Whoomp! (There It Is)
| "Whoomp! (There It Is)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Tag Team | ||||
| from the album Whoomp! (There It Is) | ||||
| Released | May 7, 1993[citation needed] | |||
| Format | 12-inch single | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Miami bass | |||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Life Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Stephen Gibson and Cecil Glenn (Tag Team) | |||
| Producer | David Michery, Tag Team | |||
| Certification | 4× platinum | |||
| Tag Team singles chronology | ||||
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"Whoomp! (There It Is)" is a number two Billboard Hot 100 single by the Miami bass group Tag Team.[1] The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1993. The song's critical reception has been mixed, appearing on both best and worst of all time lists. It is frequently parodied and has also become a staple of sporting events.
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Sampling [edit]
The song sampled a beginning synthesizer line from the 1980 Italo-disco hit "I'm Ready" by Kano. The chorus is almost the same as the song "Whoot, There It Is" released by 95 South a month earlier, however the verse lyrics are much different. Both songs charted on the Billboard chart at the same time, but "Whoot, There It Is" peaked at #11 and "Whoomp! (There It Is) peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Charts [edit]
The hit song spent one week at #1 on the US R&B chart in 1993. It spent seven weeks at #2 in September through October, 1993[2] on the Billboard Hot 100, but was kept out of the top slot by UB40's "Can't Help Falling in Love" and Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover". The single is certified 4× Platinum in the US for sales of over 4,000,000 copies and, despite never reaching number one on the pop chart, was the second top song of 1993, behind Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You".
End of year charts [edit]
| End of year chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | 2 |
| End of year chart (1994) | Position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] | 42 |
End of decade charts [edit]
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position abc |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 44 |
Critical reception [edit]
"Whoomp! (There It Is)" was rated #97 in VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. The song listed at #58 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time".[6] On September 11, 2010 Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked the song at #65 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, stating from their "1993 journal": "It's clear this is just the start for Tag Team. Also, handheld computing is here!"[7]
Video [edit]
The video for the song features a large outdoor party. It was filmed at an Atlanta fairground. Extras were recruited by word-of-mouth and also by an announcement on a local radio station. More than a thousand extras showed up for the shoot.[8]
In 2010, the song became the subject of media scrutiny when Gawker posted an item asking whether President Barack Obama appears as an extra in the song's video.[9] A similarity was noted between Obama, who was 31 and working as an attorney in Chicago at the time the video was shot, and an Atlanta-hired extra who appears at the 1:01 mark in the clip.[10] However, no one involved in the making of the video was able to remember the extra's name.[8] The Gawker writer came to the conclusion that it was not Obama. Politifact rated the claim that Obama was in the video as "Credible".[8]
Alternate, cover and remix versions [edit]
- Within a year of the release of Whoomp! (There It Is), Tag Team re-mixed the backing music with a version of the theme song from the original Addams Family television series to create the song Addams Family (Whoomp!) for the film Addams Family Values. Actors Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman reprised their film roles as Wednesday Addams and Pugsley Addams (respectively) for the song's music video. Addams Family (Whoomp!) won the 1994 Razzie Award (Worst Original Song) for its writers (Ralph Sall, Stephen Gibson and Cecil Glenn).[11]
- In 1994, when the Houston Rockets won their first NBA Championship, Tag Team re-mixed their song yet again. This was titled Hoop! (There It Is). It was released on a CD honoring the team by Houston radio station 97.9 The Box and Mobile One.
- In 1995, Tag Team made an alternate version of the song called Whoomp! (There It Went) together with several Disney characters. It is basically the same song, but with several lyrics altered to depict Donald Duck's party in this version rather than a generic one in the original.
- British dance band Clock released a cover of the track in July 1995, with the slightly altered title of "Whoomph! (There It Is)".
- The song was again covered in 2005 by Crazy Frog for the album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits.
- Another version, "Poof! There He Is", was used for The Fairly OddParents special Fairly OddBaby.
Cultural references [edit]
"Whoomp! (There It Is)" was commonly used at sporting events, particularly basketball. When Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings goal beat the St. Louis Blues in the 1996 Western Conference Semifinals, the song was played with fans yelling out the "WHOOMP!" part. The song would later be included on 1995's Jock Jams, Volume 1. Stoke City F.C. also sing the song "Huth, There it is!" in reference to their player Robert Huth.
In an episode of Sister, Sister, several acts perform the song for the talent contest. In the Daria episode One J at a Time, Jake Morgendorffer, Tom Sloane and Jeffy sing along to the song while driving. In the South Park episode Broadway Bro Down, it can be heard after Randy Marsh's bro down with Stephen Sondheim.
The song has been featured in many facets of popular culture since its release. A commercial for chocolate potato chip brand Swoops ran commercials parodying the song, changing the lyric to "Swoops! There it is". A 2011 commercial for Luvs diapers features animated infants dancing to "Poop! There it is".[12] Additionally, a 2011 AT&T commercial for the iPhone 4 features two men on a phone call debating the year of the song's release; this article's infobox is shown on the phone's screen toward the end of the commercial.[13] And it was also referenced on the NBC show, Parks And Recreation as the song Ben played at his swearing in when he was elected mayor when he was 18. It was also in the movie Beverly Hills Chihuahua
See also [edit]
References [edit]
 |
This article uses bare URLs for citations. (August 2011) |
- ^ Billboard - Google Books. Books.google.com. 1995-09-04. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ "1993: Year-End USA Charts (Singles)". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-07-31. (archived by Top40-Charts.com)
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
- ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100 Chart 50th Anniversary". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever -- Part Two of Five". AOL Radio. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
- ^ a b c Christina Silva (June 8, 2010). "Whoomp! There he ain't! - No, that's not Obama in video". Politifact. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ Abramson, Dan (2010-06-07). "Was Obama In An Early 90s Rap Video? (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ Chen, Adrian (June 5, 2010). "Was Barack Obama In the 1995 Music Video For ‘Whoomp (There It Is)’?". Gawker.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0758518/awards
- ^ "Luvs Commercial for Luvs Ultra Leakguards (2011) (Television Commercial) @ Popisms.com - Connecting Pop Culture". Popisms.com. 1993-05-07. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ^ William Beutler on Wikipedia (2011-03-22). "» Wikipedia is Everywhere: AT&T Edition The Wikipedian". Thewikipedian.net. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
External links [edit]
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