"Short Shorts" is a song written and performed by Tom Austin, Bill Crandell, Bill Dalton, Russ Viers, and
Bob Gaudio
Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote and produced the vast majori ...
, members of The Royal Teens. It reached #2 on the U.S. R&B chart and #3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1958. The group originally released the track on the small New York label Power Records in 1957.
In an interview with Newsweek, Dalton explained how the song came to be written: "We were practicing one night at my house, and one guy started putting some notes together. Another guy picked it up and added some more. Before we knew it we had a tune. During the next three weeks we added and changed and polished until we had it the way we wanted it. Later, the four of us were riding down the street in
Bergenfield
Bergenfield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 28,321, an increase of 1,557 from the 2010 censuscount of 26,764,''Billboard's'' Year-End top 50 singles of 1958.
Other charting versions
* The Salsoul Orchestra released it as a single which reached #106 on the U.S. pop chart in 1977.
Other versions
* Tiny Bradshaw and His Orchestra, as a single in 1958, which did not chart.
* Tommy Sands, as part of a medley with "(I'm) All Shook Up", " Splish Splash", and " Hound Dog" on his 1960 live album, '' Sands at the Sands''.
* Freddie and the Dreamers, on their 1965 album, ''Frantic Freddie''.
*From the 1970s to the 90s, the song was adapted into the campaign slogan "We wear short shorts, ''Nair'' for short shorts" in commercials for '' Nair'' hair removal products.
*'' The Simpsons'' featured the song four times, in the episodes " Homer the Heretic" (1992), "
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer
"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)", () also known as "The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer", is the ninth episode of the The Simpsons (season 8), eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Sim ...
(The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" (1997), " She of Little Faith" (2001), and "
Sweets and Sour Marge
"Sweets and Sour Marge" is the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 20, 2002. In the episode, Homer gather ...
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 Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' episode "Stu & Stewie's Excellent Adventure", a sixty-something Joe Swanson living in the year 2035 sang, "Who wears short shorts? ''I'' wear short shorts!!" while flaunting the legs transplanted from his now-deceased wife Bonnie.