PATTI PAGE - (HOW MUCH IS) THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW

(HOW MUCH IS) THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW

PATTI PAGE

SONGWRITER: BOB MERRILL

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: THE DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW

LABEL: MERCURY

GENRE: SOUNDTRACK

YEAR: 1953

Clara Ann Fowler(November 8, 1927– January 1, 2013), known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer of pop and country music and occasional actress. She was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist of the 1950s, selling over 100 million records during a six-decade long career. She was often introduced as "the Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page". New York WNEW disc-jockey William B. Williams introduced her as "A Page in my life called Patti".

Page signed with Mercury Records in 1947, and became their first successful female artist, starting with 1948's "Confess". In 1950, she had her first million-selling single "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming", and would eventually have 14 additional million-selling singles between 1950 and 1965.

Page's signature song, "Tennessee Waltz", was one of the biggest-selling singles of the 20th century, and is recognized today as one of the official songs of the state of Tennessee. It spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard magazine's Best-Sellers List in 1950/51. Page had three additional Nº1 hit singles between 1950 and 1953, "All My Love (Bolero)", "I Went to Your Wedding", and "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window".

Unlike most other pop singers, Page blended country music styles into many of her songs. As a result of this crossover appeal, many of Page's singles appeared on the Billboard Country Chart. In the 1970s, she shifted her style more toward country music and began having even more success on the country charts, ending up as one of the few vocalists to have charted in five separate decades.

With the rise of Rock and Roll in the 1950s, mainstream popular music record sales began to decline. Page was among the few pop singers who were able to maintain popularity, continuing to have hits well into the 1960s, with "Old Cape Cod", "Allegheny Moon", "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)", and "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte".

In 1997, Patti Page was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. She was posthumously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2013.

"(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular novelty song.

It is published as having been written by Bob Merrill in 1952 and loosely based on the folk tune Carnival of Venice. This song is also loosely based on the song "Oh, where, oh, where, has my little dog gone?"

The best-known version of the song was the original, recorded by Patti Page on December 18, 1952, and released in January 1953 by Mercury Records as catalog numbers 70070 (78 rpm) and 70070X45 (45 rpm) under the title "The Doggie in the Window", with the flip side being "My Jealous Eyes". It reached Nº 1 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts in 1953, and sold over two million copies. Mercury, however, had poor distribution in the United Kingdom. Therefore, a recording by Lita Roza was the one most widely heard in the UK, reaching Nº 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1953. It distinguished Roza as the first British woman to have a number-one hit in the UK chart. It was also the first song with a question in the title to reach number 1. 

[Chorus]

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

The one with the waggly tail

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

I do hope that doggie's for sale

[Verse 1]

I must take a trip to California

And leave my poor sweetheart alone

If he has a dog, he won't be lonesome

And the doggie will have a good home

[Chorus]

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

The one with the waggly tail

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

I do hope that doggie's for sale

[Verse 2]

I read in the paper there are robbers (Arf, arf)

With flashlights that shine in the dark

My love needs a doggie to protect him

And scare them away with one bark

I don't want a bunny or a kitty

I don't want a parrot that talks

I don't want a bowl of little fishies

He can't take a goldfish for a walk

[Chorus]

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

The one with the waggly tail

How much is that doggie in the window? (Arf, arf)

I do hope that doggie's for sale.