"Hoop-Dee-Doo" is a popular song published in 1950 with music by Milton De Lugg and lyrics by Frank Loesser and released as a single by Australian children's band The Wiggles from their 2001 album Hoop-Dee-Doo! It's a Wiggly Party!. The lyrics of this song are sometimes cited for their use of the phrase "soup and fish", meaning a man's formal dinner suit. This phrase is commonly thought to have originated with P.G. Wodehouse's "Bertie Wooster" stories, but according to the website World Wide Words, there was an even earlier American usage.
Recorded versions
Charting versions
The most popular recording of the song was made by Perry Como and The Fontane Sisters, with Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra. It was recorded on March 16, 1950, and released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-3747 and 47-3747 in the United States, and by HMV as a 78rpm record, catalog number B-9925. The flip side of the US release by RCA Victor was "On the Outgoing Tide", and the flip side of the UK release by HMV was "I Wanna Go Home ". It first reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on April 21, 1950, and lasted 17 weeks on the chart, peaking at #4. Other sources indicate that the Como recording of the song reached #1 on some of the Billboard charts of the day. The recording by Kay Starr was recorded on March 31, 1950, and released by Capitol Records as catalog number 980, with the flip side "A Woman Likes to Be Told". It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on May 12, 1950, and lasted 8 weeks on the chart, peaking at #14. Other sources indicate that the Starr recording of the song reached #2 on some of the Billboard charts of the day, first entering the chart on May 6. The Starr recording was also issued by Capitol in the United Kingdom in 1950 as catalog number CL-13309, with the flip side "Poor Papa". The recording by Doris Day was recorded in March 1950 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38771, with the flip side "Marriage Ties". It first reached the Billboard Best Seller chart on May 19, 1950, and lasted 5 weeks on the chart, peaking at #18. Other sources indicate that Day's recording of the song reached #17 on some of the Billboard charts of the day, first entering the chart on May 6. The recording by Russ Morgan and his orchestra was released by Decca Records as catalog numbers 24986 and 28024. It entered the Billboard chart on May 27, 1950, and peaked at position #15. This recording was issued in the United Kingdom by Brunswick Records as catalog number 04510. All versions were released with the flip side "Down the Lane" except that Decca 28024 was issued with the flip side "Metro Polka".
