Mah Na Mah Na, The Muppets, and Italian Soft Porn

Just before the holidays, Slate reported on this story but it seemed to slip under the radar. All these decades, it seems the Muppets were keeping a secret from us: they're familiar with soft porn Italian film soundtracks. You know that song Mah Na Mah Na? Well, if you don't recognize it from the The Muppets, then you might recognize it from The Benny Hill Show...but after learning about its origins, I can understand why Benny was fond of the ditty. It first appeared in a 1968 Italian sexploitation film about Sweden called Sweden: Heaven and Hell, which explores various sexual activities. Here's the clip that features the catchy tune:

Mah Na Mah Na was written by Italian composer Piero Umiliani and was a minor hit in a few countries--it peaked at 55 on the American Billboard singles chart in 1969. That same year, it was first heard on Sesame Street, as sung by a shaggy male Muppet backed by two girl Muppets. Later the girls would be replaced by alien like creatures called Snouths.

Thanks to Jim Henson's love of catchy European tunes, Mah Na Mah Na would become one of the most infamous songs in the Muppets' catalog. And thanks to retro pop culture trivia, we may never look at the song in the same way again!