"[2] It was a prominent part of the Dixieland revival repertoire in the 1930s and 1940s, and was recorded by Bob Crosby, Roy Eldridge, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman, Muggsy Spanier, Chet Atkins, Lu Watters, the Andrews Sisters, Harry James, and Al Hirt,[3] among others.
Kid Ory said that he originally composed the tune "Muskrat Ramble" in 1921, and that the title was made up by Lil Hardin at the 1926 session when it was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five.
[7] Owing to a misprint, or the record company's sensibilities, the tune was titled "Muskat Ramble" on its initial release.
[8] In the ensemble sections, the clarinet, cornet and trombone play a three-part counterpoint line typical of 1920s New Orleans bands.
[9] Singer Freddy Cannon had a pop version that went to #54 on Billboard's Top 100 in 1961 Sometime in 1947, after working with Ory on the soundtrack for the RKO film Crossfire, clarinetist Barney Bigard asked him, "How much royalties do you get out of 'Muskrat Ramble'?"
ASCAP's Classification Committee decreed in 1956 that Gilbert was entitled to a third of all performance credits of "Muskrat Ramble", both vocal and instrumental, retroactive to 1950.
[18]: 28 "In spite of ASCAP's disavowal of setting a precedent," wrote Billboard magazine, "the decision is regarded as likely to spark similar protests on the part of other lyricists who have added words to established instrumentals in the past.
It also raises something of a moral issue in that the trade is wondering if the decision bespeaks ASCAP's approval of publishers adding lyrics to an instrumental work without the consent of the composer.
The complaint alleged that the tune for McDonald's signature song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag"—specifically the chorus that begins, "And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?
This ruling was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2005, and Ory was also ordered to pay McDonald's substantial attorneys' fees.