| JEANNIE'S DINER
Welcome to the official webpage for "Jeannie's
Diner," the comedy parody song created by MJD.
Unlike
other classic sitcoms, TV's I Dream Of Jeannie
has inspired only a handful of comedy parody songs. One
of the most well-known of these songs is Jeannie's
Diner, created, written, and produced by
Mark Jonathan Davis. The song is a parody of the 1990
Suzanne Vega/DNA single "Tom's Diner," and pays
tribute to everyone's favorite Jeannie in a bottle.
Since it
first blinked on to the scene in 1990, Jeannie's
Diner has been a popular novelty song on radio
stations around the nation, and has been released on CD,
featured in books, and showcased on NickAtNite and
TVLand in I Dream Of Jeannie music video promo
spots.
Below
is a short MP3 sample of the parody for your listening enjoyment. The full-length version of Jeannie's
Diner by MJD is 2:20 long. The song
is available on the
Suzanne Vega compilation album "Tom's Album,"
released in 1991 by A&M and now distributed by
Universal (#7 5021 5363 2). At your local record store,
the CD should be filed under "Vega, Suzanne," or
"Various Artists," or "Compilations."
JEANNIE'S DINER
"I am sitting on the sofa,
there's a TV in the corner."
In late 1990 at
Premiere Radio Networks, MJD produced a tribute to "I Dream Of Jeannie" by
creating a parody of
Suzanne Vega's single "Tom's Diner." Jeannie's Diner
(sung by MJD's Los Angeles neighbor
Marilyn Whitelaw) became a sensation: it received national
radio airplay, appeared in a music video on NickAtNite, won acclaim
in the television ad industry, and ended up
being included on a Suzanne Vega compilation CD called "Tom's
Album."
The CD
is also available at other on-line retailers, and at iTunes:
Please be sure to buy the CD
today, because for each CD sold, MJD gets nine cents.
Click on
the links below for more info about MJD's Jeannie's
Diner.
CONTENTS
SONG
HISTORY / TIMELINE
SONG
CREDITS
SONG
LYRICS
MUSIC
VIDEO
THE
JEANNIE'S DINER STORY
Here is
a timeline that chronicles the evolution of "Jeannie's
Diner."
1987 - Suzanne Vega releases the album Solitude
Standing, which contains the track "Tom's
Diner," an a capella song about a New York
City coffee shop (Tom's Restaurant, located in New York's
Upper West Side at 112th & Broadway).
1990 - A British band called DNA samples the song "Tom's
Diner" from Suzanne Vega's Solitude Standing
album, adding a funky instrumental track and looping her
vocal. Their remix hits number 5 on the Billboard Chart
in November.
1990 - Mark Jonathan Davis, a comedy writer/producer
working for Premiere Radio Networks, creates a parody of
"Tom's Diner" for syndication via PRN's Morning
Show Comedy Network. Using an eight-track reel-to-reel
audio tape recorder and a Yamaha SPX90 effects deck,
Davis produces his "Jeannie's Diner" as an
homage to I Dream of Jeannie. The parody becomes
a hit on morning radio shows nationwide.
1991 - Suzanne Vega releases Tom's Album, a
compilation collection
of "Tom's Diner" parodies, including "Jeannie's
Diner," which she notes "incorporates forgotten
bits of pop culture." Tom's Album is
distributed
on CD and cassette by A&M Records (now Universal
Music), and
sells throughout the world. |
 |
1992 - "Jeannie's Diner" becomes a top-request
on the internationally syndicated radio program The
Dr. Demento Show.
1993 - Nick At Nite acquires rights to air the series I Dream Of
Jeannie in its prime-time lineup. In hopes of
getting "Jeannie's Diner" involved in the
network's on-air promotion campaign, Davis sends a copy
of his parody song to then-Vice-President of On-Air Promotion
Scott Webb. Surprisingly, Webb already is familiar with
the song (he has his own copy of Tom's Album),
and gives the greenlight to using "Jeannie's Diner"
on Nick At Nite.
|
1994 - By July, an elaborate
"Jeannie's
Diner" music video is produced by
Nick At Nite as an on-air promo spot for I Dream of
Jeannie. The promo is shot by director Barney
Miller, the set is designed by Steve Thomas, and the
project is executive produced by Nick's Agi Fodor. |
 |
1995 - The "Jeannie's Diner" promo is nominated
in several national and international broadcast
advertising competitions. The promo is selected to play
at the industry's prestigious Promax convention, and wins
the Bronze at the Broadcast Design Awards. The spot also
becomes a Finalist at The One Show, and receives a Silver
Award at the Houston World Fest.
