Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out” is a song that’s hard to forget, whether you love it or love to hate it. This 2000 hit, famously dubbed by Rolling Stone as one of the most annoying songs ever, still gets stuck in heads two decades after its release. Its incredibly catchy hook made it inescapable, blasting from movie screens in films like Rugrats in Paris, Rat Race, and Men in Black II, energizing political rallies, and becoming a staple at sporting events worldwide. But beyond its ubiquity, a more intriguing question lingers: Who Sang Who Let The Dogs Out Song originally, and who is truly behind this global phenomenon?
Even the prestigious Grammy Awards acknowledged the song’s undeniable impact, awarding Baha Men the Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2001, beating out big names like Jennifer Lopez and Moby. “Who Let the Dogs Out” achieved global success, topping charts in Australia, reaching number 2 in the UK, and selling millions of copies worldwide, despite only peaking at number 40 in the US. However, as the song climbed the charts and became a global anthem, the Baha Men found themselves at the center of a different kind of chase – the hunt for the song’s true origins.
The Baha Men’s Version and the Vision of Steve Greenberg
While Baha Men popularized “Who Let the Dogs Out,” they never claimed to be its original creators. Dyson Knight of Baha Men admitted that the band needed persuasion to even record it after hearing Anslem Douglas’s 1998 soca version, “Doggie.” It was Steve Greenberg, Baha Men’s manager, known for his previous success with Hanson, who recognized the song’s potential to revitalize the band’s career after they were dropped by Mercury Records.
Greenberg’s discovery of the track came through Jonathan King, a British music personality. King had created a Euro-techno rendition of the carnival-style song under the moniker Fat Jakk and His Pack of Pets. Despite initially disliking King’s version, Greenberg sensed the song’s hidden hit potential. Jonathan King has since taken credit for the song’s global success, but the story of its origin goes deeper. Interestingly, it was King’s hairdresser, Keith Wainwright, who played a crucial role by introducing King to “Who Let the Dogs Out” through mixtapes from Trinidad and Tobago.
On these mixtapes was Anslem Douglas, the Trinidadian artist who created “Doggie,” and who views the song as a feminist anthem despite its seemingly lighthearted nature. While Douglas is credited with the verses, the catchy “Who Let the Dogs Out” chorus has a more contested history, involving multiple claims of authorship.
Unmasking the Chorus: Multiple Claims to Fame
Anslem Douglas himself acknowledges that the famous chorus originated from a jingle he heard from his brother-in-law, who worked at a Canadian radio station. This jingle, “Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof,” was created by Patrick Stephenson and Leroy Williams, producers at that station. This led to an out-of-court settlement acknowledging Stephenson and Williams’ contribution to the song.
Adding another layer to the puzzle, the production team 20 Fingers released “You’re a Dog” in 1997, a song that used a very similar phrase. Going back even further, teenagers Brett Hammock and Joe Gonzalez of Miami Boom Productions claim to have written a similar hook in 1992, scribbled on a Little Caesars bread bag, and backed up by floppy disks containing recordings of their chant.
Furthermore, the song’s call-and-response style might trace back to a 1986 college football chant at Reagan High School in Austin, Texas, suggesting an even earlier sporting origin for the now-famous phrase. This connection to sports further explains the song’s adoption by teams like the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets in the early 2000s.
The Documentary and the Verdict of the Expert
The convoluted history of “Who Let the Dogs Out” is thoroughly explored in the 2019 documentary Who Let the Dogs Out. Directed by Brent Hodge, the film follows artist Ben Sisto’s eight-year investigation into the song’s origins. Sisto, considered the leading expert on the song, delivers a TED Talk-style presentation in the documentary, interviewing key figures involved in the song’s journey.
After his extensive research, Sisto believes Steve Greenberg is the most crucial figure in the song’s success. “Without a doubt, it’s Steve Greenberg,” Sisto states. “Steve formed S-Curve Records to release Baha Men’s version. It was his marketing acumen, industry ties, and honest dedication to the band that culminated in the track exploding. Steve just worked it, hard, from every angle.”
Sisto also offers insights into the song’s widespread appeal: “Baha Men’s version opens a cappella. The vocals have a gravity that stops everything else in the room… It also seems people can’t decide on exactly what the non-question means. What does it want from us? It’s as if the Uncertainty Principle itself was a pop song. In a way, I think it’s that confusion that hooks people. It sounds like Doritos taste: Unnatural, but undeniable.”
While Ben Sisto acknowledges that the roots of “Who Let the Dogs Out” might extend even further back, his investigation, and the documentary, bring a sense of closure to the long-standing mystery. Ultimately, while the definitive originator of the chant may remain elusive, the story of who sang who let the dogs out song and propelled it to global fame points towards the Baha Men and the strategic vision of Steve Greenberg. The song’s enduring catchiness and enigmatic question continue to captivate and perhaps slightly annoy, listeners worldwide.
