`ALLEY OOP' STRIP SINGS PRAISES OF HIT SONG

`ALLEY OOP' STRIP SINGS PRAISES OF HIT SONG

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (Wireless Flash) -- The song, "Alley Oop," just turned 40 years old yesterday (Jul. 11) -- but did you realize it was inspired by a comic strip? The song was based on the Alley Oop comic strip, created by V.T. Hamlin in 1933 -- and it still appears in 600 newspapers worldwide. These days, 77-year-old Dave Graue writes the comic strip and says that when the song came out in 1960, he and Hamlin loved it because it gave their strip free publicity. However, success was a double-edged sword because Graue admits more people know the song than the strip. Although "Alley Oop" isn't as popular as it once was, Graue hopes the current popularity of dinosaur movies convinces movie moguls to put the cartoon caveman on the big screen.