1996 - Nick At Nite receives a Gold World Medal for
Entertainment Program Promotion at the International Film
and Television Festival for its I Dream Of Jeannie
campaign, which prominently featured "Jeannie's
Diner."
1997 - Backstage at a Los Angeles TV show taping, Davis
has his photograph taken with Barbara "Jeannie"
Eden and Bill "Roger Healy Who Would Become Howard
Borden" Daily. Neither is familiar with the song.
1998 - I Dream Of Jeannie begins airing on
TVLand, and the "Jeannie's Diner" promo
continues to receive frequent airplay to promote the
sitcom. TVGuide praises the promo in its August 29, 1998 "Cheers & Jeers" section:
Cheers
to the genius of the genie. 'I Dream of
Jeannie,' that is. We love the promos on TVLand
that show clips from the show over a song parody
that crashes the sitcom theme song into Suzanne
Vega's 1990 hit, 'Tom's Diner': 'I am watching
Major Nelson / He is played by Larry Hagman.'
Thirty years later, Jeannie still casts a spell.
1999 - "Jeannie's Diner" is almost featured in
a "Biography" documentary about Barbara Eden...but
it's not.
2000 - Television expert Steve Cox writes "Dreaming
Of Jeannie," an impressive book (published by
St. Martin's Press) all about the classic TV sitcom I
Dream Of Jeannie. The author devotes page 194 to
"Jeannie's Diner," calling the parody "cleverly
conceived," "chanty," and "mantralike."
2000 - KCRW inexplicably airs "Jeannie's Diner"
on its "Morning Becomes Eclectic" show. When
asked why, producer Ariana Morgenstern replies, "Why
not?"
2002 - MJD gives away free cassettes
of "Tom's Album" to three lucky winners:
Ron Smith of Vineland, New Jersey;
Melanie Roark of East Patchogue, New Jersey; Aubin LaBrosse of
Rochester, New York.
WAY TO GO, EAST COAST JEANNIE GANGSTAS!
2006 -
Jeannie's Diner is re-posted here at MJD's Intergalactic Comedy
Hacienda!
Stay
tuned for more info on "Jeannie's Diner".
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top
CREDITS
"Jeannie's
Diner" by Mark Jonathan Davis
Created,
written, recorded, engineered, mixed, and produced
by Mark Jonathan Davis at Premiere Radio Networks
Studios, November 1990.
Lead vocal sung by Marilyn Whitelaw.
Additional voices performed by Mark Jonathan Davis.
(C) Copyright 1990 ideatown / Earthquake Entertainment
Special
thanks to Kelly Aquino, Linette Shorr, Scott Webb, Tom
Hill, Agi Fodor, Barney Miller, Pat Woods and Linda Haydn
at Warner-Chappell Publishing, Marilyn Whitelaw, and
Suzanne Vega.
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top
LYRICS
JEANNIE'S
DINER
by Mark Jonathan Davis
Parody
lyrics sung to the tune of "Tom's Diner" by
Suzanne Vega
Written by Mark Jonathan Davis
I am
sitting on the sofa, there's a TV in the corner
I am watching Major Nelson, he is played by Larry Hagman
(Jeannie!)
And he found a little bottle, and out popped Barbara Eden
But she couldn't show her belly button, all she did was
blink
(Dr. Bellows: Uh, Good Evening Major Nelson)
Tony Nelson works at NASA with suspicious Dr. Bellows
And there's also Roger Healy, who would become Howard
Borden (Jeannie!)
And Jeannie always means well, but they get in wacky
trouble
She folds her arms and blinks her eyes, it's kind of like
Bewitched
(Jeannie!)
(Jeannie! Jeannie!)
(Yes, master!)
Oh the reruns will continue on the TV as I'm watching
The pink smoke of her bottle
I am dreaming of Jeannie
(Jeannie!)
(C)
Copyright 1990 ideatown (Earthquake Entertainment)
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top
MUSIC
VIDEO
Here is
an MPG file of the "Jeannie's Diner" Music
Video Promo that airs on NickAtNite and TVLand.
"Jeannie's
Diner" Music Video
NickAtNite Promo spot
(6606kb, :60)
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