 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2017) |
| "Chicken Reel" | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover, 1910 | |
| Song | |
| Published | 1910 |
| Composer(s) | Joseph M. Daly |
| Lyricist(s) | Joseph Mittenthal |
"Chicken Reel" is a dance tune. It was composed and published in 1910 by Joseph M. (Michael) Daly (1883–1968), with copyright registered on October 7.[1] Joseph Mittenthal added lyrics three months later, and the texted version was copyrighted on January 12, 1911.[2]
Along with "Turkey in the Straw," "Chicken Reel" is probably one of the best-known poultry-related folk tunes. It is frequently found in early animated cartoons as a catchy tune used to represent farmyard activity, or a gathering of fowl. Originally composed as a novelty song, it has since passed into modern folk tradition. Today, the tune is usually played without the words, which would often have been sung in the minstrel style (in stereotyped African-American vernacular).
Chicken Reel was made popular again years later by Les Paul who recorded the song as a catchy instrumental, whimsically mimicking chicken sounds on his guitar.
"Chicken Reel" was arranged for symphony orchestra by Leroy Anderson; his arrangement was recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1962. It also inspired Jean Wiener's Histoires sans paroles.
- ^ Catalog of copyright entries. Part 3: Musical compositions. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910, p. 1313. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ Catalog of copyright entries. Part 3: Musical compositions. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911, p. 282. Retrieved 23 March 2018.