Saturday, April 3, 2010

Go, You Chicken Fat, GO!

If you are like me and grew up in the 60's or 70's, you were probably tortured by this song at some point in your life.

Sung by Robert Preston (The Music Man), and sent to every school in the U.S. as part of a Youth Fitness Program in the 60's, it is guaranteed to get you moving.

Plus---once you hear it, you will NEVER GET IT OUT OF YOUR HEAD.

We had a copy of this record at our house, and I still remember doing the "Chicken Fat" workout with my mom and grandmother on a regular basis. We had such a great time yelling, "Give that chicken fat back to the chicken and don't be chicken again!"

I have posted the entire "Chicken Fat" song for your retro fitness enjoyment. Now get up, get moving and flap those wings!




Am I the only weirdo that remembers this?

40 comments:

Lidian said...

Oh, I remember this. We had a gym teacher in grade school who forced her students to put on the Chicken Fat Follies every year. It was just as horrible as it sounds.

I can't quite bring myself to listen to this just now. Will fortify myself with more coffee and come back!

By the way my CAPTCHA word is DORKEE, which sums up my grade school personality perfectly. How did Blogger know?

Unknown said...

I remember this vaguely. I think my Uncle had that song in his music collection. Wow.. I just remembred we used to have actual "collections", not just thousands and thousands of digital music files. What a concept!

heidi said...

i remember it, too. we did it in elementary p.e. all 5 years. i can hear it in my head every time i hit the treadmill. who knew?

Paula said...

I am an 80's baby, but my mom had this record when we were kids. My brother and cousins and I would dance around like fools to this song.
Thank you for the laugh! I sure needed it this Monday morning!

Leanne @ The Skinny Architect said...

Haha, to quote my mother "I have that on a record upstairs." Then she proceeded to dance, lol! Made my night, thanks!

pika23 said...

I remember this vaugely. Gym class early 80s. This and Disco disney

Averyl said...

I'm loving your nostalgia and all of the memories it's bringing back for me, even if torturous. :)


In summer camp they blasted that song EVERY afternoon over the camp-wide loudspeakers. We were expected to stop whatever it was we were doing and engage in some kind of jumping jacks or whatever our counselors told us to do.

Beth said...

Our principal played that over the intercom in the 70s, but on Fridays, he played Sneaky Snake!!

Anonymous said...

I have been singing this song but I could not remember where I learned or heard it
So I decided to look it up on the internet. That is when I saw on you website where the song came from and how it was used in schools
I am 53 years old and in the 70s it was used in schools. After years of having this song on my mind and not knowing why and where I ever heard it the mystery is solved (smile) THANKS!

Anonymous said...

I have been singing this song but I could not remember where I learned or heard it
So I decided to look it up on the internet. That is when I saw on you website where the song came from and how it was used in schools
I am 53 years old and in the 70s it was used in schools. After years of having this song on my mind and not knowing why and where I ever heard it the mystery is solved (smile) THANKS!

Carrie said...

My Girl Scout leader back in the early 70s tortured the troop with this record. :P I still love Robert Preston, though.

Anonymous said...

I loved this then and I love this song now. Does anyone remember having to learn how to square dance in PE? all through grammer school in the late 60's. Oh what memories!!!!

-Alan D Hopewell said...

In the mid-60's, WJW Channel 8 in Cleveland had a morning show calleed FRANZ THE TOYMAKER, which ran Monday through Friday at 9 am. Franz and his assistant Raggedy Ann wouled show cartoons, tell jokes, and do the usual kiddie-show stuff.

On Tuesdays, Franz, over Raggedy Ann's protests, would open a closet, and that song would come BLASTING out, and they'd exercize to it.

Elizabeth said...

I LOVED hearing this song AGAIN! I cannot wait to share it with my high school students. Thanks so very much for bringing "the chicken" back...

Unknown said...

ROFLMAO!! Hubby LOVES oldies... He doesn't know this one and claims to never have heard it... OMG to think they unearthed this for a commercial I just heard on TV during the 1st intermission of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, game 1, on NBC

Anonymous said...

