Cover Versions
The first cover version was recorded in 1958 by the British musician Don Lang and made the UK Top 10.
The song has also been covered by Sha Na Na and in Spanish by Manuel "El Loco" Valdés.
A French-language version, "Docteur Miracle" was recorded by Danyel Gérard, by Annie Cordy, and also by Claude Piron.
A modified version was also used in a commercial for Tab soda, with "ting tang" being replaced by "Tab taste".
Mickey Katz recorded a parody called "K'nish Doctor" in which the doctor uses quasi-Yiddish utterances. This track is included on The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records.
The song was also used in a commercial for the Nintendo game Dr. Mario.
In the episode "The Bend in the River" of The A-Team, Murdock wears a mask, singing the song to himself and B. A. Baracus.
In the episode "Make Room for Lisa" of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson sings the song to himself while he and Lisa are in separate water-filled sensory deprivation tanks, with slightly different lyrics.
In Episode 304 of "The Muppet Show", guest-starring Gilda Radner, Marvin Suggs plays the song on the Muppaphone, singing the verses himself and having each Muppaphone say the magic words to every hit they get. The song is interrupted by an actual Witch Doctor who punishes him for telling someone else (the audience) by turning his head into a Muppaphone, much to the amusement of his Muppaphones.
In the episode "You May Now Kiss the... Uh... Guy Who Receives" of Family Guy, Quagmire sings the song after refusing to sign Brian's petition.
While not covering the song per second, the American rock band Clutch references it on the song "Texan Book of the Dead" from their 1995 eponymous album by using the chorus of the song as a form of incantation, preserving the original intent.
In the TV series "Jonathan Creek", Jonathan and Maddie grimly recite the lyrics as they remember them, and then have an argument about who sang it, what it was about, and how the chorus went.
A New wave band Devo, recorded a version for the 1998 film, The Rugrats Movie, with new lyrics. This version, however, talks about fun-loving monkeys and their carefree lifestyle which ties into a part of the film's plot where the Rugrats encounter a pack of escaped circus monkeys who sing this song to them.
In Storybook Weaver and Storybook Weaver Deluxe, Horton sings the song in slow version with Wickersharm Guards and the witch doctor.
A sequel of sorts, "Witch Doctor Bump", by funk band, the Chubukos, including Chipmunk-style novelty voices, appeared in the Record World charts in late 1973, rising as high as #117 in a 10-week chart stay.
Read more about this topic: Witch Doctor (song)
Famous quotes containing the words cover and/or versions:
“Many count on their disadvantages to cover for them.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“The assumption must be that those who can see value only in tradition, or versions of it, deny man’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)