Who Let the Dogs Out

This article is about the Baha Men song. For other uses, see Who Let the Dogs Out (disambiguation).

"Who Let the Dogs Out"
Single by Baha Men
from the album Who Let the Dogs Out, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music From the Motion Picture and Men in Black II soundtrack
Released26 July 2000 (2000-07-26)[1]
Genre
Length3:18
LabelS-Curve
Songwriter(s)Anslem Douglas
Producer(s)
Baha Men singles chronology
"That's the Way I Do It"
(1997) 		"Who Let the Dogs Out"
(2000) 		"You All Dat"
(2001)
Audio sample
Music video
"Who Let the Dogs Out" on YouTube

"Who Let the Dogs Out" is a song performed by Bahamian junkanoo band Baha Men. Originally released by Anslem Douglas (titled "Doggie") in 1998, it was covered by producer Jonathan King who sang it under the name Fat Jakk and his Pack of Pets. He brought the song to the attention of his friend Steve Greenberg, who then had the Baha Men cover the song. The song released on 26 July 2000, became the band's first and only hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, and it gained popularity after appearing in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and its soundtrack album as well as Men in Black II.

"Who Let the Dogs Out" peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as topping the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and reached the Top 40 in the United States. In Britain, it was championed by DJ John Peel and went on to be the fourth biggest-selling single of 2000, and one of the highest-selling singles of the decade not to reach No. 1. The track went on to win the Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

According to Douglas, the original song was a feminist anthem critical of men who catcall women. "Who Let the Dogs Out" became a prominent feature of Bahamian popular culture and was the subject of a major lawsuit over copyright ownership that was settled.[3] In 2019, an eponymous-titled documentary about the creation of the song was the surprise hit of the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.[4]

  1. ^ Hay, Carla (9 September 2000). "Letting 'Dogs Out' Benefits Baha Men as S-Curve Single Drives U.S. Success" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 37. p. 15. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  2. ^ Masterton, James (5 November 2000). "Week Ending November 11th 2000". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Dog fight over song". Caribbean News Agency. 3 November 2000. p. 3. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010. Port of Spain, Trinidad CANA – A major legal battle in a New York court over the rights to "Who Let The Dogs Out" was settled. The 1998 calypso which has been transformed into a major international hit by the Bahamian group Baha Men, according to local Press reports. Trinidadian soca artiste Anslem Douglas, who was originally credited as the composer of the calypso, found himself at the centre of a battle over rights to the song. Involved was St. Vincent-born musician Ossie Gurley in whose Toronto recording studio the original calypso was created, and two recording labels – Deston Records and Wingspan Records. Deston Records is the company that gave the song to the Baha Men to record on the S-Curve label, while Wingspan is the record label of rapper Chuck Smooth and Scott Brooks whose release was a Top 10 Billboard Rap Single.
  4. ^ Amter, Charlie (10 March 2019). "'Who Let the Dogs Out?' Doc Offers Fascinating Look at the Origin of the Baha Men Hit". Variety.