When you hear the phrase, “Mah Nà Mah Nà”, do you think about the Muppets? That’s what I thought when this song by Piero Umiliani came up on my Spotify Discover Weekly. I thought this was another cover of the Muppets goofy song.
But that album cover for Piero Umiliani’s “Mah Nà Mah Nà”—it does look like something from the 60s. Is it possible this song came out before the Muppets version of “Mah Nà Mah Nà” in the 70s?
A quick Google search for: Mah Nà Mah Nà by Piero Umiliani results in the Wikipedia entry for Mah Nà Mah Nà. Thank you, Wikipedia for once again having the answer!
“Mah Nà Mah Nà” by Piero Umiliani was first a minor radio hit in the U.S. and Britain!
According to Wikipedia, “Sesame Street producer Joan Ganz Cooney heard the track on the radio and decided it would be a perfect addition to the show.” There is no citation on this claim, so who knows if it’s true. But it does appear that Piero Umiliani’s song came out before the Muppets version!
We know what Jim Henson was listening to right before he took pen to paper!
Interesting point! I wonder what other songs inspired Jim Henson. I tried googling “Jim Henson’s favorite songs,” but all I got was a list of people’s favorite Muppet songs, or a list of Jim Henson’s favorite Muppet songs. Then I tried googling, “songs that inspired jim henson,” but again, nothing came up.