"Mickey" (also titled "Hey Mickey"; originally titled as "Kitty") is a song recorded by American singer

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her cover of the song " Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Austral ...

for her debut studio album, ''

Word of Mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...

'' (1981). It was first recorded by the pop group Racey, titled "Kitty".

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

and

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the US and UK in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international record c ...

wrote the song, while production was helmed by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch. Basil's version is new wave, featuring

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s and cheerleading chants.

Background

The song was originally performed by British pop group Racey, with the title "Kitty", and was included on their debut studio album ''Smash and Grab'' in 1979. The original Racey song did not include the "Oh Mickey, you're so fine" chant, which Basil added. For many years it was rumored that the name was changed to Mickey on speculations that Basil had developed a crush on

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

' drummer and lead vocalist

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. ( ; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician and actor. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the TV series ''T ...

after meeting him on the set of their film ''

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

'', for which she was the

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. However, that claim has been denied by Basil, who said that she "didn't really know Micky at all". In January 2020, Basil released a re-recording of the song as "Hey Mickey" to digital and streaming platforms.

Legal claims

On August 31, 2017, Basil filed a multi-claim lawsuit against Razor & Tie Direct,

Forever 21 F21 OpCo LLC, trade name, doing business as Forever 21, was a multinational fast-fashion retailer. It was originally founded as Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles, Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984.Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, Viacom,

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

, and ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''. Basil alleged that the defendants had commercially used the song "Mickey" without a license and damaged her

right of publicity Personality rights, sometimes referred to as the right of publicity, are rights for an individual to control the commercial use of their identity, such as name, image, likeness, or other unequivocal identifiers. They are generally considered as p ...

, claiming excess of $25,000 in damages. Basil also filed a lawsuit against

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

on May 12, 2020, for the unauthorized use of "Mickey" in a trailer for ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

''. On August 27, 2020, a California state of appeals court affirmed dismissal of Basil's case.

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

Alfred Music Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. History In New York Cit ...

, the song is written in the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

and is set in

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of common time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 145

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Basil's vocal range spans two octaves, from B₃ to C♯₅.

Critical reception

Rock critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

commented on the perceived 'obscene' content of the lyric "So come on and give it to me / Any way you can / Any way you want to do it / I'll take it like a man". Christgau wrote in a review at the time that Basil "was the only woman ever to offer to take it up the ass on Top 40 radio." However, Basil has adamantly denied that the song is about anal sex, stating: "NO! That's ridiculous." The single reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week and number two on the UK Singles Chart. It is Basil's only top 40 success. The song was ranked at number 6 on

's "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s".

Music video

The music video was directed, produced and choreographed by Basil herself. The cheerleaders featured in the video were members of a championship squad from Carson High School in Carson, California. The cheerleading uniform Basil wore in the music video was the one she actually wore in high school. According to Basil, "They didn't put anything in the budget, I did everything myself. And this is the actual cheer sweater from Las Vegas High."

Track listings and formats

US 7" single #"Mickey" – 3:36 #"Thief on the Loose" – 3:50 International 7" single #"Mickey" – 3:36 #"Hanging Around" – 4:06 US 12" single #"Mickey" (Special Club mix) (Short) – 4:32 #"Mickey" (Special Club mix) (Long) – 5:58 Alternate US 12" single #"Mickey" (Special Club mix) – 5:58 #"Mickey" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

version) – 5:12 *7" single #"Mickey" – 3:30 #"Hanging Around" – 3:59 *SG CD single (1994) #"Mickey" (Original Version) – 3:29 #"Mickey" (7" New Mix) – 6:03 #"Mickey" (12" New Mix) – 4:13 #"Mickey" (12" Alternative Version) – 3:57 #"Mickey" (7" Instrumental) – 6:16 #"Mickey" (7" Smart E's Version) – 6:04 #"Mickey" (12" Smart E's Version – 6:16 #"Mickey" (Smart E's Dub) – 6:16 *US CD single (1999) #"Mickey" (Radio Remix) – 3:29 #"Mickey" ("Back to the Future" Club Mix) – 6:03 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Edit) – 3:57 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Mix) – 6:16 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Dub) – 6:04 *HK CD single (1999) #"Mickey" (Radio Remix) – 3:29 #"Mickey" ("Back to the Future" Club Mix) – 6:03 #"Mickey" ( Jason Nevins Radio Remix) – 4:13 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Edit) – 3:57 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Mix) – 6:16 #"Mickey" ("Killa Klub" Dub) – 6:04 *Digital rerecording (2020) #"Hey Mickey" – 4:12 Credits and personnel adapted from ''Word of Mouth'' album liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Lolly version

English singer Lolly covered "Mickey" which was released in September 1999 as the second single from her debut album '' My First Album''. Her version reached number four on the UK Singles Chart the same month. A karaoke version appears on both the single and album.

Track listings

UK CD1 and Australian CD single #"Mickey" – 3:35 #"Sweetheart" – 2:52 #"Mickey" (

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

version) – 3:35 #"Mickey" (CD ROM video) UK CD2 #"Mickey" – 3:35 #"Mickey" (Creator remix) – 5:58 #"Mickey" (D-Bop remix edit) – 4:22 #"Mickey" (The Bold & the Beautiful remix) – 5:50 UK cassette single #"Mickey" – 3:35 #"Mickey" (karaoke version) – 3:35

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Carola Häggkvist released a Swedish version of the song in 1983, which achieved success in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. The Swedish version had lyrics written by Ingela "Pling" Forsman for the 1983 album '' Främling''. Japanese comedian-musician Gorie reached no. 1 on the Japanese singles chart with a Japanese-language version featuring vocals by American-born Jasmine Ann Allen.

Samplings

The entire structure of the Run–D.M.C. song " It's Tricky" was consciously lifted from "Mickey". According to DMC: "I just changed the chorus around and we just talked about how this rap business can be tricky to a brother." The song "Hey, Mickey!" by American rapper Baby Tate interpolates the chorus from "Mickey". On February 20, 2024, an official dance video was released. The video featured Tate and a group of backup dancers dressed as

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

, similar to the original video for "Mickey".

References

External links

* {{authority control 1979 songs 1982 singles 1999 singles Toni Basil songs Lolly (singer) songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Bubblegum pop songs Carola Häggkvist songs Cheerleading Chrysalis Records singles Music videos directed by Toni Basil Number-one singles in Australia Obscenity controversies in music Polydor Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Mike Chapman Songs written by Mike Chapman Songs written by Nicky Chinn Virgin Records singles Cover songs Glam rock songs

Background

Legal claims

Composition

Critical reception

Music video

Track listings and formats

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Lolly version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

Samplings

See also

References

External links