Pigmeat Markham - "Here Come The Judge" (1968 Comedic Early Rap Record)

Sids60sSounds, May 28, 2009

Fun courtroom mayhem with Dewey 'Pigmeat' Markham. Regarded by some as the first rap record. Discuss....

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- March 14, 2023

This pancocojams post presents information about African American comedian Pigmeat Markham and presents information about Markham's 1968 Soul & comedic song "Here Come The Judge".

This post also showcases a YouTube song file of "Here Come The Judge" by Pigmeat Markham and lyrics for that which are based on Pigmeat Markham's comedic routine. In addition, this post includes selected comments from that sound file's discussion thread. Most of those selected comments discuss Pigmeat Markham's Here Come The Judge record in context of the history of rap (Hip Hop).

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Pigmeat Markham for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these sound file on YouTube.

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/12/shorty-long-here-come-judge-information.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Shorty Long - Here Come The Judge (information, lyrics, sound file)".

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INFORMATION ABOUT PIGMEAT MARKHAM
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigmeat_Markham
"Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham (April 18, 1904 – December 13, 1981)[1] was an American entertainer.[2] Though best known as a comedian, Markham was also a singer, dancer, and actor.[3] His nickname came from a stage routine, in which he declared himself to be "Sweet Poppa Pigmeat"...

He was born in the community of Hayti, Durham, North Carolina.[2]... Markham began his career in traveling music and burlesque shows. For a time he was a member of Bessie Smith's Traveling Revue in the 1920s.[4] Later, he claimed he originated the Truckin' dance which became nationally popular at the start of the 1930s. In the 1940s he started making film appearances. In 1964 he recorded "Open the Door, Richard".[5]

Markham was a familiar act at New York's famed Apollo Theater where he wore blackface makeup and huge painted white lips, despite complaints the vaudeville tradition was degrading. He probably played at the Apollo more frequently than any other performer.[6] Starting in the 1950s Pigmeat Markham began appearing on television, making multiple appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.[7]

His boisterous, indecorous "heyeah (here) come da judge" schtick, which made a mockery of formal courtroom etiquette, became his signature routine. Markham would sit at an elevated judge's bench (often in a black graduation cap-and-gown, to look more impressive), and deal with a series of comic miscreants. He would often deliver his "judgments", as well as express frustration with the accused, by leaning over the bench and smacking the accused with an inflated bladder-balloon. He had hit comedy recordings in the 1960s on Chess Records, and saw his routine's entry line become a catchphrase on the Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In NBC television show, as did his phrase "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls."

Markham's most famous routine was "discovered" by the general public only after Sammy Davis, Jr. had performed it as a guest on the March 25, 1968 episode of Laugh-In. Due to the years of racial segregation in the entertainment world, he was not widely known by white audiences, and had almost exclusively performed on the "Chitlin' Circuit" of vaudeville, theatres, and night clubs[1] and appeared in several race films, including William D. Alexander's 1949 revue film Burlesque in Harlem, which documented the Chitlin' Circuit"...
-snip-
Note that Pigmeat Markham created and performed his Here Come The Judge routine in the 1940s. His Here Come The Judge record was first released in 1968.

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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT "HERE COME THE JUDGE" RECORD BY PIGMEAT MARKHAM
Excerpt $1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_the_Judge_(Pigmeat_Markham_song)
" "Here Comes the Judge" is a song and single by American soul and comedy singer Pigmeat Markham first released in 1968 on the Chess label.[2]The record entered the UK charts in July 1968, spending eight weeks on the charts and reaching 19 as its highest position.[3] The song originated with his signature comedy routine "heyeah (here) come da judge", which made a mockery of formal courtroom etiquette. Due to its rhythmic use of boastful dialogue, it is considered a precursor to hip hop music.

The song contained background vocals from future soul singer Minnie Riperton, who was credited as Andrea Davis when she was recording for Chess Records, the label which released "Here Comes The Judge".[4]

Other songs and cover versions
Songs with the same name have been recorded by several artists; most notably, Shorty Long, whose 1968 Tamla Motown song "Here Comes the Judge" also entered the UK charts in July 1968 but only reached 30 as its highest position.[5] Long's song is completely different from Markham's, however it was inspired by Markham's comic act involving a judge, which Markham performed on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The Markham song was also covered, as a parody, by UK band The Barron Knights, as part of their "An Olympic Record". Peter Tosh, The Vapors and the Magistrates have recorded songs called "Here Comes the Judge" but they are different songs.[6]"...

