“Hey Mickey”, a pillar of Poptastic society. There’s nothing quite like this song – its wonderful combination of pure pop genius and absurd silliness is breathtaking. Definitely a classic.
But other than that, what can we say about “Hey Mickey”, Toni Basil’s much loved one-hit-wonder? Well, rumor has it that it was the inspiration for Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback” video. But we already knew that Gwen has awesome taste. According to the Wikipedia, “Hey Mickey” has been used in Disney ads, with the song referring to Mickey Mouse, of course. I can’t be the only one that finds that vaguely disturbing. “You’re so fine you blow my mind” should not be used to describe a character loved by children worldwide and that’s all there is to it.
That’s not the only factoid the Wikipedia has to share. Like a lot of things in my life, it all comes down to The Monkees in the end. Apparently, “Hey Mickey” was originally written in 1979 as “Kitty”. When Toni Basil recorded it in 1982, she changed it to “Mickey” to celebrate the crush she had on The Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz while working on their movie Head in 1968. Ah, a gal after my own heart.
Toni Basil – Hey Mickey
Filed under: Music, Poptastic Day Tagged: | Pop, Toni Basil
Toni Basil’s reworking is probably remembered as much for the video too though it continues to receive repeated radio play so I guess it stands the test of time though I admit it annoyed me greatly at the time.I’ll have to defer on the Mickey Dolenz thing.
Amazing, perfect song. I don’t care if it’s cheese.