"Alley Oop" is a song written by Dallas Frazier

Dallas Frazier

Dallas Frazier is an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:Frazier was born in Spiro, Oklahoma but was raised in Bakersfield, California...

. The song, heavily inspired by the V. T. Hamlin

V. T. Hamlin

Vincent Trout Hamlin , who preferred the name V. T. Hamlin, created the popular, long-run comic strip Alley Oop, syndicated by the Newspaper Enterprise Association....

-created comic strip of the same name

Alley Oop

Alley Oop is a syndicated comic strip, created in 1932 by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the popular and influential strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association...

, was first recorded by Frazier as a country tune in 1957.

The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles

The Hollywood Argyles were an American musical ensemble, assembled for studio recordings by the producer and songwriter Kim Fowley and his friend and fellow musician Gary Paxton...

 recorded the song in 1960 and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. It was produced by Gary S. Paxton

Gary S. Paxton

Gary S. Paxton, sometimes Pax , is an American record producer, and a Grammy Award and Dove Award winning songwriter and recording artist.-Biography:...

. The lead vocalist on the track was Norm Davis. He was paid a one-time fee of $25 for his work on the single. He is currently a poet and poetry teacher in Rochester, New York.

This version of the story is contested by Gary Paxton. Paxton writes:

Other versions

Also in 1960, The Dyno-Sores and Dante & The Evergreens

Dante & the Evergreens

Dante & the Evergreens was an American pop group formed at Santa Monica College in California in 1959.Dante & the Evergreens came to the attention of Dean Torrence , who took them to his managers, Herb Alpert and Lou Adler. The group's music was arranged by Tony Moon, who also played guitar on...

 took versions of the song to numbers 59 and 15, respectively, on the Hot 100 chart. Both Dante & The Evergreens' and the Argyles' versions were credited as number ones in Cashbox magazine's singles chart.

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...

 recorded and released their version on their 1965 album Beach Boys' Party!

Beach Boys' Party!

Beach Boys' Party! is an album of cover songs by American rock and roll band The Beach Boys that was marketed during the lucrative Christmas season. The original album release included a sheet of photographs of the band 'appearing' to be at the party at hand. It was The Beach Boys' tenth album...

. The British satirical art rock/pop group, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, recorded a version of "Alley Oop", which was released as their second single in October 1966. It was also performed by Dave Van Ronk and the Hudson Dusters

Dave Van Ronk

Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....

 on their self-titled album, released in 1967.

Actress-singer Darlene Love

Darlene Love

Darlene Love is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a #1 American single in 1962, and was part of the Phil Spector stable that produced a celebrated Christmas album in 1963....

 recorded a version of the song for the 1984 film Bachelor Party.

George Thorogood

George Thorogood

George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...

 also did a version of this song and was on the Live CD that was released February 15, 1989.

There is a recording by Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...

that can be found on his album "Gitarzan".