"Hot Diggity (Dog Ziggity Boom)" is an American popular song written by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning. The song is almost identical in melody and triple-time rhythm to a portion of Emmanuel Chabrier's 1883 composition, España. It was published in 1956. The song was recorded by Perry Como.

Background

Perry Como recorded "Hot Diggity" at Webster Hall in New York City. The conductor was Mitchell Ayres and the producer was Joe Carlton. The back-up vocals were provided by the Ray Charles Singers. The song's title, repeated throughout the song, is "a general excl[amation] of pleasure or surprise". It is used as counterpoint to the lines it precedes in the lyrics, as in the following excerpt: At the end of the song, Como exclaimed "Hot dog!" before the last two chords. The phrase "hot diggity" or "hot diggity dog!" dates to at least 1906. It appeared in a popular song in 1928, when Al Jolson was recorded saying "Hot diggity dog! Hot kitty! Hot pussycat! Didn't I tell you you'd love it?" after a performance of the tune "There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder".

Chart performance

The Perry Como recording went to #1 on the Billboard pop music chart in March 1956, and reached #4 on the British charts in May.

In popular culture