"Shipoopi" is a song in the 1957 musical ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' by

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...

. The song is sung by the character of Marcellus Washburn, a friend of con man "Professor" Harold Hill. It occurs in act 2 of the play during the dance committee's rehearsal which the town kids interrupt. The dialogue surrounding the song does not explain the meaning of the term ''shipoopi'', which Willson said that he invented for the song. When the high school kids want to dance, Marcellus asks which song they want to hear; Tommy Djilas replies "The Shipoopi", which seems to indicate that "shipoopi" is a dance. The chorus states that it means a "girl who's hard to get", and the first stanza says a woman who waits until the third date to kiss is "your shipoopi". In the original 1957

Broadway production Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the List of ...

, the song was performed by actor

Iggie Wolfington Ignatius Wolfington (October 14, 1919 – September 30, 2004) was an American actor. He was the youngest member of the prominent Wolfington family of Philadelphia, operators of a carriage business early in the 20th century and brother of the foun ...

, who portrayed Marcellus Washburn. In the 1962 film version of The ''Music Man'', Marcellus is played by

Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...

. According to the film documentary included with the extended DVD release, choreographer

Onna White Onna White (March 24, 1922 – April 8, 2005) was a Canadian choreographer and dancer, nominated for eight Tony Awards. Early life and career Born in Inverness, Nova Scotia, White began taking dance lessons at the age of twelve, and eventual ...

was able to take Hackett, not known as a dancer, and make him into a dancer for this number. In the 2022 Broadway revival, the lyrics for the song were altered, with new lyrics by

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Br ...

and

Scott Wittman Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for Broadway, concerts, and television. Life and career Wittman was raised in Nanuet, New York, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and a ...

In popular culture

*In "

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", the 20th episode of the fourth season of the animated TV series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...

'',

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leads the crowd (except for

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with whic ...

, who guest starred as himself in the episode) in a full rendition of "Shipoopi" after he scores a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

as a member of the

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football team. *In the TV series ''

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'', the song was featured in an episode about a false report of the death of Buddy Hackett. *

Vern Fonk Vernon L. Fonk (June 5, 1955 – May 22, 2006) was a Seattle entrepreneur best known for founding Vern Fonk Insurance, a high-risk auto insurance agency with seventeen offices, servicing Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Vern Fonk Insurance is well ...

, an

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provider in the U.S.

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, known for off-color and humorous commercials, uses the phrase ''shipoopi'' in his commercial "Dance". * In Season 4, Episode 2 of ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has ...

'', the song is performed by some singing and dancing "butt monsters".

References

Songs from The Music Man 1957 songs Songs written by Meredith Willson {{1950s-song-stub