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Excerpt #2
From https://genius.com/Pigmeat-markham-here-comes-the-judge-lyrics
"Dewey “Pigmeat” Markham is best known for being an American entertainer. His routine “Heyeah come da judge” was well received and ended up being one of his most used catchphrases. Noticing the success of the routine, Markham decided to make a record in 1968, and the result was the hip-hop sounding song, which included quotes from one of the skits.

While “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang often is regarded as the first ever recorded hip-hop song, some pioneers of rap, for instance DJ Hollywood and Kool Moe Dee, also mentioned the older “Here Comes The Judge” as one of their main influences in hip-hop, and more specifically, to rhythmic rapping: "Pigmeat Markham introduced me to the flow of it, and the humor."

“Here Come The Judge” entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 82 and remained on the chart for eight weeks, peaking at No. 19 in the week of July 27th, 1968."...

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LYRICS FOR "HERE COME THE JUDGE" (PIGMEAT MARKHAM SONG)
[Intro: Pigmeat Markham]
Year he, Year he
This court is now in session
His honor Judge Pigmeat Markham residing...

[Verse 1]
Year he, Year he, the court of swing
Is just about ready to do that thing
I don't want no tears, I don't want no lies
Above all, I don't want no alibis
This judge is hip, and that ain't all
He'll give you time if you're big or small
Fall in line, a-this court is neat
Peace, brotha....

[Chorus: the courtroom]
Uh-oh, here Come the Judge, here Come the Judge
Everybody know that he is the judge

Everybody, near and far
I'm going to Paris, to stop this war
All those kids gotta listen to me
Cause I am the judge, and you can plainly see
I want a big, round table when I get there
I won't sit down until ones are square
I'm gonna lay down the law, they bet'not budge
I bust some heads because I am the judge

[Chorus: the courtroom]
He is the judge, he is the judge
Everybody know that he is the judge

[Interlude 1]
*Music stops, snare drum imitates knock*

Man: Who's there
Judge: I's
Man: 'I's who?
Judge: I's your next-door neighbor

*Courtroom laughs, Judge bangs gavel*

Judge: Order, order in this courtroom
Woman: Judge, your honorship

Hi, sir
Did I hear you say "order in the court"?
Judge: Yes, I said "ORDER"
Woman: Well, I'll take two cans of beer, please

*Music continues*

[Chorus: the courtroom]
He is the judge, he is the judge
Everybody know that he is the judge

[Verse 2]
I had a chat with Ho-Chi Minh
Took rice wine and chased my gin
Won't take long, as it missed my guess
I'll have yo outta this doggone mess

Send a cable to Ball & Mack
Let them know I'm coming back
Sit right there with Rock and Nicks
Teach them boys some of Pigmeat's tricks

[Interlude 2]
*Music stops*

Man: Uh, uh, judge, your honor pigmeat, sir
Don't you remember me?
Judge: No, who are you boy?
Man: Why, I'm the fella that introduced you to your wife
Judge: To my wife?
Man: Yeah

Judge: LIFE, you son of a gun, you

*Laughter in courtroom, music continues*

[Bridge]
Come November election time
You vote your way, I'll vote mine
Cases are tied, and money get spent
Vote for Pigmeat Markham president

[Hook, The Judge & the courtroom]
I am the judge, I am the judge
Everybody know that I am the judge
(We want Pigmeat, we want Pigmeat)
I am the judge, I am the judge

(Everybody know that he is the judge)
Now, everybody know I am the judge

Source: https://genius.com/Pigmeat-markham-here-comes-the-judge-lyrics with corrected words given in italics.
-snip-
Thanks to CMG who wrote on August 17, 2020 that instead of "Here ye", the words in this record are actually "Year he".  Thanks also to CMG for writing that the word "eyes" given in that genius.com transcription should be "I's".
-snip-
I think that "Year he" may have been a purposely comic mispronunciation of "hear ye". 

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THE YOUTUBE SOUND FILE THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THIS POST
Here are some comments from this sound file's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)

1. 1wolfoutlaw, 2011
"havent heard this for years, still fantastic now, thanks for posting this."

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2. rune, 2011
"among the first rap songs ever"

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3. Megan K, 2011
"Not only is my mind blown, but this is actually really funny lmao."

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4. Stgfre, 2012
"Sounds like hip hop!"

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5. Honey Chiles, 2012
"RUN-DM Who!? He is rapping in 1968!"

