"I guess I’m known for Big Mouth Billy Bass..."
July 24, 2020 8:14 PM Subscribe
An Oral History of Big Mouth Billy Bass This is absolutely priceless and a must read for sheer hilarity. Take a guy who'd rather make silly toys than work in Washington. Have his wife come up with a silly idea.
Add a fish head that turns and a few songs and it's magic. The fish has made it to movies, television, to the Bush family. There's a restaurant that will adopt your Big Mouth Billy Bass and give it a good home. There's an art car.
"Do you remember the dancing hamsters, the ones that did “Kung Fu Fighting” and a bunch of different songs? That was me."
"I would have been wearing a suit and a white shirt and been a bureaucrat, or I could make toys for a living. I chose well."
"Once Billy Bass’ head turned, that’s what hooked people. It was that surprise factor. That’s what made it the item it would be. If it was just a wiggling fish on a plaque, we might have sold some, but it would have been long forgotten. "
"There were so many Billy Bass knockoffs that it was ridiculous. There’s Boogie Bass, Travis the Singing Trout, Jake the Jackalope, Rocky the Lobster. There are just so many, but that’s what happens in capitalist America — a good idea becomes a great idea, becomes an awful idea once too many people get their hands on it."
"Do you remember the dancing hamsters, the ones that did “Kung Fu Fighting” and a bunch of different songs? That was me."
"I would have been wearing a suit and a white shirt and been a bureaucrat, or I could make toys for a living. I chose well."
"Once Billy Bass’ head turned, that’s what hooked people. It was that surprise factor. That’s what made it the item it would be. If it was just a wiggling fish on a plaque, we might have sold some, but it would have been long forgotten. "
"There were so many Billy Bass knockoffs that it was ridiculous. There’s Boogie Bass, Travis the Singing Trout, Jake the Jackalope, Rocky the Lobster. There are just so many, but that’s what happens in capitalist America — a good idea becomes a great idea, becomes an awful idea once too many people get their hands on it."
"I guess I’m known for Big Mouth Billy Bass..."
Hey, Joe - don't worry, be happy!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:53 PM on July 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hey, Joe - don't worry, be happy!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:53 PM on July 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Felicity Rilke once asked me to buy her a Big Mouth Billy Bass during one of her rounds of chemo. I think she wanted to mount it on the wall above her while she was injected. I tried, but I'll always regret that the store I went to on the way to the hospital didn't have any.
posted by Beardman at 8:57 PM on July 24, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Beardman at 8:57 PM on July 24, 2020 [9 favorites]
The first job I ever had was working in at a mall called 'Wind 'em Up Toys'. The gimmick of this particular store was that all the mechanical toys were supposed to have a demo going all through the hours the store was open.
So for eight hours a day, the monkey banged the cymbals, the dogs barked, and Bill sang "Take Me to the River". Banging, barking, sparking, chanting, singing, squirming. A great squalling rolling death march of relentless discordant automata, scrabbling like so many drowning rats, clutching at attention, for all the hours of the day.
I lasted five weeks on that job, before I became hospitalized with pleurisy. And was promptly fired for missing a shift because I was in intensive care.
And that was the moment that made me a Marxist.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 9:10 PM on July 24, 2020 [79 favorites]
So for eight hours a day, the monkey banged the cymbals, the dogs barked, and Bill sang "Take Me to the River". Banging, barking, sparking, chanting, singing, squirming. A great squalling rolling death march of relentless discordant automata, scrabbling like so many drowning rats, clutching at attention, for all the hours of the day.
I lasted five weeks on that job, before I became hospitalized with pleurisy. And was promptly fired for missing a shift because I was in intensive care.
And that was the moment that made me a Marxist.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 9:10 PM on July 24, 2020 [79 favorites]
This is a really great article. I sort of rolled my eyes at the post but then I clicked through and it was actually quite fascinating. I'm so glad you posted, thanks!
