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Michigan J. Frog enthusiastically kicks his way through
The Michigan Rag.
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Written: 1955
Words and Music by Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones
Wav clip from OFE
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Fans often wonder if all the songs in
One Froggy Evening are authentic tunes or whether they were written
just for the cartoon. As it turns out, only one song was written especially for the film:
The Michigan Rag. The writer and director (Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones)
tried to pick real ragtime or Tin Pan Alley tunes for the frog, but they couldn't find the right piece to use
during one section. The result was a creation of their own, meant to sound like an authentic 1890s
ragtime tune. Maltese supplied most of the lyrics but Jones and film composer Milt Franklyn helped create it.
And as it turns out, this song helped provide a name for the frog years later when
Chuck Jones gave in to years of fans asking "what is that frog called?".
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Chuck Jones
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Everybody do the Michigan Rag
Everybody likes the Michigan Rag
Every Mame and Jane and Ruth
From Weehawken to Duluth
Slide, ride, glide the Michigan
Stomp, romp, pomp the Michigan
Jump, clump, pump the Michigan Rag
That lovin' rag!
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If you want to learn even more about this song and the people behind it,
here are few webpages you might want to check out.
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