Go You Chicken Fat Go!

"Chicken Fat" - The Youth Fitness Song
Words and music by Meredith Wilson
Sung by Bernie Knee
(Kimbo Records, 1962)

This is the most prized possession of all the platters in my record collection (and yes, it even surpasses my mint original Buzzcocks Spiral Scratch EP!). Any Baby Boomer coming of age in the early 1960s got their exercise in gym class while following along to this record that was written by Meredith Wilson. Wilson, of course, is best known as the author and composer of the musical The Music Man, which starred Robert Preston. Preston recorded a version of "Chicken Fat" in 1961 on Capitol Custom Records. I thought the booming voice barking out the instructions on the Kimbo Records' version also belonged to Preston, but it actually belongs to Bernie Knee (the same Bernie Knee who recorded the theme from The Blob with The Five Blobs). I finally scored a copy of this record years ago at the educational resources store in Towson's Kenilworth Bazaar. It may not have been No. 1 on the Billboard singles charts, but it was definitely "Number One on the Nation's Physical Fitness Parade"! And remember - "nuts to the flabby guys!"


"Chicken Fat" front cover

Following are the instructions for the 10-step workout I still perform daily:







Listen to Bernie Knee sing "Chicken Fat."


Listen to Robert Preston sing "Chicken Fat."