It was SO QUOTABLE!!! I had to! :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:27 PM on July 24, 2020
It was SO QUOTABLE!!! I had to! :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:27 PM on July 24, 2020
I’ve been watching The Sopranos for the first time, a couple of decades behind the times. I loved the show’s multi-episode treatment of Billy Big Mouth Bass. “Take me to the River” of course got more royalties from that exposure- and kudos for being an appropriate song for a mafioso. I would not be surprised if some very significant plot points in series 3 were not constructed around Billy, in fact.
posted by rongorongo at 12:55 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 12:55 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
It is so quotable! And so surprisingly good. I did not expect to tear up reading this article but as a member of the Dead Dad Club, this part did me in for like five different reasons:
Sarah Booz, daughter of a Big Mouth Billy Bass owner: My dad had one. He had it engraved. He was so proud of it. He ordered it off a late-night infomercial because he was an insomniac. The engraving said, “Mamoo Booz killed me. Ho ho ho.” Mamoo was his nickname because his brother couldn’t pronounce his name when he was a kid. That was also his stage name when he was a clown, “Mamoo the Clown.” He passed when I was 17 and I had the fish for a while, but I just recently threw it out.posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 1:03 AM on July 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
some crazy fluke that comes outta nowhere
Actually it’s a bass
posted by uncleozzy at 4:44 AM on July 25, 2020 [25 favorites]
Actually it’s a bass
posted by uncleozzy at 4:44 AM on July 25, 2020 [25 favorites]
Very interesting. Thanks for posting!
I have no idea how compensation is structured in the novelty toy business, but I hope the inventor gets a salary plus some sort of bonus tied to units sold. If the company made a $100 million in the first year, toss this guy a $1 million?!
As I was reading this, I thought to myself, "Self, everyone you know will know about this Bass." I am 50+, right in the wheelhouse for having had the disposable income at the time to grab one of these when they first hit. So, I test my theory. I ask my gf who is a woman of a certain age if she ever heard of Billy. Nope. I explain what it is. Nope. Hmm. "Have you ever heard of a pet rock?" "Yes, of course" "A chia pet?" "Stop. everyone knows a chia pet." "The clapper?" "Help I have fallen and I can't get up." Where's the beef?" Knows all the references.
"Have you ever heard of the comic strip Garfield?" "Yes, the fat cat." "How about Calvin and Hobbes?" "Who?" "You know, Calvin and his friend Hobbes the stuffed animal." "Never heard of them."
I sorta get not hearing about Big Mouth Billy Bass the singing moving fish, but not knowing who Calvin and Hobbes are is beyond my ability to grasp.
posted by AugustWest at 6:16 AM on July 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
I have no idea how compensation is structured in the novelty toy business, but I hope the inventor gets a salary plus some sort of bonus tied to units sold. If the company made a $100 million in the first year, toss this guy a $1 million?!
As I was reading this, I thought to myself, "Self, everyone you know will know about this Bass." I am 50+, right in the wheelhouse for having had the disposable income at the time to grab one of these when they first hit. So, I test my theory. I ask my gf who is a woman of a certain age if she ever heard of Billy. Nope. I explain what it is. Nope. Hmm. "Have you ever heard of a pet rock?" "Yes, of course" "A chia pet?" "Stop. everyone knows a chia pet." "The clapper?" "Help I have fallen and I can't get up." Where's the beef?" Knows all the references.
"Have you ever heard of the comic strip Garfield?" "Yes, the fat cat." "How about Calvin and Hobbes?" "Who?" "You know, Calvin and his friend Hobbes the stuffed animal." "Never heard of them."
