"Alley Cat", also known as "Alleycat" and "The Alley Cat," is a popular instrumental song made most famous by the Danish pianist and composer Bent Fabric, released in 1962.[1] Fabric (born Bent Fabricius-Bjerre) wrote the tune under the pseudonym Frank Björn.
History
The song was originally released in November, 1961, under the Danish title "Omkring et flygel," which means "Around a Piano."[2] In 1962, the Bent Fabric composition reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[1] In Australia, it went to number 2 and in Germany it went to number 49. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording during the 5th Grammy Awards. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Siw Malmkvist recorded the song in Swedish, "Våran katt", in Danish, "Vores kat" and in German, "Schwarzer Kater Stanislaus" (1962).
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews. Matt Dennis of the Windsor Star said it had an "infectious, toe-tapping tempo."[3]
In "The Wedding Affair," the fifteenth episode of Season 1 of Mad About You, Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt respectively) make an uninspiring attempt at dancing to the instrumental with forearms and hands somewhat extended forward and fingers pointed downward to mimic a cat's paws and listlessly saying "meow" at the end of the refrains.[15]
It is also frequently used by ice cream trucks in the US.[citation needed]
