'Round Springfield/References

Cultural references

 * The title is a play on the song "" by and the film .
 * Homer has a tattoo on his arm
 * The music just before Bart's operation is a parody of the theme music of .
 * Bart's showing off his appendectomy scar (which prompts a number of other children to want the operation) is reminiscent of the children's book : Madeline has her appendix out, says her favorite thing about the experience is her scar, and the rest of the girls in her school want to have their appendixes out as well.
 * When Bleeding Gums Murphy tells Lisa about his career, he mentions guest spots on  (when Steve Allen was hosting) and on The Cosby Show.
 * Both Steve Allen and Bill Cosby use Murphy's guest appearances as opportunities to make blatant product endorsements, while virtually ignoring Murphy himself.
 * While Murphy plays sax in the background, Allen gives plugs for his (fictional) books: How to Make Love to Steve Allen, Happiness is a Naked Steve Allen, Journey to the Center of Steve Allen, and The Joy of Cooking Steve Allen.
 * Cosby refers to his endorsements of, Pudding Pops and  film.
 * According to the banner in front of Springfield Elementary School, is playing the night after the recital, and tickets are still available. The recital, however, is sold out.
 * When Bleeding Gums Murphy appears to Lisa near the end he is joined by Darth Vader, Mufasa, and (saying "This is ").
 * Although all three roles were portrayed by Jones, the characters in this scene were voiced by Harry Shearer.
 * Additionally, Mufasa accidentally mentions "Kimba" and corrects himself by saying "." This is a reference to the debate regarding The Lion King ' s resemblance to the anime .
 * Ronald Chaporo and Albert Dershman are parodies of attorneys and.
 * Lisa and Bleeding Gums play 's song "Jazzman" twice.
 * When Lisa asks to jam "One more time!", Bleeding Gums protests that he's got a date with.

Trivia

 * Groundskeeper Willie, teaching French class, calls the students "." The phrase has since entered the pop-culture lexicon, and it gained a lot of notoriety in the events leading up to the.
 * This episode was the first in which a recurring character was killed off, something the staff felt would be a great storyline, with a lot of emotions.
 * They decided on Bleeding Gums Murphy, although Mike Reiss stated "I had been polling for years to kill Marge's mom, but this was a better idea".
 * Mike Reiss's father, a doctor, was the medical consultant on this episode. He stated that it was not possible to get appendicitis from eating a piece of metal.
 * This was one of two episodes in season 6 that was created with the help of the staff of , with the other being "A Star Is Burns".
 * Milhouse asks Dr. Hibbert if he can have his appendix removed, but in "Homer Defined", Bart is seen looking at a photo of himself with Milhouse where Milhouse has a scar that appears to be from an appendectomy. It is possible that Milhouse's scar was from a different type of operation.
 * In this episode, it could be possible that Dr. Hibbert and Bleeding Gums Murphy are brothers since Bleeding Gums Murphy says he has a little brother who grew up to be a doctor and laughs at inappropriate times and Dr. Hibbert says he has a older brother who's a jazz musician.

Continuity

 * In "The Funeral" Homer said, "This is the last funeral we're going to." They have since attended the funerals of:
 * Aunt Gladys ("Selma's Choice")
 * Bleeding Gums Murphy ("'Round Springfield")
 * Krusty the Clown ("Bart the Fink")
 * Frank Grimes ("Homer's Enemy")
 * Maude Flanders ("Alone Again, Natura-Diddily")
 * Sideshow Bob ("Funeral for a Fiend")
 * Mona Simpson ("Mona Leaves-a")
 * Rabbi Krustofski ("Clown in the Dumps")
 * In Man vs. Beast vs. Food, when telling Krusty who he is, Bart mentioned he received a huge settlement after eating a Metal Krusty-O.