"Gilly Gilly Ossenfeffer Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea" is a
popular song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
written by
Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...
and
Dick Manning
Dick Manning (born Samuel Medoff (Самуил Медов), June 12, 1912 – April 11, 1991) was a Russian-American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman. Manning composed the first full-length musical to be broad ...
and published in 1954.
It was a hit in 1954 in both the United States and United Kingdom, albeit for different artists.
The Four Lads
The best-known version in the United States was recorded by
the Four Lads
The Four Lads were a Irish male singing quartet that earned many gold singles and albums in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Their million-selling signature tunes include " Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; " No, Not Much"; " Who Ne ...
with teenage girl Lillian Pasciolla and others on February 27, 1954.
The recording by the Four Lads was released in the US by
as catalog number 40236.
Released in May that year,
it first reached the
''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on July 3, 1954, peaking at number 18.
Max Bygraves version
The best-known version in the United Kingdom is by
Max Bygraves
Walter William "Max" Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012) was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs.
He made twenty ''Roya ...
, with his performance recorded on 23 June 1954, with a children's chorus and orchestra directed by
Frank Cordell
Frank Cordell (1 June 1918 – 6 July 1980) was a British composer, arranger and conductor, who was active with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also composed music under the name Frank Meilleur or Meillear (Meillear being his mother's ma ...
, and released in the UK by
His Master's Voice
His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
in September 1954
as catalog number B 10734. It entered the
UK Singles Chart on 10 September 1954. It spent eight weeks on the chart, peaking at number 7.
The "children" were from the
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...
.
Media
The song has been featured in the game known as "
One Song to the Tune of Another" in the long-running
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
radio comedy
Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elemen ...
panel game
A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
, ''
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by the host. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody of ...
'', such as in Series Nine, Episode 1, where it was performed by
Willie Rushton
William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, comedian actor and satirist who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''.
Early life
Rushton was born 18 August 1937 at 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, ...
.
Heino Gaze wrote the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
lyrics, although the German song title was rendered as "Gilli-Gilli, Oxenpfeffer, Katzenellenbogen".
Bibi Johns und Die Starlets, with Franz Thon und das Tanzorchester des NWDR, Hamburg,
recorded it in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
on September 5, 1954. The song was released by
Electrola
Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano.
History
On 8 May 1925, the British Gramophone Com ...
(German label owned by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
).
See also
*
Katzenellenbogen
References
1954 songs
The Four Lads songs
Songs written by Al Hoffman
Songs written by Dick Manning
Max Bygraves songs
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