"Cinderella Rockefella" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

written by

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

and Nancy Ames. It was originally recorded and released by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

duo Esther & Abi Ofarim on their 1967 album '' 2 in 3''. It became an international hit single in 1968.

Original version

Esther Ofarim and the

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...

first performed "Cinderella Rockefella" on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

variety program ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' is an American television comedy, comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially consid ...

'' in April 1967.

, who co-wrote the song, was a writer for the series. Ofarim recorded the song with her husband Abi Ofarim that year. The words of the song imitate yodelling, with a somewhat 1920s-style arrangement structured like a twelve-bar blues. The single was released on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

in February 1968 in the UK. Esther & Abi Ofarim made an appearance on ''The

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

Show'' on ITV to promote it in the UK. The single peaked at No. 1 in the British singles chart on 5 March 1968, where it remained for three weeks. It was also No. 1 on the ''NME'' chart for four weeks. As of 2020, Esther & Abi Ofarim remain the only act from Israel to achieve a UK No. 1 single. The record was an international hit, reaching the top 10 in various countries. It was less successful in the U.S., peaking at No. 68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in May 1968. The song appeared on the albums ''2 in 3'' (1967) in Europe and ''Cinderella Rockefella'' (1968) in the US. According to

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...

DJ Andy Archer, the song was the last to be played on Radio Caroline South on the night of 2–3 March 1968, before its radio ship (like that of its sister station Radio Caroline North) was towed into harbour over unpaid debts on the morning of 3 March. Williams recorded his own version of the song for his 1968 album ''The Mason Williams Ear Show'' on Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. For his rendition the duet vocal was performed by one of his ''Smothers Brothers'' collaborators,

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

Critical reception

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 ...

'' (9 March 1968): "Out of the left field arena of novelty songs comes this wierd 'sic''rollick complete with mock yodel and tuba-banjo backdrop. Crazy romp that shows the duo in rare form, very rare for these 'straight' talents. Could very easily repeat the track’s monster Enlish 'sic''breakout on this side of the Atlantic. Exceptional long shot." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' (9 March 1968): "Hilarious parody duet that is camp enough to connect with the populace. Pair are terrific."

Chart performance

Cover versions

*In 1968, Australian husband-and-wife duo Anne & Johnny Hawker reached No. 12 with their rendition on Australia's ''Go-Set'' National Top 40 chart. *In 1968, Italian band

Quartetto Cetra ; ) was an Italian jazz vocal quartet established during the early 1940s and active until 1988. Career The band was based on the Mills Brothers and started performing under the name Quartetto Egie from the initials of the singers' first names: En ...

created an Italian cover for a 45RPM. *During the early 1970s,

The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

performed the song as part of their live shows, including a 1972 show in Australia. *In the 2004 Israeli film '' Walk on Water'', Knut Berger and Caroline Peters perform a karaoke version of the song, sung by Rita and Ivri Lider.

References

External links

Mark Steyn Mark Steyn () is a Canadian author and a radio, television, and on-line presenter. He has written several books, including The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' bestsellers ''America Alone'', ''After America (Steyn book), A ...

, Cinderella Rockefella: Song of the Week
Where did they get that song?
{{authority control Esther & Abi Ofarim songs 1967 songs 1968 singles Pinky and Perky songs Comedy songs UK singles chart number-one singles Songs written by Mason Williams Philips Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Male–female vocal duets Satirical songs Yodeling songs