I would have thought this one to be a lot older, but no. It was written by David Rose in 1958, and released in 1962.
In addition to “The Stripper,” Rose wrote “Holiday for Strings,” and “Calypso Melody.” He also wrote music for many television shows under the pseudonym Ray Llewellyn.
“The Stripper” became a hit through one of those crazy little circumstances that happens in the recording world. David Rose had recorded “Ebb Tide” as the A-side of a single. They needed a B-side but Rose happened not to be around so something from his catalog was chosen by a low-level staffer.
“The Stripper” reached number one on Billboard’s Top 100 chart in July, 1962. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 5 song of 1962.
It’s a very recognizable piece of music and has been used in all sorts of contexts over the years. I remember it being used by Monty Python’s Flying Circus and for a Noxzema commercial featuring Swedish model Gunilla Knutson in which she tells men to “Take it off! Take it off! Take it all off! I actually met Ms. Knutson while I was working for a community cable TV station in New York back in the ’70s. Fascinating, I know. Well, that’s her to the left, so at the time it wasn’t nothing.
For obvious reasons, “The Stripper” has been cited as one of the best burlesque striptease songs of all time, which is probably why it sounds like it comes from a different era.
Ah, to recall a time when a good striptease song could top the charts.