I sorta get not hearing about Big Mouth Billy Bass the singing moving fish, but not knowing who Calvin and Hobbes are is beyond my ability to grasp.
posted by AugustWest at 6:16 AM on July 25, 2020 [8 favorites]
We managed to get about 250 of the fish mounted onto the car. So we put it in the parade with a couple hundred thousand spectators and people were dropping to their knees and cracking up — it was just beyond anything that we could have imagined in terms of making people laughThere is an aroma to this phrase that puts me in mind of the clickbait link headlines that tell me that Stephen Colbert Literally Cannot Hold It Together At Paul Rudd’s Joke.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:38 AM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Other than the concepts "Garfield was bad" and "Cathy was bad," 80s and 90s newspaper comics vanished from the public memory surprisingly quickly. I never hear Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County references even from other Xers/Old Millennials, people only remember a few Far Side strips, etc. I don't understand why it's a thing, but it's definitely a thing.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:27 AM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:27 AM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
(Getoffmylawn etc, but I'm really more curious than outraged)
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:28 AM on July 25, 2020
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:28 AM on July 25, 2020
I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t tried to make a Big Mouth Billy Bass movie. Or perhaps they have and it mercifully didn’t make it very far.
posted by TedW at 8:38 AM on July 25, 2020
posted by TedW at 8:38 AM on July 25, 2020
I think about Calvin and Hobbes about once a week, and two people in my friend circle have related tattoos. We were born in 83/84.
posted by midmarch snowman at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by midmarch snowman at 8:53 AM on July 25, 2020 [5 favorites]
One day my wife and I were driving by a new Bass Pro here in Grapevine, and we were banging back and forth ideas and she said, “How about a singing fish on a plaque?”
I mean fair enough he did all the work to keep it being developed and whatnot but arguable she was the one who created the idea. I vote joint credit should be conferred.
posted by wyndham at 8:56 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
I mean fair enough he did all the work to keep it being developed and whatnot but arguable she was the one who created the idea. I vote joint credit should be conferred.
posted by wyndham at 8:56 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
I often refer to Calvin and Hobbes for their excellent cooking advice.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:04 AM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by kaibutsu at 9:04 AM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
Dude was also responsible for those talking Christmas trees that were motion activated and could scare the shit out of person innocently walking down the aisle.
A person like me.
posted by emjaybee at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
A person like me.
posted by emjaybee at 9:24 AM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
Cravensworth!
posted by Going To Maine at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
"What is this?"
"Do you remember the Mechanical Turk?"
"Ooh, yes."
"Well, this is the same thing in fish form."
(What We Do In The Shadows season 2 episode 6, "On The Run" [FanFare])
posted by filthy light thief at 10:30 AM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
"Do you remember the Mechanical Turk?"
"Ooh, yes."
"Well, this is the same thing in fish form."
(What We Do In The Shadows season 2 episode 6, "On The Run" [FanFare])
posted by filthy light thief at 10:30 AM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Christ, what a basshole!
posted by chavenet at 11:45 AM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 11:45 AM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
Other than the concepts "Garfield was bad" and "Cathy was bad," 80s and 90s newspaper comics vanished from the public memory surprisingly quickly. I never hear Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County references even from other Xers/Old Millennials, people only remember a few Far Side strips, etc. I don't understand why it's a thing, but it's definitely a thing.
Calvin gets referenced some in my cohort (mid-millennial I guess) and it's easy to find big fans online, but Bloom County seems distinctly of the part of the 80s where I was not, actually, alive. I've read all of it but that's because my parents had the books.
posted by atoxyl at 1:24 PM on July 25, 2020
Calvin gets referenced some in my cohort (mid-millennial I guess) and it's easy to find big fans online, but Bloom County seems distinctly of the part of the 80s where I was not, actually, alive. I've read all of it but that's because my parents had the books.
posted by atoxyl at 1:24 PM on July 25, 2020
Hey, Joe - don't worry, be happy!
Hey Joe, where you going with that plaque in your hand?
Hey Joe, I said where you going with that plaque in your hand?
I'm going down to annoy my cubemate
You know I caught her messing 'round with a vinyl-killer van
You know I caught her messing 'round with a vinyl-killer van
And that ain't too cool
posted by rhizome at 1:51 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Hey Joe, where you going with that plaque in your hand?
Hey Joe, I said where you going with that plaque in your hand?
I'm going down to annoy my cubemate
You know I caught her messing 'round with a vinyl-killer van
You know I caught her messing 'round with a vinyl-killer van
And that ain't too cool
posted by rhizome at 1:51 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
A great squalling rolling death march of relentless discordant automata, scrabbling like so many drowning rats, clutching at attention, for all the hours of the day.
