Singing in the Bathtub is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson

Herb Magidson

Herbert A. "Herb" Magidson was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway reviews. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934....

 and Ned Washington

Ned Washington

Ned Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...

 for the film The Show of Shows

The Show of Shows (film)

The Show of Shows is a lavish all talking Vitaphone musical revue film which cost $850,000 to make. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros. fifth color movie, the first four were The Desert Song , On With the Show , Gold Diggers of Broadway and Paris . This movie featured most of the contemporary...

. The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

' answer to MGM's The Hollywood Revue of 1929

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is a 1929 part Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American musical-comedy film. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Produced by Harry Rapf and directed by Chuck Riesner, the film brought together some...

, and "Singing in the Bathtub" spoofs Hollywood Revue's song "Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (song)

"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years.....

". In Show of Shows, the number features an enormous bathtub

Bathtub

A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...

 and is performed by Winnie Lightner

Winnie Lightner

Winnie Lightner was an American motion picture actress. Perhaps her most famous role was as a gold-digger named Mabel, in Gold Diggers of Broadway...

 and a chorus of male and female performers wearing antiquated bathing suits.

The song was recorded by many performers of the time, including Guy Lombardo

Guy Lombardo

Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...

, Dorothy Provine

Dorothy Provine

Dorothy Michelle Provine was an American singer, dancer, actress, and comedienne.-Career:Provine was born in Deadwood, South Dakota, to Virgil and Kathleen Provine. She attended the University of Washington, where she majored in drama. In Washington she handed out prizes for a local television...

, Dick Robertson

Dick Robertson

Preston James Robertson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in two games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1913, thirteen games for the 1918 Brooklyn Robins and seven games for the 1919 Washington Senators.-External links:...

, King Ben Nawahi

King Ben Nawahi

"King" Bennie Nawahi was an American steel guitar master from Hawaii, well-known throughout the country in the 1920s and 30s...

, Gracie Fields

Gracie Fields

Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...

, Vaughn DeLeath, The Georgians

The Georgians

The Georgians was a prominent United States jazz & dance band of the early 1920s that recorded on Columbia Records.The Georgians were the solo band Nat Gonella founded on his departure from Lew Stone and his Orchestra in 1934...

,,Ed Smalle & Jerry Macy, and Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...

,
and more recently by Robert Crumb

Robert Crumb

Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...

, John Lithgow

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...

, and Mandy Patinkin

Mandy Patinkin

Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...

. In Vaughn DeLeath's rendition of the song, she sings the line "the ring around the bathtub is a rainbow to me" as "a rainbow from me", substantially changing its meaning.

The lyrics include a quotation of the title air from "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" is a popular song which debuted in 1918 and was first published in 1919.-Creation:The music was written by John Kellette. The lyrics are credited to "Jaan Kenbrovin", actually a collective pseudonym for the writers James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent...

".

Use in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

"Singing in the Bathtub" is featured in the first-ever Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...

 animated short, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub

Sinkin' in the Bathtub

Sinkin' in the Bathtub was the very first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short as well as the very first of the Looney Tunes series.The short was produced and directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, with animation by a very young Friz Freleng...

" (1930). The song appeared in 21 Warner Bros.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...

 animated shorts in total: Warner Bros.' ownership of the copyright saved royalty payments. The song is frequently sung by Tweety Bird.

• Sinkin' in the Bathtub
  Sinkin' in the Bathtub
  Sinkin' in the Bathtub was the very first Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short as well as the very first of the Looney Tunes series.The short was produced and directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, with animation by a very young Friz Freleng...
  
   (1930)
• Porky & Daffy
  Porky & Daffy
  -Plot:It all starts at the home of Daffy & Porky. Porky's relationship with Daffy is strained, as he is a lazy sloth. Porky has found an ad inviting all comers to take on a wrestling rooster named The Champ. Porky has trouble waking Daffy up, but eventually does so by clanging a dinner platter over...
  
   (1938)
• Polar Pals (1939)
• Little Blabbermouse (1940)
• Porky's Pooch
  Porky's Pooch
  Porky's Pooch is a 1941 public domain Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.-Plot:A Scottie dog Sandy is starving. He asks his friend, Rover what he's doing in a car. Rover tells him how he got a master. In a flashback Rover goes up to Porky's apartment room while he's taking a bath. He...
  
   (1941)
• The Aristo-Cat (1943)
• Hop and Go
  Hop and Go
  Hop and Go is a 1943 Looney Tunes animated cartoon directed by Norman McCabe and animated by Cal Dalton. It stars the voices of Pinto Colvig and Mel Blanc...
  
