"Yakety Sax" is a pop novelty instrumental jointly composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph.[1][2][3][4]
"Yakety Sax" | |
---|---|
Single by Boots Randolph | |
from the album Yakety Sax! | |
B-side | "I Really Don't Want to Know" |
Released | 1963 |
Genre | Novelty, pop |
Length | 2:00 |
Label | Monument Records |
Songwriter(s) | Spider Rich Boots Randolph |
Producer(s) | Fred Foster |
Music video | |
Boots Randolph - Yakety Sax (Audio) on YouTube |
Saxophonist Randolph popularized the selection in his 1963 recording, which reached number 35 on the pop charts.[5] Comedian Benny Hill later made it more widely known as the closing theme music of The Benny Hill Show. The piece is considered Randolph's signature work.[6]
The selection includes pieces of assorted fiddle tunes and was originally composed by Rich for a performance at a venue called The Armory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The piece also quotes two bars each of "Entrance of the Gladiators" and "The Girl I Left Behind".
Randolph's take on the piece was inspired by the saxophone solo played by King Curtis on The Coasters' 1958 recording of the Leiber and Stoller song "Yakety Yak".[7] The tunes are similar, and both feature the "yakety" saxophone sound. Randolph first recorded "Yakety Sax" that year for RCA Victor, but it did not become a hit until he re-recorded it for Monument Records in 1963; this version reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Yakety Sax" is often used in television and film as a soundtrack for outlandishly humorous situations. It was frequently used to accompany comedic sketches, particularly the time-lapse, rapidly-paced silent chase skit that came at the end of almost every episode of The Benny Hill Show.[16] Because of this, "Yakety Sax" is so closely linked to the series that it is also known as "The Benny Hill Theme". From 1983 on, the music was performed by Ronnie Aldrich and his orchestra.
This use of the piece, and the chase scenes themselves, have been parodied in many other films and TV shows, including Get a Life,[17] the 2006 film V for Vendetta, in the 2015 Doctor Who episode "The Girl Who Died" (with a character referring to the song as the "Benny Hill Theme") and the animated TV shows The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, multiple episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,[18][19] and "The Prime Minister Has No Clothes" episode of Time Squad. The stop motion animated sketch comedy series Robot Chicken featured a brief sketch depicting Benny Hill's funeral (using dolls) where the attendees have a Benny Hill Show-type chase scene with many of the usual gags and a song similar to "Yakety Sax". The theme was used during the 2012 Olympics beach volleyball event between sets (where rakers must rush to smooth out the court).[20]
On 7 July 2022, the tune was played outside the Houses of Parliament, by anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray, upon the announcement by Boris Johnson that he was resigning as Prime Minister. This was suggested by actor Hugh Grant.[21][22][23]