The Wiggles (album)

"The Wiggles" is the debut album of The Wiggles, released on August 11, 1991 by ABC Music. This is the only appearance of Phillip, who left the group shortly after the album's release.

It is dedicated to Paul Field's daughter, Bernadette. The Wiggles was the first album.

Background and development
In 1991, while working with the early childhood music department at Macquarie University, Phillip Wilcher met musician and former member of the Australian rock group The Cockroaches, Anthony Field, who was studying child development. According to Wilcher, Field asked him to join The Wiggles, which would become "Australia's foremost children's entertainment act", and to help them produce the album. The album was dedicated to the memory of Paul Field's infant daughter, Bernadette, who had died of SIDS in 1988. Wilcher financed and "contributed the most musically to the debut album", composing 75% of the music. Like a university assignment, they produced a folder of essays that explained the educational value of each song on the album. They needed a keyboardist "to bolster the rock-n-roll feel of the project", so Field asked his old band mate Fatt, for his assistance in what they thought would be a temporary project. Recording sessions were held at Wilcher's home, and the album cost approximately A$4,000 to produce. The group reworked a few Cockroaches tunes to better fit the genre of children's music; for example, according to Field, a Cockroaches song he wrote, "Mr. Wiggles Back in Town" became "Get Ready To Wiggle" and inspired the band's name because they thought that wiggling described the way children dance. There was also a piece by Phillip Wilcher, "Summer Dance", that appeared on the album, as "Archie's Theme".

Tracklist

 * 1) Get Ready To Wiggle (J Field/M Cook/J Fatt/G Page) 1:54
 * 2) Rock-a-Bye Your Bear (G Page/A Field) 1:48
 * 3) Dorothy The Dinosaur (M Cook/J Field) 2:21
 * 4) Mischief the Monkey (P Wilcher) 0:42
 * 5) Lavenders Blue (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 1:29
 * 6) Glub Glub Train (A Field) 0:16
 * 7) Archie's Theme P Wilcher) 0:19
 * 8) Montezuma (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 0:29
 * 9) Archie's Theme (P Wilcher) 0:19
 * 10) Ducky Ducky (G Page/A Field) 0:13
 * 11) A Froggy He Would A- Wooing Go (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 3:36
 * 12) Maranoa Lullaby (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 2:02
 * 13) Stars (A Field/P Wilcher) 0:07
 * 14) Star Lullaby (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 2:02
 * 15) Okki Tokki Unga (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 1:53
 * 16) O Epoe Tooki Tooki (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 1:34
 * 17) Vini Vini (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 0:53
 * 18) Spot the Dalmatian (A Field/J Field) 2:22
 * 19) Johnny Works With One Hammer(Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 0:45
 * 20) The Man In The Moon (P Wilcher) 0:18
 * 21) This Old Man (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 2:31
 * 22) Suo Gan (Trad/Arr: The Wiggles) 1:43
 * 23) Wind (A Field) 0:14
 * 24) Joseph John's Lullaby Brahms/P Wilcher/Arr: P Wilcher) 1:14
 * 25) Desert Dreaming (A Field/P Wilcher) 1:49
 * 26) Get Ready To Wiggle (J Field/M Cook/J Fatt/G Page) 1:54

Personnel
The Wiggles are... vocals and water bubble sounds hand claps sequencing, "mischief's" voice didgeridoo, vocals, chief Kabasa player Recorded in February 1991 at Tracking Station Recording Studios, Sydney.
 * Phillip Wilcher Piano, vocals
 * Murray Cook Guitar, bass guitar,
 * Gregory Page Lead vocals, guitar,
 * Jeff Fatt Accordian, Emax,
 * Anthony Field Tin whistle,
 * Produced by Anthony Field
 * Engineered by Steve Pomfrett

The Wiggles would like to thank

Meg, Russ and Jean Cook, Norma and Oscar Fatt, Kristy, Matthew and Sara, Leanne and Andrew, Joy and Les Wilcher, the Leuver Sisters, Elpis, Don Corlione, Franko and Mitzy, Terence and Janette Page, Odette, Amy, Emma, Luke, and Rebecca Wilcher, all the Fields, Joseph, Luke, Clare, Sofia, Anthony, Leonardo, Jeremy and all the Mental Management and Stella for quality control, Rosemary Harle and all at I.E.C.S., and Diana Manson, Meryl, Jenni, Lynette, Trish, and all at ABC Records.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Bernadette Marie Field

Release Dates

 * Australia (original): August 11th 1991
 * Australia (re-release): 1998

Trivia

 * This is the only Wiggles album with Phillip Wiggle in it.
 * Phillip Wilcher mentioned that on a YouTube comment, The Wiggles thought one of the songs Vini Vini was renditioned in the public domain, but it was claimed by a French composer. The song was removed from this album and from the concert video Wiggledance! in 1998.
 * The music from Dorothy the Dinosaur was adapted from Another Saturday Night written by John Field, set to lyrics by Murray Cook, after he observed that children have a fascination for dinosaurs.
 * Get Ready to Wiggle was adapted from an unreleased song written for The Cockroaches, Everybody Wiggle!.
 * The music for Archie's Theme was adapted from Summer Dance which was written by Phillip Wilcher.
 * Phillip Wilcher wrote Mischief the Monkey and the spoken recordings Stars, The Man on the Moon and Desert Dreaming. Also, the traditional songs which are credited to The Wiggles are principally arranged by him.
 * Jeff Fatt is credited as playing the accordion on the album, but it is unclear which track use it.
 * Greg Page wrote in his autobiography that The Wiggles were moving away from the more traditional songs provided by Phillip Wilcher towards a more rock and roll sound that was solidified on the tracks that Phillip Wilcher did not perform. This is a possible reason for his dismissal.
 * Anthony Field asked Phillip Wilcher to contribute more original material, so, in response, Phillip wrote Mischief the Monkey in front of him in about five minutes.
 * Two songs Get Ready To Wiggle and Dorothy The Dinosaur were filmed for ABC For Kids Video Hits and ABC For Kids Video Hits Volume 2 videos.
 * Vini Vini is the only song in this album that doesn't use instruments, only hand claps.
 * Philip Wilcher adapted Brahms' Lullaby to Joseph John's Lullaby. It would later be used as the basis of the song Go To Sleep Jeff (Brahms' Lullaby) in 2003.
 * Star Lullaby was later adapted to Shining Around The World in 2017.
 * On the song credits of Get Ready To Wiggle, John Field's name is listed first before the three Wiggles, Murray, Jeff, and Greg.
 * A re-issue of this album with all 26 tracks was released by Phonogram and marketed by Polygram.