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(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?

"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular novelty song written by Bob Merrill and first registered on September 25, 1952, as "The Doggie in the Window". On January 27, 1953, its sheet music was published in New York as "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window".[1]

"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?"

"My Jealous Eyes"

January 1953 (US)
March 28, 1953 (UK)

December 18, 1952
with "Barks by Joe and Mac"

Novelty, traditional pop

2:58

Mercury (US)
Oriole (UK)

Bob Merrill

The best-known version of the song was the original, recorded by Patti Page on December 18, 1952, and released in January 1953 by Mercury Records as catalog numbers 70070 (78 rpm) and 70070X45 (45 rpm) under the title "The Doggie in the Window", with the flip side being "My Jealous Eyes". It reached No. 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953 and sold over two million copies.[2] Mercury, however, had poor distribution in the United Kingdom. Therefore, a recording by Lita Roza was the one most widely heard in that country, reaching No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1953.[3] It distinguished Roza as the first British woman to have a No. 1 hit in the UK chart and was also the first song with a question in the title to reach the top spot.[3]

Patti Page recording[edit]

Background[edit]

"Doggie" was one in a series of successful novelty songs since the 1930s, following on the success of songs such as Bing Crosby's "Pistol Packin' Mama" and Merv Griffin's "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts". Prior to the release of "Doggie", composer Bob Merrill penned "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake".[4] The original Page recording included the sounds of dogs barking, credited on the label as "Barks by Joe and Mac" (her arranger, Joe Reisman, and a violinist). The recording also features Page's signature multi-part tight harmonies, all sung by Page. Over the course of her career, she also recorded several other versions.

Popular reception[edit]

On April 4, 1953, singer Patti Page's rendition of "The Doggie in the Window" went to No. 1 in the US Billboard magazine chart, staying at that top spot for eight weeks.[4] The song was wildly popular across a wide demographic. The song had school children "yipping", Mercury Records was besieged with requests for free puppies, and the American Kennel Club's annual registrations spiked by eight percent. In all, Page's record sold over 2 million copies.[4] It was the third best-selling song of 1953.[5]


Following the UK top ten debut of Lita Roza's cover version on March 19, 1953, the Patti Page version of the song was released in the UK on March 28, renamed "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window" (sans question mark), under Mercury's Oriole Records label. Given the delay getting to market in the UK, it was not as successful as the Roza version, entering the charts at No. 9 on April 2, before leaving the charts altogether five weeks later.[6] The Roza version reached No. 1 on April 23, where it stayed for a single week. For five weeks between March 28, 1953, and April 25, 1953, there were two versions of "Doggie" in the UK's Top 12 singles chart.[7][8]

"(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window"

"Tell Me We'll Meet Again"

January 27, 1953

March 1953

18 February 1953

Novelty, traditional pop

2:21

Decca Records

Bob Merrill

Dick Rowe

In 1953, the year of the original's release, country musicians , "the thinking man's hillbillies," released their parody, "How Much Is That Hound Dog in the Window?" ("Window" was pronounced "winder", and the lyrics continued with, "... I do hope that flea bag's for sale....") It was to become an enormous hit – their first crossover hit – and rose to No. 2 on Billboard's country charts.[24] It also made number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Homer & Jethro

A version by Mickey Katz entitled "(How Much Is) That Pickle in the Window" was released when the song was first popular in 1953.[25][26]

Yiddish

Another notable (but hardly known) parody, according to David English, former president of – which went on to become Eric Clapton's and the Bee Gees' record label – was the very first record released by that company in 1973, with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The record was "Window The In Doggie (That is Much How)" – sung to the tune of "Doggie", but with each line of lyrics sung backwards.[27] According to the pseudonyms listed on the label, the artist was "Rover", the song was produced by "Jo Rice", and it was arranged by "Don Gould". English would later quip that the record "sold about eight copies".[28]

RSO Records

"How much is that window in the doggie ?" was written by the quadriplegic cartoonist . A pane of glass falls from a building and slices into a man's seeing-eye dog. A child observer asks the inverted question. Callahan's cartoons often dealt with taboo subjects.[29]

John Callahan

List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1950s

List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)

List of number-one singles of 1953 (U.S.)

Archived 2013-01-21 at the Wayback Machine

Patti Page official website

Archived 2011-04-01 at the Wayback Machine

Lita Roza official website

Image of original record label of Page's "The Doggie In the Window" (45 rpm)

Image of the same track released in the U.K. as "(How Much Is) That Doggie In the Window"

Image of Lita Roza's single

chords

"How Much Is That Doggie in the Window"

Humane Society – Audio and lyrics to "Do You See That Doggie in the Shelter?"