The Dance Song ‘Goo Goo Muck’ From ‘Wednesday’ Dates Back to 1962
In episode 4 of Wednesday, a perfectly deadpan Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) dominates the dance floor at Nevermore’s Rave’N dance. She dances to the song “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps, but the scene went viral when Ortega’s choreography was paired with Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary.” Discover the origins of the song Wednesday Addams dances to in the Netflix series and how music supervisors settled on the tune.
Wednesday Addams dance song ‘Goo Goo Muck’ is a cover
In the Netflix series, Wednesday throws her arms about to psycho-billy punk-rock legends The Cramps’ version of “Goo Goo Muck.” The cover of the song came out in 1981 but made very little noise at the time.
Initially, the song was released in 1962 by Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads, a rock ‘n roll band with Latin influences. Audan Record Company, a small label based in Bakersfield, California, released the track. The original music (available on YouTube) has a swankier ’60s vibe — one that wouldn’t have fit with the dance scene in Wednesday.
What does ‘Goo Goo Muck’ even mean?
In the song’s original version, “Goo Goo Muck” was a kind of monster — “a creep roaming the streets at night, looking to kill,” according to Louder Sound. However, in The Cramps’ version of “Goo Goo Muck,” the song is about oral sex. “I’m the night head-hunter looking for a head” becomes “looking for some head.” The lyric change drastically alters the meaning of the line “looking for something nice to eat.”
‘Wednesday’ showrunners originally pitched another song by The Cramps for the dance scene
In an interview with Forbes, Wednesday music supervisor Jen Malone spoke about the other song she initially wanted to play in the Jenna Ortega dance scene. “We’d always had The Cramps on our Wednesday playlist, between myself and Nicole [Weisberg],” she said. “Originally, we pitched ‘Human Fly.'”
Through a collaborative process that involved Ortega, the team landed on “Goo Goo Muck.” Malone added: “… They really springboarded off of [‘Human Fly’]. And I remember being like, ‘Oh my God, that’s perfect!’ So it truly is a collaboration, and I know that Jenna was very involved in that one …”
Lady Gaga wasn’t part of the ‘Wednesday’ song considerations
Of course, Lady Gaga came up during Malone’s conversation with Forbes. Ironically, Gaga’s music was never part of the inspiration playlist for the Netflix series. The music supervisor isn’t sure how “Bloody Mary” originally became associated with the series.
“None of us have any idea where it came from,” she said. “I actually didn’t know about it until a friend at Interscope sent it to me. I went on TikTok and I was just like, ‘Holy…where did this come from?’ It’s great, having the fans create their own music moments.” Regardless of the origins, fans’ use of “Bloody Mary” is Gaga approved.
Stream every episode of Wednesday on Netflix.