And today I learned that it's not just grocery stores that were designed with pinpoint precision to give me a panic attack. Holy Jesus.
This was absolutely delightful to read, thank you so much! I am strangely touched by the way Pellettieri absolutely knew that there was a lifespan to his creation, recognized it as a fad, and is still rightfully proud of it. There's a deep honesty about his own work there that's just wonderful.
I still use the phrase 'hork up a hairball' because growing up my family had a clipped-out strip with Bill the Cat doing just that magnetted to the fridge for, like, a decade. Born in '82, and truly very cusp-y between Millennial and GenX.
posted by kalimac at 2:04 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
And today I learned that it's not just grocery stores that were designed with pinpoint precision to give me a panic attack. Holy Jesus.
This was absolutely delightful to read, thank you so much! I am strangely touched by the way Pellettieri absolutely knew that there was a lifespan to his creation, recognized it as a fad, and is still rightfully proud of it. There's a deep honesty about his own work there that's just wonderful.
I still use the phrase 'hork up a hairball' because growing up my family had a clipped-out strip with Bill the Cat doing just that magnetted to the fridge for, like, a decade. Born in '82, and truly very cusp-y between Millennial and GenX.
posted by kalimac at 2:04 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
What is it gonna take to get an official smart speaker enabled Big Mouth Billy Bass
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:13 PM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:13 PM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
The words "crossroads" and "pact" come immediately to mind...
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:29 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:29 PM on July 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
What is it gonna take to get an official smart speaker enabled Big Mouth Billy Bass
"Billy, what is the weather today?"
"Here or down at the river?"
"Here."
"Take me to the river..."
"Goddamnit, Billy."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:01 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
"Billy, what is the weather today?"
"Here or down at the river?"
"Here."
"Take me to the river..."
"Goddamnit, Billy."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:01 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
I saw a lot of infomercials selling Billy. I thought it was kinda funny, but was in no way something I was interested in or thought many others would find amusing. Then, suddenly, it was everywhere. In stores, laughed at in late night jokes, etc.
Then, one of my uncles bought one for grandpa as a Christmas gift. Not only that, but he left the thing turned on for months, longer than the original set of batteries could possibly have lasted, so every time someone walked in or out the door, singing and flopping ensued. The noise of the motor(s) seemed as loud to me as the actual speaker, so it was especially baffling to me why anyone found the actual thing enjoyable. (The concept was amusing, though, that part I got)
I think that's when I fully realized that I had no understanding of people and what was going on in their heads. So thanks, Billy, for setting me straight about that.
Billy remained on the wall for many years, even after grandpa died, but he was eventually turned off.
posted by wierdo at 3:04 PM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Then, one of my uncles bought one for grandpa as a Christmas gift. Not only that, but he left the thing turned on for months, longer than the original set of batteries could possibly have lasted, so every time someone walked in or out the door, singing and flopping ensued. The noise of the motor(s) seemed as loud to me as the actual speaker, so it was especially baffling to me why anyone found the actual thing enjoyable. (The concept was amusing, though, that part I got)
I think that's when I fully realized that I had no understanding of people and what was going on in their heads. So thanks, Billy, for setting me straight about that.
Billy remained on the wall for many years, even after grandpa died, but he was eventually turned off.
posted by wierdo at 3:04 PM on July 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Oh, I can't resist this...
Metafilter: a great squalling rolling death march of relentless discordant automata, scrabbling like so many drowning rats, clutching at attention, for all the hours of the day.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 3:32 PM on July 25, 2020 [18 favorites]
Metafilter: a great squalling rolling death march of relentless discordant automata, scrabbling like so many drowning rats, clutching at attention, for all the hours of the day.
