On January 10th, 2010, The Simpsons will be airing their 20th anniversary special on FOX. The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice, a documentary hosted and directed by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), will celebrate not only the 20 year mark for the series, but it also cheers on The Simpsons for being the longest-running animated show in history, the longest running comedy series, and its effect on our culture. With all that being said, it’s time to go back to the height of Simpsons-mania to discover which famous pop star co-wrote that catchy little number called, Do the Bartman.

First appearing on The Simpsons Sing the Blues album back on November 20th, 1990, Do the Bartman went on to become the albums only hit song.

Although it was never officially released as a single in the United States, it did go on to reach the top of the singles charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. It even spent three weeks at the number one slot on the UK charts from February 16th to March 9th, 1991.

The video for Do the Bartman was storyboarded in just two days, after it was decided that the creators wanted it to coincide with the release of the album. From there the storyboards went to Budapest, Hungry, where it was animated in full with no repeat scenes. It was nominated for Best Special Effects at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, and it was also the number one video in rotation on MTV between January and March, 1991.

The album itself peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200, and it was certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 13th, 1991. In the UK, it peaked at #6 on that country’s charts and it was eventually certified Gold.

All that stemming from a song that is considered to be a style parody. Not bad, if you ask me.

So while you were tapping your toes and strutting your stuff to Do the Bartman (you know you had the album, so just admit it), did you know that you were really dancing to a song that was co-written by the King of Pop?

It’s true. Do the Bartman was co-written and produced by the late Michael Jackson. He didn’t receive any credit for it because he was under contract by another record company at the time, but being a big fan of The Simpsons, he called the producers one night and asked them if he could write a #1 song for Bart, his favorite character. An agreement was made and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice airs Sunday, January 10th on FOX at 8:30pm.

See you next week on Tuesday Trivia!