I was a PE teacher in Owatonna, Minnesota in late 60s. I used Chicken Fat as a warm up for classes prior to planned activities. To this day I exercise to music but it all started with Chicken Fat.

Larry Gershman said...

Holy crap!!..I'm 54 & havent heard that song since 2nd or 3rd grade!! Never knew it was part of a pys ed thing, just remembered the words 'chicken fat'!! Thanks for the memories!!!

Unknown said...

We had a gym teacher that tortured us with this recording during the '60's. It wasn't so much doing the exercises, but that song you just can't get out of your head. Pretty funny now!

Unknown said...

Oh yeah..that song sounded so familiar and for some reason I knew all the words! Wracked my brain trying to recall what Broadway musical it came from...lol I think they played over the PA system in junior high homeroom (1965 - 1968). Thanks for the memories!

Anonymous said...

Yup. I remember this being played during elementary school gym class in the early '70's (around the same time my mother first started taking me to Weight Watchers, incidentally.) I was the only overweight child in my class, so the song was more painful than amusing or annoying. Between my school telling me I was a second-class citizen because I was not thin, and my having to attend WW weekly meetings as the only child in a group of adults, the message was that I was different, not "normal" like all the other kids, and therefore, not as good as they.
Oh, and I remember WW catsup (my mom used to make it), and WW "popcorn": a bowl full of chunks of cut-up carrots and celery with seasoned salt on them, and having to eat liver once a week. (Fortunately for me, I learned to love it!)

kathleen said...

OMG tortured is right! Every day in 10th grade PE. 1970. I have never forgotten it. the Apple spot transported me back instantly to those hated blue-shorts-and-white- blouse workouts!

Linda Maldonado said...

It's BACK!! Heard it on an Apple commercial. After 40 years, I had completely forgotten about this obscure PE warm up. How did the folks at Apple remember this???

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I went to George Gershwin JHS in East New York. I was a gym leader and my gym teacher Mrs Woods would play that record. I heard the commercial and it brought back wonderful memories.Thank you for the song.

Unknown said...

It's the seven minute workout!

Noreen said...

I've written two blog posts myself about this monstrosity! I don't know which was worse, the song or the gym teachers who played it. Actually, it was probably the pure white, snap up gymsuit that was the worst!

www.roderama.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Thanks for the whole song' as soon as I heard the commercial, I knew I wanted to hear the whole song. Funny thing, I was 10 when we did this in gym class and I can still remember the song and what exercises were coming next. I'm 53 now. Thanks for the memory!

Anonymous said...

I'm 56, and I can still remember the lyrics of this song!!! Amazing!! I want to download this song for my daughter, but can't find a link!!! Thanks for the great memory!!!

Unknown said...

I'm 49 years old and I remember that song. When I was about 3 or 4 years old my Mom baby sat for 7 kids around my age. Every morning she would put on a TV show and they would play the chicken fat song. I LOVE that song!

ICDogg said...

Yeah, my elementary school, at least the first four grades of it (back then elementary school went from grades 1-6), had us exercise to this song. And also to "Simple Simon Says" by the 1910 Fruitgum Company.

Kathy said...

My PE teacher used this in elementary school in the early 60's. I loved it. We had a blast doing the exercises. I am a teacher now. I wish students were as enthusiastic as we used to be. Life has changed!

Ron said...

My dad wad the physical education teacher at our high school, and this song and film was front and center many days in class.

Anonymous said...

Being from Canada, I don't remember this song from school, but I do remember learning how to square dance (which I never did after that). I too thought it was from a Broadway musical - sounds like it should be!

Katja

Unknown said...

Wow I love this song very motivating

Anonymous said...

Miss Anderson marched us to the gym every morning and put this record on - with volume up the max - and us 1st graders (along with Miss Anderson) got our exercise. That was 42 years ago! Loved it then and still do. RP

Unknown said...

I remember this song in gym class in the 70's

Mike Sylwester said...

I stole your Chicken Fat article for my own blog.

http://seward-concordia-neighborhood.blogspot.com/2015/06/exercising-to-song-chicken-fat.html

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