Who Let the Dogs Out

"Who Let the Dogs Out" (originally titled "Doggie") is a song written by the Trinidadian musician Anslem Douglas and then recorded by the Bahamian junkaroo band Baha Men. Originally released by Douglas as "Doggie" in 1998, it was covered by producer Jonathan King who sang it under the name Fat Jakk and his Pack of Pets. King brought the song to the attention of his friend Steve Greenberg, who then had the Baha Men cover the song.
The Baha Men version, released in 2000, became the band's first and only hit in the United Kingdom and the United States, and it gained popularity after appearing in the films Rugrats in Paris: The Movie and Men in Black II. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as topping the charts in Australia and New Zealand, and reached the Top 40 in the United States. In Britain, it was championed by DJ John Peel and went on to be the fourth biggest-selling single of 2000, and one of the highest-selling singles of the decade not to reach No. 1. The track went on to win the Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
According to Douglas, the original song was a feminist anthem critical of men who catcall women. "Who Let the Dogs Out" became a prominent feature of Bahamian popular culture and was the subject of a major lawsuit over copyright ownership that was settled. In 2019, an eponymous-titled documentary about the creation of the song was the surprise hit of the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas.
The song was originally released in 1998 as "Doggie" (or "Dogie") by Trinidadian calypso/soca/Junkanoo artist Anslem Douglas. Douglas himself has said that the song has nothing to do with dogs and actually has a feminist theme critical of men who catcall women. In an interview that was published on his website, he said:
However, Douglas has said "I never told anyone, 'Hey, I came up with the phrase.' Never did, 'cause I didn't." In late 1995 or early 1996 Patrick Stephenson and Leroy Williams, two producers who worked for Wreck Shop Radio out of Toronto, wrote a radio promo for WBLK in Buffalo, NY containing the "Who Let The Dogs Out" chorus. Douglas's brother-in-law was the host of the Toronto show and encouraged Douglas to record the song. Stephenson and Williams allowed Douglas to record the song and have said they didn't "take care of the business" of legally protecting the song. They did not know it was licensed to the Baha Men until they heard it on the radio in 2000.
Complicating matters further, 20 Fingers and Gillette released "You're a Dog" in 1995 with a very similar chorus where they sing, "Who let the dogs loose?" Stephenson and Williams claim to have never heard the song, and 20 Fingers has made no legal claim to "Who Let the Dogs Out?". Even earlier, Brett Hammock and Joe Gonzalez also recorded a song called "Who Let the Dogs Out?” in 1992 as rap duo Miami Boom Productions out of Jacksonville, Florida. It was not widely released, and they were also surprised to hear "Who Let The Dogs Out?" on the radio in 2000. Miami Boom states their version was inspired by "Da Mad Scientist" by Bass Patrol, in which there is a sample of 1987's "Pump Up The Party" by songwriter and producer Stevie B (released under the pseudonym Hassan) that includes the lyrics, "Who's rocking this dog's house?"
John Michael Davis from Dowagiac, Michigan contacted 99% Invisible contributor Ben Sisto. He said his hometown is sometimes referred to as "the dog patch", and the crowd at the Dowagiac Chieftains high school football games frequently chanted "Oooh, let the dogs out!” during their state championship run in 1990. During this time Joe Gonzalez of Miami Boom lived in Michigan, but he states he has no memory of hearing this chant. Sisto states that variations of the "Who let the dogs out?” chant are evident in regional high school sports, discovering a chant almost exactly like the chorus of the song as far back as 1986 at Reagan High School in Austin, Texas. Sisto surmised:
Baha Men member Dyson Knight explained to Vice how the band came to record the song:
Daily Record commented, "If your kids have been out barking on the streets late at night, this Bahamian band are to blame with this silly Notting Hill Carnival anthem." In a 2007 poll conducted by Rolling Stone to identify the 20 most annoying songs, "Who Let the Dogs Out" ranked third. It was also ranked first on Spinner's 2008 list of "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever". Rolling Stone also ranked it at number 8 on a "worst songs of the 1990s" poll, despite the fact that the Baha Men single was released in 2000.
The first use of the song at an American sporting event was at Mississippi State University. The university's mascot is the Bulldog, and the university school first played the song during football games in the fall of 1998 using the version sung by Chuck Smooth. It was accompanied by the crowd singing along and the team performing a dance on the field called "The Dawg Pound Rock" just before a kickoff. Later the Southeastern Conference ruled that they could not perform the dance on the field, so the team moved it to the sidelines. Several other teams followed suit, and the song quickly became a national phenomenon.
In June 2000, Gregg Greene, then Director of Promotions for the Seattle Mariners, was the first to play the Baha Men's version of "Who Let the Dogs Out" at a Major League Baseball game. He debuted the tune as a joke for the team's backup catcher, Joe Oliver. Two days later, shortstop Alex Rodriguez requested the song be used as his walk-up music, and it quickly became the Mariners team anthem. The Baha Men performed the song at Safeco Field during a Mariners game in September 2000. The New York Mets, however, have claimed that they were the first MLB team to adopt the song, to which ESPN humorously commented "This is a little like scientists arguing over who discovered a deadly virus". The Baha Men recorded a version of the song that changed the chorus to "Who let the Mets out?" and all the lyrics to reflect the team and its players, which was played at Shea Stadium throughout the Mets' 2000 postseason run, including a live performance on the Shea Stadium field before Game 4 of the 2000 World Series against the New York Yankees. The song was written by David Brody of Z100 New York and recorded by the Baha Men initially for Z100. Brody then gave the song to the Mets to play at Shea.
In the United Kingdom, the song was quickly appropriated by Liverpool supporters under then-manager Gérard Houllier. Regular chants of 'Hou led the reds out' by Liverpool fans (a reference to Liverpool's cup treble in 2001) were followed soon after by opposition fans' chants of 'Hou had a heart attack' (a reference to Houllier's illness in October 2001).