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 3:32 PM on July 25, 2020 [18 favorites]
Actually it’s a bass
My heart's pumpin' louder than a big bass drum!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 PM on July 25, 2020
My heart's pumpin' louder than a big bass drum!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 PM on July 25, 2020
I saw the car at an art car show in San Jose years ago. We walked up to it just as the fish started singing. I was instantly torn into a) laughing like I couldn’t believe and b) wanting to swoon in aesthetic bliss. No other art work I have ever seen has done that.
posted by njohnson23 at 6:29 PM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 6:29 PM on July 25, 2020 [1 favorite]
I never hear Calvin & Hobbes and Bloom County references even from other Xers/Old Millennials
Heck, I've (older GenXer) quoted both right here in Metafilter, and I know I'm not the only one who has.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:39 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Heck, I've (older GenXer) quoted both right here in Metafilter, and I know I'm not the only one who has.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:39 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
We just showed my son WALL-E and there's a 1-second cut to a Big Mouth Billy Bass on the wall of WALL-E's trailer. My son got it immediately, even though he's only 11 and hasn't seen one ever, as far as I know.
Kind of surprised that the article doesn't mention the dancing Coke cans, which were an enormous fad a few years before Billy, and almost certainly played a role in his success.
posted by Mchelly at 8:15 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Kind of surprised that the article doesn't mention the dancing Coke cans, which were an enormous fad a few years before Billy, and almost certainly played a role in his success.
posted by Mchelly at 8:15 PM on July 25, 2020 [2 favorites]
Oh, when I had juice for Burning Man I always had the idea for The Temple of Big Mouth Billy Bass, a dome filed to the gills with the fuckers, all set with their motion detectors on, so pretty much constantly singing.
And of course, the whole thing would have been set on a burn platform so it could be torched on Sunday. The video would have been epic!
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:06 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
And of course, the whole thing would have been set on a burn platform so it could be torched on Sunday. The video would have been epic!
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:06 PM on July 25, 2020 [3 favorites]
A maze of Billy Bass-covered passages, all alike
posted by rhizome at 4:16 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 4:16 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Kind of surprised that the article doesn't mention the dancing Coke cans yt , which were an enormous fad a few years before Billy, and almost certainly played a role in his success.
I can't believe I had completely forgotten about the dancing Coke cans until you mentioned them. Having been prodded, I remember exactly what they looked like, but there's no way it would have come up unprompted. Brains are weird.
What's extra baffling is that I was totally into the Coca-Cola branded stuff at the time. Stuffed polar bears, old signs, limited edition bottles, and more. I enjoyed it all somehow, but dancing cans just didn't give me the pleasure collecting or even seeing any of the other stuff did.
posted by wierdo at 5:46 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I can't believe I had completely forgotten about the dancing Coke cans until you mentioned them. Having been prodded, I remember exactly what they looked like, but there's no way it would have come up unprompted. Brains are weird.
What's extra baffling is that I was totally into the Coca-Cola branded stuff at the time. Stuffed polar bears, old signs, limited edition bottles, and more. I enjoyed it all somehow, but dancing cans just didn't give me the pleasure collecting or even seeing any of the other stuff did.
posted by wierdo at 5:46 AM on July 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
A maze of Billy Bass-covered passages, all alike
You are likely to be taken to the river and thrown in the water.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:03 PM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
You are likely to be taken to the river and thrown in the water.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:03 PM on July 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thank you so much for posting this, jenfullmoon!
posted by brainwane at 10:22 AM on July 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
The car is from 1984, but it’s a Volvo and they run forever. The fish, though, not so much — maintenance of the fish has been a major concern. I actually became an early adopter of 3D printing so that I could start printing replacement parts for them instead of buying more fish online. Most people probably would have given up in the last 20 years, but people laugh so hard at this, you know? How can you give up on the people who want to laugh?I choked up a bit. Yeah. I feel that.
posted by brainwane at 10:22 AM on July 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Who's going to do the first Oral History of Oral Histories?
posted by gottabefunky at 12:42 PM on July 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 12:42 PM on July 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
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I'm so happy for him. The music biz is a very tough row to hoe, and something like that, some crazy fluke that comes outta nowhere, hey, would that more songwriters have that kind of luck!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:25 PM on July 24, 2020 [17 favorites]