"Chicken Reel" is a dance tune. It was composed and published in 1910 by Joseph M. (Michael) Daly (1883–1968), with copyright registered on October 7. Joseph Mittenthal added lyrics three months later, and the texted version was copyrighted on January 12, 1911. Along with "

Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people cl ...

," "Chicken Reel" is probably one of the best-known poultry-related folk tunes. It is frequently found in early

animated cartoons Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

as a catchy tune used to represent farmyard activity, or a gathering of fowl. Originally composed as a novelty song, it has since passed into modern folk tradition. Today, the tune is usually played without the words, which would often have been sung in the

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

style (in stereotyped African-American vernacular). Chicken Reel was made popular again years later by

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

who recorded the song as a catchy instrumental, whimsically mimicking chicken sounds on his guitar. "Chicken Reel" was arranged for symphony orchestra by

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ; June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, Light music, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams descri ...

; his arrangement was recorded by

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...

and the

Boston Pops Orchestra 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 ...

in 1962. It also inspired

Jean Wiener Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) (19 March 1896, 14th arrondissement of Paris – 8 June 1982, Paris) was a French pianist and composer. Life Wiener was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud, and worked wit ...

's Histoires sans paroles.

Lyrics

The lyrics as written by Mittenthal:Mittenthal, "Chicken Reel" (Sheet music), 1911.

Popular culture

Chicken Reel usually introduces the chicken yard scene in many

Foghorn Leghorn Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the gol ...

cartoons. It's also the theme song to the recurring game Astro Chicken in the

Space Quest ''Space Quest'' is a series of six comic science fiction adventure games released between 1986 and 1995. The games follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named #Protagonist, Roger Wilco, who campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice, ...

line of

graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based ...

s. A spirited arrangement of Chicken Reel for fiddle and Jew's harp is featured in ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

'' when the Bumpus family's bloodhounds swarm Ralphie's father as he arrives home from work.

Notes

References

*Daly, Joseph M. (m.). "Chicken Reel" (Sheet music). Boston: Daly Music Publisher (1910). *Mittenthal, Joseph (w.); Daly, Joseph M. (m.). "Chicken Reel" (Sheet music). Boston: Daly Music Publisher (1911).

External links

"Chicken Reel"

Edward Meeker Edward Meeker (January 22, 1874 – April 19, 1937) was an American singer and performer, best known for his appearances on the recordings of Thomas Edison both as an announcer and singer, performing songs such as " Chicken Reel", "Go Easy Mabel" ...

(Edison Blue Amberol 2347, 1914)—
Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
'. * Digitized sheet music from the original 1910 Publication. {{authority control American folk songs Novelty and fad dances 1910 songs