Hokey Pokey
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The Hokey Pokey is a participation dance that became popular in the USA in the 1950s. Larry LaPrise, Charles Macak and Tafit Baker were granted the copyright for the song in 1950. According to popular legend they created this novelty dance in 1949 as entertainment for the ski crowd at Idaho's Sun Valley resort. Ray Anthony's big band recording of the song turned it into a nationwide sensation by the mid-1950s (The "Hokey Pokey" appeared on the B side of Anthony's "Bunny Hop" single). Its rights were purchased in the mid-1960s by country-western music star Roy Acuff's publishing company, Acuff-Rose.
It has virtually the same lyrics as the "Hokey-cokey", a song and novelty dance which has been popular in England since the mid-1940s. In addition to similar lyrics, these two songs share similar dance moves, as well as remarkably similar names. "Hokey-cokey" is also known as "Okey-cokey".
There are many theories and conjectures about the meaning of the words "Hokey Pokey", and of their origin. Some scholars attribute the origin to the Shaker song Hinkum-Booby which had similar lyrics and was published in Edward Deming's A gift to be simple in 1940:
- I put my right hand in,
- I put my right hand out,
- I give my right hand a shake,
- And I turn it all about.
Other scholars have found similar dances and lyrics dating back to the 17th century. A very similar dance is cited in Robert Chamber's Popular Rhymes from 1826.
Humerously and existentially dealt with in Jimmy Buffett's song "What If The Hokey Pokey Is All It Really Is About?" in his 2002 album "Far Side of the World".
Dance moves
Participants stand in a big ring formation during the dance. The dance follows the instructions given in the lyrics of the song, which may be prompted by a bandleader or another danceleader.
- Specific body parts are named, and these are then sequentially put into the ring, taken out of the ring, and finally wiggled around manically inside the ring.
- After this is done one raises one's hands up to the side of the head, wiggles them, and turns around in place until the next sequence begins, with a new named body part.
A sample instruction set would be:
- You put your left ear in
- You put your left ear out
- You put your left ear in
- And you shake it all about.
...
In some cultures, this step is repeated to a new chorus,
- Oh, the hokey pokey,
- Oh, the hokey pokey,
- Oh, the hokey pokey,
- That's what it's all about.
See also: Novelty and fad dances.
External links
- Words and sound file (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/hokey.htm)
Other meanings
Hokey Pokey is also the name used in New Zealand for a kind of confectionery known elsewhere as honeycomb or sponge toffee. According to the NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers Association [1] (http://www.nzicecream.org.nz/industry.htm) Hokey Pokey ice cream (vanilla with chunks of toffee) is the second most popular flavor there after vanilla.