Peyton, Big Mouth Billy Bass owner: It was a long time ago, but I bought my Billy Bass at Walmart or Walgreens. I used to love watching the commercials when I was a kid and I was starting to get a deep voice, so I thought “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was funny. I displayed it for a few years, but when I went to college, I put him in a box along with some other items at my house. He’s still in that box, actually.

Holly, former Big Mouth Billy Bass owner: I had one in my father’s house in the early 2000s. I remember seeing it in the store, and I was absolutely smitten with the singing fish. I can still remember one of the songs was “Take Me to the River,” and I’d sing that song to myself in the hallways at school. I’m a huge Muppets and anima tronic fan, so having something like that was a big deal to me.

Scott, son of a Big Mouth Billy Bass owner: My dad had one in his camper. He thought it was the funniest thing around. I’m not sure where he got it, but knowing my dad, he probably bought it at Big Lots or at a yard sale. He passed in 2007, and even though it didn’t work anymore, it was still up in his motor home.

Sarah Booz, daughter of a Big Mouth Billy Bass owner: My dad had one. He had itengraved. He was so proud of it. He ordered it off a late-night infomercial because he was an insomniac. The engraving said, “Mamoo Booz killed me. Ho ho ho.” Mamoo was his nickname because his brother couldn’t pronounce his name when he was a kid. He passed when I was 17.

Pellettieri: George Bush had one and Bill Clinton gave one to Al Gore. Queen Elizabeth had it. There’s just so many stories about famous people who were into it.

Intelligencer Journal , July 18, 2000, excerpt from “ Gore Shows Off Big Mouth Billy Bass Gift”: Ever wonder what President Clinton is up to while his wife and No. 2 are out campaigning for offices of their own? The Shopping Channel, guesses Vice President Al Gore. Gore laughed — but asked not to be photographed — as he showed off the singing bass recently given to him by Clinton.

Fishing Magic , October 27, 2000, excerpt from “ Queen Duet with Billy Bass”: According toThe Sun, Her Majesty loves the fish and has a real laugh as she sings along with Billy as he waggles his head and flaps his tail. A royal spokeswoman said, “Her Majesty does indeed own a Big Mouth Billy Bass. It resides on her piano at Balmoral and she obviously enjoys its company.”

John Kelso, Austin American-Statesman , December 8, 2000, excerpt from “ Could It Be? Why, Yes! It Is! Gov. Bush Owns a Billy Bass”: Anybody who was fixin’ to give Darn Near President George W. Bush one of those battery-powered singing fish mounts for Christmas is out of luck — he already has one. The Billy Bass showed up in newspaper photos of Not Quite Yet President Bush while he was meeting in the living room of his Crawford house with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Teenie Hodges, R&B, funk and soul musician, co-writer of “Take Me to the River,” excerpt from Mabon Teenie Hodges: A Portrait of a Memphis Soul Original: Really, Big Mouth Billy Bass made me more money than any song I ever recorded. What a world.

Shannon Wynne, owner of The Flying Fish restaurant chain and founder of the Billy Bass Adoption Center: Back in the day, everybody had a Billy Bass. If you fished at all, somebody gave you a Billy Bass. People gave me Billy Bass after Billy Bass — I had probably six at one time. They were fun.

Billy Gets Thrown Back

The heyday of Big Mouth Billy Bass would only last about nine months or so before it began to wear out. The product was so big and had been gifted to so many people that a crash was inevitable, especially for a product whose main pull was its surprise factor. Its demise would only be aided by the countless other iterations and ripoffs, some made by Gemmy themselves to keep the momentum going, while others were made by competing companies trying to get in on the craze.

Pellettieri: Typically, the hotter an item gets, the quicker it dies. This thing was extremely hot, and we were actually telling people, “You need to back off on your orders. We’ll sell it to you, but don’t go crazy because everyone’s got this thing now.” We knew that it was just a fad — it was eventually going to die.

Stewart: That kind of lifespan is fairly typical and that’s what defines it as a novelty product. People buy it because it’s different — it’s novel
Bensch: It’s not really one of those timeless things that you pass down to your grandchildren. Kourtney Stringer, The Morning Call , December 1, 2000, excerpt from “ Shoppers Hooked on This Fishy Gift”: Matt Antener, an amateur bass fisherman, has an unusual way to wake up his wife in the morning. About 5 o’clock, the Bellmore, N.Y. resident crawls out of bed and tiptoes over to a trophy fish hanging on their bedroom wall. After Antener pushes a button, the mounted bass wiggles its tail fin, turns its head and bursts into “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “Take Me to the River.” Antener cracks up as his wife is jolted from her slumber. Elizabeth Antener isn’t laughing.

Kellie Kreiss, writer at Slacker and others, author of “ The Rise and Fall of Big Mouth Billy Bass, the Kitschy Singing Wall-Fish That Ruled the Year 2000”: There were so many Billy Bass knockoffs that it was ridiculous. There’s Boogie Bass,Travis the Singing Trout, Jake the Jackalope, Rocky the Lobster. There are just so many, but that’s what happens in capitalist America — a good idea becomes a great idea,

Billy’s Lasting Aroma

Despite its precipitous fall in sales, Big Mouth Billy Bass would never truly go away. So many were sold back in the year 2000 that people often received more than one, ensuring that Billy would be found at yard sales and in the depths of attics for the foreseeable future. He’s also found himself to be the subject of the occasional news headline in the years since, reminding everyone of the time when Billy was the biggest fish in the pond. Perhaps most notably though, Billy Bass also made a singular stamp on popular culture by appearing in many TV shows and movies. Much like a hit summer song that’s played out by mid-August, Billy Bass was such a flash in the pan that it forever evokes a time period for those who remember the year 2000.