Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Last updated
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"
Song by James Baskett
Recorded1946
Genre
Length2:19
Composer(s) Allie Wrubel
Lyricist(s) Ray Gilbert

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South , sung by James Baskett. [1] For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song [1] and was the second Disney song to win this award, after "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio (1940). [1] In 2004, it finished at number 47 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs , a survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Contents

Disney historian Jim Korkis said the word "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" was reportedly invented by Walt Disney, who was fond of nonsense words such as "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" from Cinderella (1950) and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins (1964). [2] Ken Emerson, author of the book Doo-dah!: Stephen Foster And The Rise Of American Popular Culture, believes that the song is influenced by the chorus of the pre-Civil War folk song "Zip Coon", a "Turkey in the Straw" variation: "O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day". [3]

Since 2020, Disney has disassociated itself from the song due to the longstanding controversy over racial connotations associated with Song of the South, with the song largely being removed from music loops in the company's theme parks. [4]

Notable versions

The Walt Disney Company never released a single from the soundtrack.

Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans version

"Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah"
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Bob B. Soxx.jpg
Single by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans
from the album Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah
B-side "Flip and Nitty"
Released1962
Studio Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Pop
Length2:40
Label Philles
Songwriter(s) Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert
Producer(s) Phil Spector
Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans singles chronology
"Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah"
(1962)
"Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart"
(1962)

Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, a Phil Spector-produced American rhythm and blues trio from Los Angeles, recorded "Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah" using the Wrecking Crew [9] in late 1962. According to the Beatles' George Harrison: "When Phil Spector was making 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah', the engineer who's set up the track overloaded the microphone on the guitar player and it became very distorted. Phil Spector said, 'Leave it like that, it's great.' Some years later everyone started to try to copy that sound and so they invented the fuzz box." [10] The song also marked the first time his Wall of Sound production formula was fully executed. [11]

In 1963, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans took their version of the song to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 7 on the Hot R&B Singles chart. [12] Their song also peaked at number 45 in the UK Singles Chart the same year. [1] The song was included on the only album the group ever recorded, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, issued on the Philles Records label.

Track listings

  1. "Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah" – 2:40
  2. "Flip and Nitty" – 2:20

Personnel

This version was sung by the following people: [13] [14]

For many years, the song was part of an opening theme medley for the Wonderful World of Disney television program and it has often been used in other TV and video productions by the studio, including being sung as an audition piece by a series of children in the Disney film Life with Mikey . It is one of many popular songs that features a bluebird ("Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder"), epitomized by the "bluebird of happiness", as a symbol of cheer.

The song is also the Departure melody of platform 1 of Maihama Station in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan due to its proximity to the Tokyo Disney Resort.

The song was performed by Muppet bunnies in a 1980 episode of The Muppet Show guest starring Alan Arkin.

The song is sung by Tom Hanks in several scenes from Walt Disney Studios' 1984 film Splash .

The song is used in Splash Mountain, a log flume ride based on Song of the South at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, and formerly at Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida.

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is sung at some point in Paul McCartney's film, Give My Regards to Broad Street .

The Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" animated cartoon "Journey to the Disney Vault" features a brief parody of the song. This rendition replaces "My, oh my, what a wonderful day! Plenty of sunshine headin' my way!" with Uncle Remus instead singing the lyrics, "Negroes are inferior in every way. Whites are much cleaner, that's what I say." [15]

The phrase is mentioned on the song Klap Ya Handz from the debut album of hip-hop group Das EFX, when Krayz Drayz utters the line, "So zippity doo, da day, whoops I gots stuck."

Tom Cruise uses the name of the song to help prove a point in the movie A Few Good Men .

A variant of the song is sung by Kurt Russell in Overboard .

In the 2012 "Disneyland" episode of the ABC sitcom Modern Family , Manny mentions the song when he comments in reference to the lack of cell reception on Splash Mountain: "Do you know how many bars I had? Zip-a-dee-doo-dah."

Related Research Articles

<i>Song of the South</i> 1946 American live-action animated film

Song of the South is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted by Joel Chandler Harris, and stars James Baskett as Uncle Remus in his final film role. The film takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. The story follows seven-year-old Johnny who is visiting his grandmother's plantation for an extended stay. Johnny befriends Uncle Remus, an elderly worker on the plantation, and takes joy in hearing his tales about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear. Johnny learns from the stories how to cope with the challenges he is experiencing while living on the plantation.

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Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans was an early 1960s vocal group produced by Phil Spector, and was initially conceived as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen, who took the stage name Bob B. Soxx. The Blue Jeans were backing vocalists Darlene Love and Fanita James, both of whom were also members of the girl group the Blossoms.

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Splash Mountain is a log flume ride at Tokyo Disneyland. It was formerly located at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The attraction is based on the animated sequences of Disney's 1946 film Song of the South. The ride experience begins with a peaceful outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop into a "briar patch" followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet.

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