Released July 26, 2000 Recorded 1999 Length 3:18 | Format CD single Genre Soca
junkanoo
calypso Label S-Curve | |
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" is a song performed by Bahamian group Baha Men, released as a single on July 26, 2000. Originally written by Anslem Douglas (titled "Doggie") for the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival season of 1998, it was covered by producer Jonathan King under the name Fat Jakk and his Pack of Pets. He brought the song to the attention of his friend Steve Greenberg, who then had the Baha Men cover the song. The song became the band's first hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, and it gained popularity after appearing in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and its soundtrack album.
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The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, as well as topping the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and peaked within the top forty of the charts in the United States. It was Britain's fourth biggest-selling single of 2000, and went on to become one of the highest-selling singles of the decade not to reach number-one. The track went on to win the Grammy for Best Dance Recording on the 2001 Grammy Awards. It was the subject of a major lawsuit over copyright ownership that was settled.
Background
Band member Dyson Knight told Vice that the song "...was originally sung by a Trinidadian artist whose name is Anslem Douglas. The manager of the Baha Men at that time heard a version of the song in Europe. He called [Knight's bandmate] Isaiah [Taylor] and told him it was an absolute must that Baha Men record that song, because they had the vibe to make it a huge hit. Isaiah heard the song and said there was 'no way in hell we're recording that song'...Management had the vision, and the Baha Men were reluctant, but the group went in and recorded it anyway."
Critical reception
In a poll conducted in 2007, by Rolling Stone to identify the 20 most annoying songs, this song was ranked third. It was also ranked first on Spinner's 2008 list of "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever". Rolling Stone also ranked it at No. 8 on a poll to identify the worst songs of the 1990s.
The Anslem Douglas version was played throughout the English-speaking Caribbean and in cities with large Caribbean populations in 1998. After the Baha Men re-released the song, it became a ubiquitous sports anthem at stadiums and arenas throughout the world based largely on the efforts of a sports marketing company hired by the song's producer, Steve Greenberg. Pro Sports Music Marketing founder Frederic Traube introduced and marketed the song to sports stadiums, following the lead of Wingspan Records, which first introduced the song to the Mississippi State Bulldogs who made it their theme song.
Music video
In the original music video, a parody of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (then hosted by Regis Philbin) called presumably "Who Wants to Be a Zillionaire" is depicted at the start, where a contestant is given the zillion dollar question "Who let the dogs out?". The dogs in the video then escape from a police station. In other parts of the video, the dogs chase people around the same area in which the band is performing. One of them includes a mailman.
A new version of the video debuted at the end of the VHS release of Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, where it was re-edited to feature clips of the film throughout. The Millionaire parody at the beginning is also replaced with the photo shoot scene from the movie as well.
Use in sporting events
The first use of the song at an American sporting event was at Mississippi State University. The university's mascot is the Bulldog, and the university school first played the song during football games in the fall of 1998 using the version sung by Chuck Smooth. It was accompanied by the crowd singing along and the team performing a dance on the field called "The Dawg Pound Rock" just before a kickoff. Later the Southeastern Conference ruled that they could not perform the dance on the field, so the team moved it to the sidelines. Several other teams followed suit, and the song quickly became a national phenomenon.
In June 2000, Gregg Greene, then Director of Promotions for the Seattle Mariners, was the first to play the Baha Men's version of "Who Let the Dogs Out" at a Major League Baseball game. He debuted the tune as a joke for the team's backup catcher, Joe Oliver. Two days later, shortstop Alex Rodriguez requested the song be used as his walk-up music, and it quickly became the Mariners team anthem. The Baha Men performed at Safeco Field during a Mariners game in September 2000. The New York Mets, however, have claimed that they were the first MLB team to adopt the song, to which ESPN.com humorously commented "This is a little like scientists arguing over who discovered a deadly virus". The Baha Men recorded a version of the song that changed the chorus to "Who let the Mets out?" and all the lyrics to reflect the team and its players, which was played at Shea Stadium throughout the Mets' 2000 postseason run, including a live performance on the Shea Stadium field before Game 4 of the 2000 World Series against the New York Yankees. The song was written by David Brody of Z100 New York and recorded by the Baha Men initially for Z100. Brody then gave the song to the Mets to play at Shea. Brody has also written songs for the 2006, 2007, and 2015 Mets. Richard Hidalgo used the original song as his entrance music while playing for the Houston Astros.
The song is the theme song for Monster Mutt & Monster Mutt Rottweiler while freestyling in Monster Jam. It was also the first song played at Buffalo Blizzard games after kickoff for the 2001 NPSL season.
In the United Kingdom, the song was quickly appropriated by Liverpool supporters under then-manager Gérard Houllier. Regular chants of 'Hou led the reds out' by Liverpool fans (a reference to Liverpool's cup treble in 2001) were followed soon after by opposition fans' chants of 'Hou had a heart attack' (a reference to Houllier's illness in October 2001).
Miscellaneous
The song has also been one of Siri's hidden Easter Eggs. In June 2014, since the beta testing of iOS 8, Apple inc. have retired the joke and have replaced the reply with "Due to unforeseen circumstances, that witticism has been retired." It only affected iOS 8 beta testers. It was not until August 2014 when it finally made a widespread Siri retirement.