hullabaloo

Hullabaloo is defined as a commotion, usually over something of little or no importance.
"There was a hullabaloo about who should cut the wedding cake."

The Cambridge Dictionary defines it a bit more seriously as "a loud noise made by people who are angry or annoyed; a lot of angry comments made in public about someone or something," so it might have a slightly different meaning in the UK. 

The origin is given as being mid-18th century as a reduplication of hallo, hullo, etc. I'm not sure that satisfies my curiosity. 

It is a word I associate with an old American TV show that I have seen clips of on YouTube. Wikipedia says it was "an American musical variety series that ran on NBC from January 12, 1965, through April 11, 1966 (with repeats to August 1966). Similar to ABC's Shindig! and in contrast to American Bandstand, it aired in prime time."