Bananaphone
Encyclopedia
Bananawhoa is a popular children's album
released by Raffi
in 1994. The title track's lyrics
describes the bananaphone. The song uses many pun
s such as "It's a phone with appeal!" (a peel) and nonce word
s like "bananular" and "interactive-odular" as Raffi extols the virtues of his unique telephone. The album was certified Gold by the CRIA
in March 2002. The title is sometimes listed as "Banana Phone".
in the Spring of 2004 when an animated flash loop, featuring the song sped-up by six semitones, was posted on the web site cookiethievery.com by W.T. Snacks. After this, a parody combining Bananaphone and Internet meme Badger Badger Badger
was made by Lemonizer and dubbed "Badgerphone." The following week, "Banana Phone" by Dave Teatro was released on the web site Newgrounds
. Since then, many fan-made music videos for the song have been created.
On September 4, 2007, "Bananaphone" received what is thought to be its first ever full play on a commercial radio station when John Warburton played it on his breakfast
show on 96.2 The Revolution with the promise that it would cheer people up. A snippet of the song had previously been played on the show after being found by production assistant
Jim Hall. Prior radio exposure of the song occurred in snippet
form only and usually in a sped up version (in the manner of, for example, Alvin and the Chipmunks
). This version became a staple in 2004 on The Opie & Anthony Show and recurred with less frequency in subsequent years. Another snippet of "Bananaphone" is occasionally used at the end of some segments of The Colbert Report and Countdown with Keith Olbermann
.
The sped-up version has been played during Cincinnati Reds
radio broadcasts, in the event that the play-by-play team needs to take calls from the audience to kill time during rain delays.
It is played at the American Airlines Center
, the Dallas Stars
' home arena, while the officials decide upon the call for any goal under review.
The song has also been featured in Harry Potter Puppet Pals
, a popular YouTube
series consisting of a combination of live-action puppets and animated cartoons.
"Banana Phone" can be heard periodically in its sped-up version on the Fan960's sports radio program show The Rob Kerr Program, hosted by Bob Kerr. The song is used for pranks and spoofs.
Many other fan made versions of this song are famous ones very much seen on Youtube.
and a heavy metal version done by the band Grim Saviour.
In Chile, the famous TV kids show "Cachureos" released a cover of "Bananaphone" -named "Teléfono"- for its album "La Mosca" (1996).
In California, Dan "The Builder" Alvidrez produced a cover of "Bananaphone" and also a VIP version including Gwen Stefani's "Holla Back Girl" "B-A-N-A-N-A-S" verse. See the video of the first public play of his remix at Lupin Lodge, Los Gatos CA.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
released by Raffi
Raffi (musician)
Raffi Cavoukian, CM, OBC , better known by his stage name Raffi, is a Canadian-Armenian singer-songwriter, author, essayist and lecturer...
in 1994. The title track's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
describes the bananaphone. The song uses many pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s such as "It's a phone with appeal!" (a peel) and nonce word
Nonce word
A nonce word is a word used only "for the nonce"—to meet a need that is not expected to recur. Quark, for example, was formerly a nonce word in English, appearing only in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. Murray Gell-Mann then adopted it to name a new class of subatomic particle...
s like "bananular" and "interactive-odular" as Raffi extols the virtues of his unique telephone. The album was certified Gold by the CRIA
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
in March 2002. The title is sometimes listed as "Banana Phone".
Internet popularity
The title song became an Internet memeInternet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
in the Spring of 2004 when an animated flash loop, featuring the song sped-up by six semitones, was posted on the web site cookiethievery.com by W.T. Snacks. After this, a parody combining Bananaphone and Internet meme Badger Badger Badger
Badger Badger Badger
"Badger Badger Badger" or "The Badger Song" is a Flash cartoon by British animator Jonti Picking. It consists of images of badgers doing calisthenics, a toadstool in front of a tree, and a snake in the desert...
was made by Lemonizer and dubbed "Badgerphone." The following week, "Banana Phone" by Dave Teatro was released on the web site Newgrounds
Newgrounds
Newgrounds is an American entertainment and social media website. Founded on July 6, 1995 by Tom Fulp, the site primarily hosts Adobe Flash animations and games, but also features a music-oriented page, along with an art portal...
. Since then, many fan-made music videos for the song have been created.
