Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah! (A Letter From Camp) – Allan Sherman | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2 for 3 weeks); 1963
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Comedian Alan Sherman was four months shy of his 40th birthday, with two number one albums under his belt, when Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah began its meteoric rise on the singles chart.
In rapid fire fashion, it broke at #45, then moved to #17, #7, and peaked at #2. Alan’s show biz career reached back to the early 1950’s when he wrote comedy bits for Jackie Gleason, recorded song parodies, and created the hit television show I’ve Got A Secret.
He moved from success to success into the 1960’s, releasing the third in his “my son” albums – My Son, The Nut – in 1963. The LP jumped to #1 as quickly as the Muddah single, whose melody Alan took from Ponchielli’s Dance Of The Hours.
My Son, The Nut walked away with a Grammy for Best Comedy Performance in May of 1964, and a live version of Muddah, taken from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, reached #59 in August.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Jimmy Hilliard
Lyrics Written by:
- Amilcare Ponchielli
- Allan Sherman
- Lou Busch
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).