Blogcritics Comments on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Comment by dangel on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:11:26 EDT

Ah, what memories this brings back. P.S. 41 Bronx, NY, Mrs. Vittaglione (the best gym teacher). I don't remember having anything but fun exercising to this record and the Alley Cat. I know 45 years later I'm not overweight. I think this was good conditioning even though I'm a slug about exercising.

Comment by Marcia Neil on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Sun, 7 Sep 2008 02:36:44 EDT

The song annoys baby boomers because it was illegally marketed. "Freedom of the press' is not a law, it is an ethic and it is unethical to seize and market any music without adequate infor-mation.

Comment by sp hackney - Orginally from Williamstown, Mass on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 20:38:11 EDT

I have been talking about this song with my husband for years. He had never heard of the song. We were both born in 1960. We figured it must be a regional thing. What a riot! I hated that song. We always had to exercise to it when it rained. Which is a lot in New England. Our gym teacher Miss Flag and her double canes made us work out to it in our danskin shorts and bad page boy hair cuts.

Comment by Schmaltzedicke Faygele on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:42:17 EDT

Boy, does this song bring back memories! I don't remember hearing it at school, but we had a copy of this record on a mini-album (45RPM size, but played at 33RPM, and only had the small center hole). As kids, my sisters, my brother and I wore this record into scratchy non-existence, playing it over and over and actually doing the exercises. You would think that after all of that, we'd all be toned and buff. No such thing. Out of the five of us, four of us have strugged with being overweight and obese throughout our lives. Go figure....

Comment by jbw on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 15:58:24 EDT

I found the original Chicken Fat by Robert Preston. To my great pleasure it was the entire ten minute version. They only have it available to listen to. I promise this is where I found it. Happy listening and may the memories flow.

Comment by PD FOGEL on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:11:00 EDT

Boy am I glad I found this. I had forgotten how intense it could be. After hearing the whole song again I remembered how we would fall on the ground after we had to do this in PE. If schools did more stuff like this, childhood obesity would not be an issue.

Comment by Patricia Perry on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:26:08 EST

I remember this song. We excersised to this song at the beginning of every PE class. We performed this song for the parents at the May fair. Oh my goodness!!!!

Comment by AJ on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:10:36 EST

Where, oh where, can I find a CD (not the video)of this song? I had one that I regularly used in my classroom, but it fizzled after 30 years of use!

Comment by Jim--Arlington, Massachusetts on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 03:34:14 EDT

Clearly, this song invites no ambivalence. People either love or hate it, but they sure do remember it! Me, I'm in the former camp--and no version can best "Music Man" Robert Preston's rendition of it--his delivery commands authority. If Preston had been a broad, he'd have been called "brassy," a term of endearment(?) usually reserved for performers such as the late Ethel Merman, and Bette Midler. For the vaudeville-challenged, that basically means that unlike Madonna and other pretenders to the throne of versatile entertainment (who wear those silly contraptions making them appear as air traffic controllers), Preston's voice could be heard at the back of a theater without peripheral device assistance. Beyond that, these unique performers don't so much occupy a character as it inhabits them. More recently, Matthew Broderick, an actor whom I admire generally, reprised the role of "Professor Harold Hill" in a TV version of "The Music Man." It translated as nothing so much as "Ferris Bueller" having another "off day," making one realize there's truth to that adage of one actor defining a character, and in that role Preston is Webster's! This song was used in the schools' physical education classes to motivate the kids of an era to exercise, and one couldn't ask for a better drill sergeant in such matters than Preston--certainly inspires more confidence than, say, someone like Richard Simmons or Jane Fonda. Though some baby boomers may have become out of shape, due partly to slower metabolisms that come with aging and not enough caloric burn, at least in their youth were more mobile than many of today's young, who are already starting off at a disadvantage with less physical education, more sedentary lifestyles and both unsupervised & unstructured eating habits. So maybe a supplemntal tool like this recording could be a motivator, as part of increased physical activity, both in and after school! As for which version of this song to use, let me put it another way--Carole King wrote "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman," but it is Aretha Franklin who soars with it! Just as Bob Dylan wrote "Mr. Tambourine Man," but The Byrds took it to another level. Preston soars to another level with this very simple work chant, making anyone with ears realize who is the commander and who is commanded to sweat!

Comment by Leann Wexler on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:16:48 EDT

WHOA! My husband and I were driving to work this morning and he was griping about traffic, saying "Go...go...go..." and out of the blue, I said, "Go, you chicken fat, go!" He had no idea what I was talking about, even though we're the same age. I explained about the song we exercised to in PE, and said I'd have to find it for him. This is amazing. I love it that people are remembering it as fondly as I am.

Comment by Brenda on Go, You Chicken Fat, Go

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:58:06 EDT

I never, never thought I'd really find this song on the internet. I was a tad young to have this in school, but my mother used to watch "The Morning Show" and the hosts did this routine every morning. My husband has never heard this and I had to find it for that reason. Thanks for the great laugh it gave me.