# Can anybody name this tune? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357 "2010-07-02T22:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/1 "2010-07-02T22:42:30Z")
Cuddly Dudley was a large cartoon dog on the Ray Rayner show, a children’s TV program in Chicago in the 1960s-70s. When introducing Cuddly, Ray would [sing a theme song.](http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtKMssG3Qc). (There used to be a You Tube clip of Ray singing on the show, but the station that aired the show had it taken down. This version, sung by a fan, is a little hard to hear, and goes off-key at the end, but it’s the best I am able to find.) The melody is not original with Rayner/Dudley, but I can’t for the life of me remember where it’s from. All I know is it’s a jaunty little tune, and usually whistled. Any ideas? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/2 "2010-07-02T23:15:11Z")
“The Whistler and His Dog” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uOGcM1Ci8mw/hqdefault.jpg ""The Whistler & HIs Dog"- ARTHUR PRYOR'S BAND") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOGcM1Ci8mw) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/3 "2010-07-03T03:25:00Z")
Moving to Cafe Society from GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/4 "2010-07-03T04:11:55Z")
Yes, “The Whistler and His Dog,” composed in 1905 by Arthur Willard Pryor. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/5 "2010-07-03T16:26:59Z")
This is great. As an added bonus, this solves another mystery. I believe this is the same tune that Officer Joe Bolton whistled at the beginning of the Three Stooges Show that he hosted in New York in the 60’s (and maybe early 70’s). ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/6 "2010-07-03T17:12:17Z")
I recognize this song but I’m not sure from where. So I have sort of an opposite question. I think it was probably from some Philadelphia childrens’ show in the 60s. What show? Anyone remember? Sally Starr? Chief Halftown? Captain Philadelphia? Gene London? Something else? On Edit: I just realized, it couldn’t have been Gene London. His theme song was “Come right on in to the General Store”. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/7 "2010-07-03T17:29:54Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I think it was probably from some Philadelphia childrens’ show in the 60s. What show? Anyone remember? Sally Starr? Chief Halftown? Captain Philadelphia? Gene London? Something else? The Adventures of Danny Dee? Captain Penny? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/8 "2010-07-03T17:40:03Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > The Adventures of Danny Dee? Captain Penny? Never heard of either of those. Are they from the 50s? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/9 "2010-07-03T17:41:37Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Never heard of either of those. Are they from the 50s? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/10 "2010-07-03T18:06:58Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Yes. In that case, it’s neither of those. ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/11 "2010-07-04T03:26:54Z")
You **don’t** want to know how long that’s been bugging me… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/12 "2010-07-04T15:11:28Z")
It was used in a “Little Rascals” episode, in which the kids are trying to get on a _Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour_ - type show. One of them tries to cheat by playing this record and pretending to whistle it himself. The contest is eventually won by an abominable Alfalfa, when his friends commandeer the telephone booths outside the theater, and repeatedly phone in votes for him. It’s probably on YouTube somewhere, but I don’t have the title. The fact that I remember the song from that single source, about four decades later, is testament to its compelling melody! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/13 "2010-07-04T16:28:05Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I recognize this song but I’m not sure from where. The Doctor Demento show? He used to play a version of “The Piddling Pup,” a spoken rhyme about dogs having a “piddling contest,” that used this tune as its background. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/14 "2010-07-04T16:59:35Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > The Doctor Demento show? He used to play a version of “The Piddling Pup,” a spoken rhyme about dogs having a “piddling contest,” that used this tune as its background. That’s very possible. I did listen to Doctor Demento. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anybody-name-this-tune/545357/15 "2010-07-05T23:10:57Z")
Captain Penny was a Cleveland children’s TV show from 1955 to 1971. It starred Ron Penfound as Captain Penny, dressed as a railroad engineer. One feature of the show was the Pooch Parade, which presented adoptable shelter dogs. The musical theme of Pooch Parade was “The Whistler and His Dog.” Ask any Clevelander older than 45 to name that tune and 90% of them will tell you it is the Pooch Parade Song. Captain Penny lives _forever_. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov--96RVETM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov--96RVETM) (reference to Pooch Parade at about 9:20, but theme not included) [Captain Penny - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Penny) Also: Arthur Pryor played trombone in the Sousa band.