| "Gitarzan" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ray Stevens | ||||
| from the album Gitarzan | ||||
| B-side | "Bagpipes - That's My Bag" | |||
| Released | January 6, 1969 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:15 3:00 (7" version) | |||
| Label | Monument | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Stevens, Bill Everette | |||
| Producer(s) | Fred Foster, Ray Stevens, Jim Malloy | |||
| Ray Stevens singles chronology | ||||
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"Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky boogie-woogie, a quote from the song "Swinging on a Star", with the line "Carrying moonbeams home in a jar" superimposed over an insistent G Major ostinato, and a melody from Martha and the Vandellas' "Honey Chile" in its chorus. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 31 May 1969 and #10 in Canada in May 1969. It did best in New Zealand, where it reached #2.[1] The music and lyrics were written by Stevens with a title and concept supplied by Bill Justis. Justis is officially credited as Bill Everette.