The Michigan Rag - Michigan J. Frog - Detroit, MI - Immortalized in Lyrics on Waymarking.com

Michigan J. Frog is an animated cartoon character who debuted in the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening (December 31, 1955), written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. In this cartoon, Michigan is a male frog who wears a top hat, carries a cane, sings pop music, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley hits, and other songs from the late 19th and early 20th century while dancing and performing acrobatics in the style of early 20th century vaudeville. He appeared in a later cartoon entitled Another Froggy Evening which was released on October 6, 1995.

Fans often wonder if all the songs in One Froggy Evening are authentic tunes or whether they were written just for the cartoon. As it turns out, only one song was written especially for the film: The Michigan Rag. The writer and director (Michael Maltese and Chuck Jones) tried to pick real ragtime or Tin Pan Alley tunes for the frog, but they couldn't find the right piece to use during one section. The result was a creation of their own, meant to sound like an authentic 1890s ragtime tune. Maltese supplied most of the lyrics but Jones and film composer Milt Franklyn helped create it. And as it turns out, this song helped provide a name for the frog years later when Chuck Jones gave in to years of fans asking "what is that frog called?".

The identity of the singer who voiced Michigan Frog's original story was unclear and has been shrouded in some degree of mystery. He was definitely not done by Warner's primary voice artist, Mel Blanc. Some identified him as Terrence Monck. The 1998 Rhino compilation Warner Bros. 75 Years of Film Music identified him as Richard Beavers. However, the Looney Tunes Golden Collection unequivocally credits the vocals to Bill Roberts, a nightclub entertainer in Los Angeles in the 1950s who had done voice work for an MGM cartoon earlier. Information in the Internet Movie Database restates what the DVD covered and adds some details. In Another Froggy Evening, his voice was provided by Jeff McCarthy.


Everybody do the Michigan Rag
Everybody likes the Michigan Rag
Every Mame and Jane and Ruth
From Weehawken to Duluth
Slide, ride, glide the Michigan
Stomp, romp, pomp the Michigan
Jump, clump, pump the Michigan Rag
That lovin' rag!

Musician: Michigan J. Frog, or one of the others mentioned in the Long Description. Name of Song: The Michigan Rag Relevant Verse: Everybody do the Michigan Rag Everybody likes the Michigan Rag Every Mame and Jane and Ruth From Weehawken to Duluth Slide, ride, glide the Michigan Stomp, romp, pomp the Michigan Jump, clump, pump the Michigan Rag That lovin' rag! Location website: [Web Link]

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