美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Mahna Mahna,' A Beloved Muppet Earworm, Turns 50（在线收听）

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Our apologies for the coming earworm, but we think it's very important to acknowledge this cultural milestone. It is the 50th birthday of "Mahna Mahna."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

JIM HENSON: (As Bip Bippadotta) Mahna mahna.

FRANK OZ AND LORETTA LONG: (As Anything Muppets, singing) Ba-di-pa-di-pi.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: On November 27, 1969, a goofy sketch from Jim Henson's Muppets appeared on "Sesame Street." And it turns out there's some interesting history here. Writer and CBC Radio producer Jennifer Van Evra did some deep research into its origins.

JENNIFER VAN EVRA: The characters looked very different from the ones that most people know today. So the female singers were what Jim Henson called Anything Muppets. So they were just kind of these nondescript female characters with long ponytails. And the male singer was this scrawny little guy in a striped shirt. And he had disheveled hair. He was almost like a jazzy beat poet kind of character. As he gained fame, he also won a name. And that name was Bip Bippadotta.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

HENSON: (As Bip Bippadotta) Mahna mahna mahna mahna na mah mah mah na mah mah...

VAN EVRA: Three days after that first "Sesame Street" appearance, Jim Henson and his Muppets, as they were known, performed the song on "The Ed Sullivan Show." And that's when it really took off.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAHNA MAHNA")

HENSON: (As Mahna Mahna) Mahna Mahna.

FRANK OZ: (As the Snowths) Do-do-do-do-do.

VAN EVRA: So what a lot of people don't realize is that the song's history actually dates back even further. So it was originally composed by an Italian composer named Piero Umiliani. He mostly composed music for things like spaghetti westerns. And "Mah Na Mah Na" first appeared in a 1968 film called "Sweden: Heaven And Hell."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SWEDEN: HEAVEN AND HELL")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).

VAN EVRA: It's an Italian film about different aspects of Swedish sexuality. And the song comes up in this very funny scene where a big group of Swedish models are crowding into a sauna.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAH NA MAH NA")

ALESSANDRO ALESSANDRONI: (Singing) Na na na mah na mah na.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) Di-di-ba-de-bi.

VAN EVRA: In other words, "Mah Na Mah Na" first appeared in a soft-core sex movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

KEVIN CLASH: (As Clifford) And now ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to take you to a psychiatrist's office.

VAN EVRA: There's a hilarious "Muppets Tonight" sketch. So from 1996, Sandra Bullock plays a psychiatrist who has Kermit the Frog as a patient.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

SANDRA BULLOCK: (As Dr. Bullock) So what seems to be the problem?

STEVE WHITMIRE: (As Kermit the Frog) Well, doctor, I see these strange creatures every time I say the word phenomena.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

OZ: (As the Snowths, singing) Do-do-do-do-do.

WHITMIRE: (As Kermit the Frog) Phenomena.

OZ: (As the Snowths, singing) Do-do-do-do.

VAN EVRA: She asks if she can try it out. So she says phenomena. And sure enough, the Snowths appear - fuzzy, pink, monster-like creatures with big mouths. And then she gets really into it. And suddenly, she's the character who's going out of control and starts dancing and scatting away.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MUPPETS TONIGHT")

BULLOCK: (As Dr. Bullock) Phenomena noma noma na na na na na na na na na na...

VAN EVRA: I think the song's really endured for a few reasons. One is that millions of people know it, either because they grew up with it or they have kids who did. It's also really easy to sing along to and actually kind of demands that people sing along. So if someone says mahna mahna, it's like a kind of call to action. And I bet if you stepped onto a crowded elevator and just said mahna mahna, you'd probably get an answer.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That CBC broadcaster Jennifer Van Evra leaving us with a song that will never get out of our heads.