Do The Bartman

By the end of 1990 when this song was released, Bart Simpson was a superstar. The Simpsons had been on the air for two years, and viewers couldn't get enough of him and his off-kilter animated family. He had catchphrases ("Eat my shorts"), interesting hair, and a real talent for prank calls ("Is Amanda Hugginkiss there?"). He was already on T-shirts and lots of other merch, so it made sense that he would branch out to music, which he did with "Do The Bartman." In the song, he does a rudimentary rap about his various adventures and introduces his own dance, The Bartman, which is isn't very complicated - you just stick out your midsection.

That is indeed Michael Jackson singing backup. It was rumored that Jackson wrote the song as well, but the only credited writer is Bryan Loren, a singer-songwriter known for his work with Whitney Houston and Barry White (his biggest hit as an artist: "Lollipop Luv"). Loren set the record straight to Music Business Worldwide in 2015: "I am the sole writer of the song. While it's true, along with me, Michael Jackson does sing backing vocals. And it WAS his idea to call the song, DTB. AND, he did insist I include his name in the lyric. Hence, 'If you can do the Bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson.' And so, obviously, he was involved. Perhaps this tidbit of info is not as sensational as saying MJ co-wrote the song, but I assure you, he did not." Michael Jackson was a big fan of the show and appeared in the season 3 episode "Stark Raving Dad," playing a mental patient. He wasn't credited for that appearance either.

The song was performed by The Simpsons cast member Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart Simpson in the show.