"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" is a popular song written byFrank Churchill with additional lyrics byAnn Ronell,[1] which originally featured in the 1933DisneycartoonThree Little Pigs, where it was sung by Fiddler Pig and Fifer Pig (voiced byMary Moder andDorothy Compton, respectively)[2] as they arrogantly believe theBig Bad Wolf (voiced byBilly Bletcher) is not a serious threat.[2] The song created a market for future Disney tunes and led to a contract withIrving Berlin Publishing Co. that same year, securing the sheet music rights overMickey Mouse and the Silly Symphonies.[3] The song's theme made it a hugehit during the second half of 1933.[3] AsNeal Gabler wrote in his 2007 biography ofWalt Disney, the song "indisputably became the nation's new anthem, its cheerful whoop hurled in the face of hard times."[4] It remains one of the most well-known Disney songs, being covered by numerous artists and musical groups.
The song was reused inthe sequels toThree Little Pigs, and its writing was re-enacted in the "Cavalcade of Songs" episode on theDisneyland television series in 1955.[5] It featured in theSing Along Songs videoI Love to Laugh and has been included in numerousDisney recordings.
Disneyland Records produced a re-recording of the song in 1958, released concurrently as a single in Disney's "Wonderful Records" series of 45s and on theMickey Mouse Club LP "Four Disney Stories", conducted byTutti Camarata. It was a re-enactment of the original cartoon in audio, with noticeable differences being all three pigs voiced byGloria Wood (unlike the originals, where Practical Pig was voiced byPinto Colvig), the Big Bad Wolf having a more menacing voice (this time byJimmy MacDonald), and a few additional verses and dialogue that was not present in the original cartoon. This version was also released on an album in the early 1960s entitled "The Story and Songs of Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs" and a few other compilation albums, and also included on Disney's read-along book-and-audio adaptations of the cartoon.
Significant similarities can be found in the British early 20th centurychasing gameWho's Afraid of Black Peter?[6] which is based on the ancient children's game ofBlack Man (Who Is Afraid of the Black Man?) that had been described in 1796 by German educatorJohann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths.[7] In the game the catcher asks the runners "Who's Afraid of Black Peter?", whereupon the runners answer "Not I!"[6] After the dialogueBlack Man orBlack Peter seek to catch their victims.[6]
German historian and non-fiction author Susanna Partsch confirms a possible connection between the game ofBlack Man and Ronell's and Churchill's lyrical concept[8] while Isabel Vollmuth, Portuguese-German professor at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies (University of Applied Sciences in Landshut), describesWho's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? as an offshoot of the game-based children's rhyme.[9] Additionally, the song was the inspiration for the title ofEdward Albee's 1962 stage playWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?[8]
| "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byLL Cool J | ||||
| from the albumSimply Mad About the Mouse | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | July 7, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| LL Cool J singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" was covered by American rapperLL Cool J on theDisney albumSimply Mad About the Mouse: A Musical Celebration of Imagination. It was released as a single in 1991 forColumbia Records and was produced byDJ Eddie F and LL Cool J. It sampledMichael Jackson's "Billie Jean".[10] LL Cool J's version did not make it to theBillboard charts.
Charlie and his Orchestra recorded a German version in English during World War II with propaganda lyrics.
A-side
B-side
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 100 |
The song has been covered by many artists, including:[1]
