, orange hair and a furry, green tunic, while the female Muppet characters were two identical pink cow-like alien creatures with horns and cone-like mouths (with yellow lips) that always remained open. The female characters – now called the Snowths (originally spelled "Snouths", as a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of "snout" and "mouth" since their mouth also served as their noses), both performed by Muppeteer veteran Frank Oz – would shake their heads in apparent disapproval whenever the male character began singing the scat portion of the song. The song "Mahna Mahna" was played at a slower tempo and given a more playful, quintessential "children's"-style arrangement as opposed to the previous arrangement which was slightly reminiscent of early 1960s
calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians during the early- to mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back ...
. In 1976, on the first episode of ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...
'' to be recorded (featuring
Juliet Prowse Juliet Anne Prowse (25 September 1936 – 14 September 1996) was a British-American dancer and actress whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was born in Bombay (today's Mumbai) then of British India, raised in South ...
), the 1969 "Mahna Mahna" routine from ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' was reworked and used as the first sketch with the same characters and a new recording of the last musical arrangement. ''The Muppet Show'' became an immediate hit and "Mahna Mahna" was the highlight of that episode. During the sketch, Mahna Mahna managed to dance his way backstage and out of the Muppet Theater, phoning the Snowths to sing the title lyrics one last time and end the song. At the end of the episode, he managed to enter
Statler and Waldorf Statler and Waldorf are a pair of The Muppets, Muppet characters from the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', best known for their overly negative opinions and their tendency to Heckler, heckle people. The two elderly men fi ...
's
box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...
. As a result, the original Piero Umiliani recording finally became a hit in the UK (#8 in the UK charts in May 1977), where the ''Muppet Show'' soundtrack album featuring the Muppets' version went to number one. It was at that point that the name "Mahna Mahna and The Snouths" was given the incorrect credit of "Mahna Mahna and The Snowths", which has served as the definitive spelling ever since then. The single from the album, "Halfway Down the Stairs", reached the top Ten in the UK charts – and its B side was "Mah Na Mah Na" – making the song appear three times in the charts at the same time, albeit as a B side, the Piero Umiliani version and also a track on the album. Later on in that same episode, a snippet of the song " Lullaby of Birdland" is 'hummed' during one of the improvisational passages, as part of a running gag involving "Mahna Mahna". The later Muppet TV series ''
Muppets Tonight ''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented comedy television series, created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. The series ran for two seasons between March 8, 1996 to February 8, 1998, originally ...
'' (1996–1998) revisited it in a sketch with
Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
where Kermit the Frog visits a doctor to complain about weird things that happen to him whenever he says the word ''phenomena'', namely the Snowths suddenly appear with musical accompaniment to sing their part of the song. In the Muppets version of "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...
" at 00:02:25, the Snowths make a cameo appearance, singing the titular lyric. The song is performed in the 2011 feature film ''
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
'', in which various celebrities sing with the Snowths in the end credits.


Commercially licensed versions

In the late 1960s, the original tune was featured in an American television commercial, but the product being pitched has of yet been undetermined. The product was ice tea, nobody has determined the brand. The Muppets filmed a new version of the song in 2005, for a
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
charity called CanTeen. In the ad, an updated version of the Mahna Mahna puppet was puppeteered and voiced by Bill Barretta, and the lyrics were changed to "Bandanana", supporting CanTeen's "
Bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...
Week". It was featured in the 2005 pilot of the sitcom '' Committed'' where
Marni The name Marni originates from several languages, including Hebrew, meaning "rejoice", and Latin as a variant of "Marina (given name), Marina", meaning "of the sea". It also has derivations from Goidelic languages, Gaelic and Swahili language, Swa ...
attempted to get her date to sing a duet with her in a restaurant, and continued to appear in the background in later episodes as her ringtone. In the 2011 episode " The Firefly" of ''
Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...
'', the song was playing on a record player in Walter Bishop's home while he was creating a formula to restore the missing pieces of his brain—pieces which were surgically removed years before in an agreement with William Bell. In "This Is My House, This Is My Home," the (2011) season eight finale of '' One Tree Hill'', Nathan Scott performs this song with his daughter, Lydia, as wife Haley James Scott watches. At the BBC's Children in Need 2011 telethon, Kermit and Miss Piggy introduced a performance of the song, which featured many stars of British television, including Harry Hill,
Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English businessman, and former television presenter, radio DJ, writer and producer. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK, pres ...
and
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
. Cee Lo Green samples the song in his original Christmas song "All I Need Is Love" which features guest vocals by
The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
for his 2012 holiday album '' Cee Lo's Magic Moment''. In the late 1990s, a modified version of the song featured in adverts for BN biscuits in 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, which referenced the biscuits' name. In Australia, the sunscreen company Banana Boat used a version of the song with lyrics as a jingle. In 2007, it was used in a Saturn Aura commercial. The Argentinian food company, Lucchetti, used a version of the song as a jingle of "Mamá Lucchetti". In 2017, it served as the soundtrack for a
Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer, was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Ford Bronco II ...
commercial, "For What Matters Most," in which a father and daughter make repeated trips to a hardware store while building a "
Pinewood derby The Pinewood Derby is the wood car racing event of the Cub Scout Program of the Scouting America. Pinewood derbies are often run by packs of the Cub Scouts program. With the help of adults, Cub Scouts build their own unpowered, unmanned minia ...
" car.


References


External links

*
Mah nà Mah nà (song)
o
Piero Umiliani Official Website


by Sam Adams, ''Slate'', Nov. 23, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mah Na Mah Na 1968 songs 1968 singles Film theme songs Sesame Street songs The Muppets songs Novelty songs Giorgio Moroder songs Quotations from television Quotations from music Comedy catchphrases 1968 quotations Columbia Records singles