On September 4, 2007, "Bananaphone" received what is thought to be its first ever full play on a commercial radio station when John Warburton played it on his breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
show on 96.2 The Revolution with the promise that it would cheer people up. A snippet of the song had previously been played on the show after being found by production assistant
Production assistant
A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production...
Jim Hall. Prior radio exposure of the song occurred in snippet
Snippet
A snippet is defined as a small piece of something, it may in more specific contexts refer to:* Sampling , the use of a short phrase of a recording as an element in a new piece of music...
form only and usually in a sped up version (in the manner of, for example, Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
). This version became a staple in 2004 on The Opie & Anthony Show and recurred with less frequency in subsequent years. Another snippet of "Bananaphone" is occasionally used at the end of some segments of The Colbert Report and Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
.
The sped-up version has been played during Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
radio broadcasts, in the event that the play-by-play team needs to take calls from the audience to kill time during rain delays.
It is played at the American Airlines Center
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center is a multi-purpose arena, located in the Victory Park neighborhood, near downtown Dallas, Texas.It is home to the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, and the Dallas Stars of the NHL....
, the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The...
' home arena, while the officials decide upon the call for any goal under review.
The song has also been featured in Harry Potter Puppet Pals
Potter Puppet Pals
Potter Puppet Pals is a web series parodying the Harry Potter novel series by JK Rowling, created by Neil Cicierega.-Airing:The first two episodes were animated, both released in 2003 on Newgrounds. On September 26, 2006, the series was re-launched on YouTube under Cicierega's page as "Potions...
, a popular YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
series consisting of a combination of live-action puppets and animated cartoons.
"Banana Phone" can be heard periodically in its sped-up version on the Fan960's sports radio program show The Rob Kerr Program, hosted by Bob Kerr. The song is used for pranks and spoofs.
Many other fan made versions of this song are famous ones very much seen on Youtube.
Track listing
- ”Bananaphone” (Creber, Raffi) 3:12
- ”Shake a Toe” (Creber, Raffi) 2:20
- ”The World We Love” (Creber, Raffi) 3:23
- ”Slow Day” (Creber, Raffi) 3:25
- ”The Changing Garden of Mr. Bell” (Hubbard, SilversherSilversher & SilversherMichael Silversher and Patricia Silversher, sometimes billed as Silversher & Silversher, are an American songwriting team known for writing themes and songs for Disney and Jim Henson television series, shows and specials, as well as direct-to-video animated films for Disney, Henson, Sony Wonder,...
) 4:07 - ”Naturally” (Creber, Raffi) 3:04
- ”Spring Flowers” [instrumental] (Raffi) 2:40
- ”C-A-N-A-D-A” (Connors) 2:50
- ”Michael Row the Boat AshoreMichael Row the Boat AshoreMichael, Row the Boat Ashore is an African-American spiritual. It was first noted during the American Civil War at St. Helena Island, one of the Sea Islands of South Carolina....
” (Traditional) 3:25 - ”First Peoples” (Creber, Raffi) 4:37
- ”Dee Myth” [instrumental] (Raffi) 2:59
- ”Cowlit Night” (Raffi) 3:21
- ”The Gorilla Song” (Knowles, Knowles) 2:10
- ”Simple GiftsSimple Gifts"Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.It has endured many inaccurate descriptions. Though often classified as an anonymous Shaker hymn or as a work song, it is better classified as a dance song.-Lyrics:...
” (Traditional) 2:15 - ”Down by the RiversideDown by the Riverside"Down by the Riverside" is a traditional gospel song. It was first published in Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag and there are at least 14 black gospel recordings before World War II."Down by the Riverside" has a long history and was known in Civil War times. It was sung by blacks...
” (Traditional) 3:13 - ”The Shmenge Polka” [instrumental] (Raffi) 2:07
Cover versions
The popular track "Bananaphone" has been covered in different musical genres, such as a country version by Rhonda VincentRhonda Vincent
Rhonda Lea Vincent is a bluegrass singer, songwriter, mandolin player, guitarist, and fiddle player.Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades...
and a heavy metal version done by the band Grim Saviour.
In Chile, the famous TV kids show "Cachureos" released a cover of "Bananaphone" -named "Teléfono"- for its album "La Mosca" (1996).
In California, Dan "The Builder" Alvidrez produced a cover of "Bananaphone" and also a VIP version including Gwen Stefani's "Holla Back Girl" "B-A-N-A-N-A-S" verse. See the video of the first public play of his remix at Lupin Lodge, Los Gatos CA.