hampton and the hamsters the hampster dance song

The Hampster Dance song is associated with Hampton and the Hamsters, but there’s a bit more to the story:

Origins: The song itself didn’t originate with Hampton and the Hamsters.

A 1998 webpage called the Hampster Dance, created by a Canadian art student, Deidre LaCarte, is where the phenomenon began. The webpage featured animated GIFs of hamsters dancing to a sped-up sample of the song “Whistle-Stop” from the 1973 Disney film Robin Hood.

“Hampton the Hamster”: The sped-up “Whistle-Stop” sample became so popular that a novelty song titled “The Hampsterdance Song” was credited to “Hampton the Hamster.”

Hampton and the Hamsters”: Later, a cartoon video was produced featuring a band of four hamsters. While the song remained credited to “Hampton the Hamster,” the band became known as “Hampton and the Hamsters.”