"Stranded in the Jungle" is a song originally recorded by the American

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

group

the Jay Hawks The Vibrations were an American soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's hit singles were " My Girl Sloopy" (1964) and "Love in Them There Hills" (1968). They also had a hi ...

. It was written by Ernestine Smith and the band's first tenor, James Johnson. The Jay Hawks' version of the song peaked at No. 18 on the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' Best Selling Popular Retail Records Chart.

Cover versions

Recording cover versions of contemporary songs was standard industry practice during the 1940s and 1950s. A hit song could generate many different versions: pop and instrumental,

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, hillbilly and others by a variety of artists. The American doo wop group, The Cadets, were the first to cover the Jay Hawks' hit, with the Gadabouts not far behind. All three groups proved to be

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

s, with "Stranded in the Jungle" being the only top-40 hit for any of them, although The Jay Hawks had other hits under the names

The Vibrations The Vibrations were an American soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's hit singles were " My Girl Sloopy" (1964) and "Love in Them There Hills" (1968). They also had a h ...

and The Marathons. The Rhythm Rockets and the Johnston Brothers (

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "In the Middle of the House" by the Johnston Brothers and the Keynotes) also covered it in 1956.

Cadets version

The Cadets' "Stranded in the Jungle" is likely the best known version. It sat at No. 16 on the Best Selling Popular Retail Records Chart the same week the Jay Hawks' version reached No. 18 (18 July 1956). A week later, it peaked at No. 15 on the sales chart and at No. 3 on the U.S. Rhythm and Blues chart (the Gadabouts peaked at No. 39 on the pop chart one week later). The Cadets version features spoken verses by

Will "Dub" Jones Will J. "Dub" Jones (May 14, 1928 – January 16, 2000) was an American R&B singer. He was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and died in Long Beach, California.

(who would go on to sing bass on most of

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

' hits) with a duet refrain by Willie Davis and Aaron Collins. It was after the second verse that Prentice Moreland delivers the line, "Great Googa Mooga! Lemme outta here!"

Later versions

The next version of "Stranded in the Jungle" came in 1965 as the B-side of the Fearsome Foursome's "Fly in the Buttermilk" single.

Shorty Long Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long (May 20, 1940 – June 29, 1969) was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1980. Career Long was ...

followed in 1968, and Jett Powers followed in 1970. "Stranded in the Jungle" was covered by the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

on their 1974 album '' Too Much Too Soon'', and released as its lead single. It was also included on their 1994

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, '' Rock'n Roll''. A biography on the life of their drummer

Jerry Nolan Gerard Nolan (May 7, 1946 – January 14, 1992) was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers. Career A native of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Nolan joined the New York Dolls in the autumn of ...

by Curt Weiss is entitled ''Stranded in the Jungle''. Dolls lead singer

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...

included a live version of it on his 1982 album, '' Live It Up''. Other bands to make versions of "Stranded in the Jungle" include Crazy Joe and the Variable Speed Band (1981), the Mighty Flyers (1984),

Big Dipper The Big Dipper (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or the Plough (British English, UK, Hiberno-English, Ireland) is an asterism (astronomy), asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them ar ...

(1990),

The Nylons The Nylons were an a cappella group founded in 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, best known for their covers of pop songs such as The Turtles' " Happy Together", Steam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", and The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight ...

(1996), and

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American country rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944, in Boise, Idaho; died September ...

(2007). In 1998 the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based

punk-rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

combo

Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...

covered the song but with a much faster and harder tempo. It was covered by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

during the North American leg of his 1976 tour, and released posthumously in 2009 on the album ''

Philly '76 ''Philly '76'' is a live album by Frank Zappa, recorded on October 29, 1976 at the Wachovia Spectrum, Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and released by the Zappa Family Trust on December 21, 2009 to commemorate Frank Zappa's 69th birthday. ...

''.

Gene Summers David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s " School of Rock 'n Roll", " Straight Skirt", " Nervous", " Gotta Lotta T ...

released a cover version of the song on his album ''Taboo!'' released in 2011. In 2003,

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK ...

embarked upon an ill-fated attempt to raise awareness of the plight of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

mountain gorilla The mountain gorilla (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN . There are two populations: One is found in the Virunga Mountains, Virunga volcanic mountains of C ...

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

by reworking " Stand and Deliver" into "Save the Gorilla." "Save the Gorilla" was part of a five track EP of jungle themed songs, "Stranded in the Jungle" included, set for release on 17 November 2003. "Stand and Deliver" co-writer

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the la ...

and

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

blocked its release just days before its intended release, and it never saw the light of day.

References

{{Authority control 1956 songs 1956 singles Modern Records singles New York Dolls songs Gene Summers songs