   (1943)
• Daffy Dilly
  Daffy Dilly
  Daffy Dilly is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy , as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones....
  
   (1948)
• I Taw a Putty Tat
  I Taw a Putty Tat
  I Taw a Putty Tat is a 1947 short animated cartoon, released in 1948, directed by Friz Freleng. It stars Tweety and Sylvester, both voiced by Mel Blanc...
  
   (1948)
• The Pest That Came to Dinner (1948)
• So Much for So Little
  So Much for So Little
  So Much for So Little is a 1949 short documentary film directed by Chuck Jones. It won an Academy Award in 1950 for Documentary Short Subject, tying with A Chance to Live. As a work of the United States Government, the film is in the public domain.-Plot:...
  
   (1949)
• Which Is Witch?
  Which Is Witch
  Which Is Witch is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon released by Warner Bros. in 1949, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Tedd Pierce.- Plot :...
  
   (1949)
• Wise Quackers (1949)
• Homeless Hare
  Homeless Hare
  Homeless Hare is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short starring Bugs Bunny, directed by Chuck Jones and released by Warner Brothers studios in 1950.This cartoon was produced in 1949 and released to theaters on March 11, 1950.-Plot:...
  
   (1950)
• Terrier Stricken
  Terrier Stricken
  Terrier-Stricken is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short, released in 1952, which was written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones. Frisky's barking at the worst possible moments get Claude into a heap of troublesome situations.-Story:...
  
   (1952)
• Forward March Hare
  Forward March Hare
  Forward March Hare is a 1952-animated Looney Tunes cartoon released in 1953 featuring Bugs Bunny. Bugs is accidentally drafted in the army, and causes havoc with his sergeant at basic training. The title relates to the March Hare. This cartoon was released during the final months of the Korean...
  
   (1953)
• Sahara Hare
  Sahara Hare
  Sahara Hare is a 1954 Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1955 and directed by Friz Freleng.-Plot:This is another classic battle between Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam . Bugs pops up out from underground, thinking he has reached Miami Beach, when in reality he is in the Sahara Desert,...
  
   (1955)
• A Witch's Tangled Hare
  A Witch's Tangled Hare
  A Witch’s Tangled Hare is a 1959 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short directed by Abe Levitow. In this cartoon Mel Blanc plays voice roles for Bugs Bunny, while June Foray voices Witch Hazel...
  
   (1959)
• Tweet and Lovely (1959), sung by Tweety Bird
• From Hare to Heir
  From Hare to Heir
  From Hare to Heir is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released on September 3, 1960 starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam as Sam, Duke of Yosemite at Bedlam Manor. The cartoon was directed and written by Friz Freleng.-Plot:...
  
   (1960)
• Compressed Hare
  Compressed Hare
  "Compressed Hare" is a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It stars Wile E. Coyote and Bugs Bunny , and was released on July 29, 1961. That was the final time in a first-run Golden Age short in which Wile E. Coyote speaks.- Plot :...
  
   (1961), sung by Bugs Bunny
  Bugs Bunny
  Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
  
  

Cheap Suit Serenaders Album

Singing in the Bathtub is also the 1993 re-release title of an album by R. Crumb

Robert Crumb

Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...

 and the Cheap Suit Serenaders. The album was originally released in 1978 as R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders No. 3.

Track listing:

1. Singing In The Bathtub
2. Chile Blues
3. Dream Of Heaven
4. Suits Crybaby Blues
5. Collier Medley: Ben Hur March & Napoleon March
6. Shopping Mall
7. Yearning And Blue
8. Hula Girl
9. Pedal Your Blues Away
10. La Gima Polka
11. Sing Song Girl
12. Home
13. My Gal Sal
14. Hano Hano Hawaii

John Lithgow album

Singin' in the Bathtub is additionally the title of a children's album released in 1999 with songs performed by John Lithgow

John Lithgow

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...

.

Track listing:

1. Everybody Eats When They Come To My House (Adaptation)
2. At The Codfish Ball
3. Singin' In The Bathtub
4. A-You're Adorable
5. The Gnu Song
6. You Gotta Have Skin
7. Triplets
8. No One Loves You Any Better Than Your M-O-Double-M-Y (Adaptation)
9. Swinging On A Star
10. I Had A Rooster
11. From The Indies To The Andes In His Undies
12. Big Kids
13. The Hippopotamus Song
14. The Inchworm