The Singing Dogs

The Singing Dogs

The Singing Dogs was a musical recording project under whose name two 45rpm singles were released in the 1950s. The idea for the Singing Dogs came from Danish recording engineer Carl Weismann who recorded the sounds of various species of birds. But barking dogs often spoiled the recordings. Weismann found a new use for these spoiled takes by splicing together the pitches of dog barks into the pattern of songs. He teamed up with Don Charles, a record producer working in Copenhagen, Denmark (not the same person as an English record producer also named Don Charles). Weismann used recordings of five dogs barking (their names were Dolly, Pearl, Pussy, Caesar, and King), spliced them on reel-to-reel tape, and arranged the pitches to the tune of the Stephen Foster song "Oh! Susanna". Charles provided the musical accompaniment. This was released by RCA Victor in 1955 as the A-side on a 7" single, with the B-side a medley of "Pat-a-Cake", "Three Blind Mice", and "Jingle Bells". The novelty record became a hit, reaching #22 on the US Billboard Pop Singles chart. The disc eventually sold over a million copies. In 1956, the troupe of dogs (with a fifth member, Pussy) were again recorded, yielding the single "Hot Dog Rock 'n Roll" b/w "Hot Dog Boogie". This recording is listed as being "directed" by Carl Weismann. In 1983, RCA reissued "Jingle Bells" as a single, becoming a Christmas hit on virtually every radio format, since then the track has received frequent media exposure during the Christmas and holiday season although it appears its fame and popularity peaked in the 1970s.

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