 Hill wrote the lyrics and melody, later expanding the work with an intro taken from Dave Bartholomew.It was further honed on stage, before Hill recorded a demo that he shopped to local record labels, finally recording a session at Cosimo Matassa's studio produced by Allen Toussaint.Upon its 1960 release on Minit Records, "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" emerged as a favorite at Mardi Gras, selling 800,000 copies and reaching #3 on the "Billboard" R&B chart and #28 in the "Billboard" Hot 100 pop chart.