Songfacts®:

• 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.
• "Do The Bartman" owes a debt to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, who made easily understandable story-rap songs like "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" in the late '80s. In 1990, a year after The Simpsons went on the air, Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) got his own TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• "Do The Bartman" was a #1 hit in the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway. In America it wasn't sold as a single, making it ineligible for the Hot 100, but it did make #11 on Billboard's Airplay chart. The song was part of an entire album of Simpsons songs called The Simpsons Sing The Blues; withholding single release was a way to boost album sales, which it did; the album sold a staggering 2 million copies.
  
  The album was a mix of covers and originals, with guest appearances by Dr. John, Buster Poindexter, and Tower Of Power. The next single was an original called "Deep, Deep Trouble," also fronted by Bart. This one was released commercially and went to #69 in the US.
• In the music video, directed by Brad Bird, Bart hijacks the sound system at the school recital and performs the song. It plays like a mini-episode of The Simpsons and was animated and voiced by the same team. Included in the credits is Eric Stefani, who left his band No Doubt to take a job working on the show.
• The song debuted when the music video aired on December 6, 1990 after an episode of The Simpsons ("Bart The Daredevil"). Six months later, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince did something similar, debuting "Summertime" on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.