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"Shipoopi" is a song in the 1957 musical The Music Man by Meredith Willson. The song is sung by the character of Marcellus Washburn, a friend of con man "Professor" Harold Hill. It occurs in act 2 of the play during the dance committee's rehearsal which the town kids interrupt.

Neither the song's lyrics nor the surrounding dialogue explain the meaning of the term "shipoopi", which Wilson invented for the song and acts as a term of endearment.

In the original 1957 Broadway production, the song was performed by actor Iggie Wolfington, who portrayed Marcellus Washburn. In the 1962 film version of The Music Man, Marcellus is played by Buddy Hackett. According to the film documentary included with the extended DVD release, choreographer Onna White was able to take Hackett, not known as a dancer, and make him into a dancer for this number.

In the 2022 Broadway revival, the lyrics for the song were altered, with new lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

In popular culture

• In "Patriot Games", the 20th episode of the fourth season of the animated TV series Family Guy, Peter Griffin leads the crowd (except for Tom Brady, who guest starred as himself) in a full rendition of "Shipoopi" after he scores a touchdown as a member of the New England Patriots football team.
• In the TV series LateLine, the song is featured in an episode about a false report of the death of Buddy Hackett.
• Vern Fonk, an auto insurance provider in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, known for off-color and humorous commercials, uses the phrase shipoopi in his commercial "Dance".
• In Season 4, Episode 2 of Doom Patrol, the song is performed by some singing and dancing "butt monsters".

References

1. Dalzell, Tom (2009). The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English. Taylor & Francis. p. 863. ISBN 978-0-415-37182-7.
2. Adams, Sam (2022-02-23). "Hugh Jackman's The Music Man Removes the Classic Show's Racist Subtext. What's Left?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
3. Pierce, Scott (April 7, 1998). "Buddy Hackett is funny even if he's sort of dead". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.

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