Jeepers Creepers (song)

"Jeepers Creepers" is a popular 1938 song and jazz standard. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the movie "Going Places". It was premiered by Louis Armstrong, and has since been covered by dozens of other artists.allmusicguide | id=17:786553 | label=List of recorded performances of "Jeepers Creepers"

Overview

This song was featured in the 1938 film "Going Places" starring Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Louis Armstrong, and Ronald Reagan. Louis Armstrong plays the part of Gabriel, the trainer of a race horse named Jeepers Creepers. Jeepers Creepers is a very wild horse and can only be soothed enough to let someone ride him when Gabriel plays the song "Jeepers Creepers" on his trumpet or sings it to him. Louis Armstrong's character, Gabriel, had written the song specifically for the horse, Jeepers Creepers, in this comedy.

Other notable uses of the song

*In the 1942 film, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Jeepers Creepers is sung by a group of kids who pass by the house of George M. Cohan (played by James Cagney).
*In the 1975 movie "The Day of the Locust", the character Faye Greener (Karen Black) sings the song whenever she wants to disturb her father.
* In 1988,"Peek-a-Boo", the first single from Siouxsie & the Banshees's ninth studio album Peepshow, was found to be too similar to the lyrics of "Jeepers Creepers". To remedy the situation and to avoid legal action, Siouxsie & the Banshees gave co-songwriting credit on "Peek-a-Boo" to Warren and Mercer.
* The song was featured heavily in the 2001 horror movie "Jeepers Creepers".

References