Animal House Soundtrack
Published August 25, 2003
As Belushi was acting out the scene he probably faked the singalong, and then, after the fact, he probably dubbed the Bluto singalong vocals over his own recorded version of "Louie, Louie" so that the scene you see and hear in the theater is Belushi singing along with himself lip-synching a prerecorded version of "Louie, Louie," upon which he was the lead singer. He was in the studio twice and acted it out a third time. You have to be Socrates to figure this stuff out.
3. A good case can be made for Animal House as a musical: characters perform and interact with songs at key and pivotal parts of the film. Actors portray musicians performing musical numbers. This happens in the bizarre Belushi sense, and in the more conventional Otis Day and the Knights scenes.
The two Otis Day scenes are among the most vividly remembered scenes from the film. The scenes flow smoothly from the action so that the audience is barely cognizant of the fact that these are staged musical numbers. The first number, "Shout," is a group of actors portraying a band entertaining at a fraternity party.
The actor portraying Otis Day is DeWayne Jessie. He is not the singer on the recording though, Lloyd Williams is. So DeWayne is just lip-synching to a recording by another singer, as did Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.
Animal House succeeds because it reproduces the liberation and ecstasy of rock 'n' roll in story form. "Shout" is where the rock 'n' roll metaphor becomes reality. The movie is no longer about rock 'n' roll emotions, it suddenly is rock 'n' roll.
The band, Otis Day and the Knights, performs "Shout" in the basement of the Delta house for their toga party. Everyone dances riotously. The band circles around the singer like Indians around a wagon train, spurring him onto even greater vocal bedazzlements. The crowd crouches down to the ground during the "little bit softer now" segment and rises accordingly to "a little bit louder now, a little bit louder now," pausing at the bottom to gator - to writhe spastically on the ground.
The crowd raises its hands and shouts when the lyrics call for it. The character Boon (Peter Riegert), who is sans date, mimics Otis Day's every nuance, not out of mockery, but out of deep respect and a desire to fit in with the revelry.
This scene has been recreated in real life, thousands of times, all over the country. People want to participate in the feeling of that scene with their bodies. They want their lives to imitate this art. There is something tribal and fundamental about participating in group ritual, a ritual of solidarity against what is often vague and nonspecific in real life - the forces of repression and routine and boredom and authority. In the movie these targets are made real, specific and absolute, Dean Wormer and the Omegas. People dance with vigor and animation to this song as though they are trying to physically eliminate these foes. They stomp them into the ground, they crawl all over them, they fight them.
![Animal House: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41CKHDAH88L._SY90_.jpg "Animal House: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]")
- Animal House Soundtrack
- Published: August 25, 2003
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Hip-hop, Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Soundtracks
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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- Eric Olsen's personal site
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Hey Brad,
The movie with "The Gang Bang Song" is "Busting Loose". It was like a "Porky's" type movie with Tom Cruise in it.Pretty funny movie.
Later,
Doug
Sorry I missed that Brad. Thanks for helping out Doug!
I got the wrong movie earlier. It's not "Busting Loose", it's "Losin' It".
Sorry,
Doug
now all is right with the world
by the way, I think this is a conceptually brilliant post that has been appallingly ignored, only to be resurrected by an inquiry into gang bangs.
Hey, back in the eighties Jesse appeared at out college (Central Oklahoma) but he was backed by what was called the Animal House Band. Anyways, he was made an Honorary Initiate of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
I just saw Animal House on a T V network replay and realized that their is a "bridge" to the Otis Day and the Knights Shama Lama Ding Dong. It appears once with vocals and later in the song as an instrumental. It is the classical 4th chord to 4th chord minor, etc.
I have performed this tune numerous times without the "bridge" but would like to include it.
Can you locate a version of the song with the bridge including the words, etc? Thanks
does the soundtrack version have the bridge?
what is the name of the song that replaced wonderfull world of sam cooke in the new dvd version?
I hadn't noticed it was replaced - what part of the movie is it?
Correction on #7, it's not "The Dexter Lake Club", it's the "Depth of the Lake Club". Check out the sign as the Deltas drive into and walk into the club.
Maybe DeWayne could sing at one time, but he can't now. I just attended his show in St. Charles, and I had to leave because his "singing" was literally hurting my ears.
well, the soundtrack WAS recorded 27 years ago - I haven't heard him live since the mid-'80s, when he sounded pretty good and put on a ripping show
Eric, I'm trying to find out what the obscure piece of music is that Otter uses to seduce Mrs. Wermer in his pad during Toga Party. He turns it on from the wall as he is adjusting the lights. It's totally bossa-nova feeling and wondered if you had any idea! I must own it! Thanks for you help and your blog! Best, John
Wow. Amazing "analysis" of the impact this movie has had on the American college scene in the past 25 years. Now, as an ancient 45 year old ;-) there's no movie more fond to me than Animal House. Searching the internet for the soundtrack, I found your article. Many thanks! I thought your ideas on why "Shout" is so powerful were right on the money. There's no other feeling of connection with friends and celebration of life than in the times in my life when I've been down on the floor gatoring with my friends. Thank you Eric. Awesome artticle!!
no, it is indeed the Dexter Lake Club there is a big neon sign on the roof.
I saw Otis Day and the Knights twice, once in the middle of campus at USC, and again at SC he joined the Trojan Marching band to sing Shout at a football game backed by the 100+ member marching band and for an audience of about 90,000 at the LA Memorial Coleseum.
What is that song/soundtrack played when they were making their getaway from the black bar and smashing most (if not all) of the cars in the parking lot with theirs? ("Lay it down"?) I can't find it listed anywhere.
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Hello Eric,
There was a movie in the late 70's or early 80's where a piano player was singing "The Gang Bang Song."
ex "Knock, Knock. Who's there? Tijuana. Tijuana who? Tijuana bring your mother to the gang bang." It was hilarious, and he had so many knock knock jokes. Any idea what movie that was, or who sang the song?
Thanks,
Brad