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6. AirWaterLandBuffalo, 2012
"Oh man. Everything about this is perfect. The final joke is beautiful."

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7. Julius Tajiddin, 2014
"In my generation we were fascinated with rhyming. Rhyming to music wasn't new. What makes Rap distinguishable from just regular rhyming or rhyming to music is that Rap was always done to pre-recorded music, e.g., another record. They started rhyming on top of instrumentals or the DJ would keep looping an instrumental break over and over. This started in Brooklyn as early as 69 or 70.

There was one DJ from Brooklyn named Grandmaster John Flowers. He was the first Grandmaster and he traveled all over the city doing parties and clubs. It could have been that when folks came to Brooklyn and discovered him he was hired to do gigs in other parts of the city.

Sometimes these DJs would have other rappers with them or sometimes they rapped themselves. MC's rapping at clubs had even spread out to New Jersey by 75 or 76.

The way Hip Hop came into the picture was like this. B- Bop cats called [us] Hip Hoppers because we dressed like them but weren't into the B-Bop music. That offended them and so they gave us this derogatory name, "Damn Hip Hoppers." However, in Brooklyn "we" started embracing the term and chanting, "Hip Hop, don't stop, let your body rock!" at block parties as way of teasing the B-Bop cats when we saw them. As time went on this evolved to what was called a "Hip Hoppy."

At any given moment there would be a gathering at a park or suitable place to get down. You know how we do now. Get a crowd. You have the ones doing it out of dedication so those were done maybe off site so to speak. Then you had some trying to get money. So they would go out in the main streets.

DJs were battling back then. Then rappers started battling. Then Hip Hoppers were battling too. Everything was Kung Fu and Bruce Lee was the man. So naturally the names of DJs and the Rappers took on a martial arts twist.

Then when the Hip Hoppers (that's what the dancers were first called) got into the picture the moves were imitating Kung Fu moves. Since not everyone can do Kung Fu and still had to get into the act the moves became what someone could do the best.

Yes I need to write a book because I have first hand knowledge. I also helped create a beat that could be considered the first original hip hop beat. Remember, rap beats weren't created at first. They were borrowed. And rap songs did combinations of sampling and adding some beats. But think about it. The beats you add are going to blend in with the beats of that time. Simple R&B and Disco beats.

James Brown sampling came in the 80's. But James Brown beats are funky. That's why a James Brown beat and Pigmeat Markham's beats are credited as a rap beat.

Rap beats did eventually evolve and were created, first by piecing dozens of samples together then making them up. I would say that the evolution of some of these funky beats started in 1970 and as the samplers started listening more and more to those old records and discovered these beats that were a little different than James Brown, producers started adding a little of this and a little of that to where [Hip Hop] music could be called an art that was distinguishable. In fact, saying Hip Hop as a culture I believe was coined by Africa Bambata in the 80's. I do remember seeing a flier with the wording Hop Hop Culture around 81 or 82.

Well I just felt like sharing. If you borrow that's cool. But if you get challenged on something you have to know what to come back with. So always give credit where credit is due and name your source.

Peace"

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REPLY
8. haloskater24, 2014
"Jamaicans been doing that since the late 50s early 60s."

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REPLY
9. BucketHatForever, 2015
"Thanks for sharing. That was an interesting read."

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10. MisterZoe, 2016
"+haloskater24 And Black American DJs have been doing it since the 1930s and 40's. Which is where Jamaican DJs picked it up from."

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11. Buffalo New Yorker, 2017
"I used to think Jamaicans set off the movement which we as Black Americans further developed but as I do more research I'm finding the complete opposite; that actually Black America had a massive influence on Jamaican music culture (Skah, Rock Steady, and Reggae) as they would borrow from our Jazz, Blues, and Rnb techniques when using antennas to tune in to our radio stations. Here's a substantial proof I found of rap being present in American predating toasting and given Black America's influence on Jamaica may have inspired it. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-roots-of-rap-classic-recordings-from-the-1920s-and-30s-mw0000647903. Also heres a key quote from Wiki " In the late 1950s deejay toasting was developed by Count Machuki.[2] He conceived the idea from listening to disc jockeys on American radio stations. He would do African American jive over the music while selecting and playing R&B music." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deejay_(Jamaican) Can you give me sources to back up your points?

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12. Dabhr2, 2014
"2:43.. I purchased this 45rpm when I was 12 years old, when i flipped it over and played the "Trial" I never played the other side again, I played the side "B" a thousand times, and up until this day.. I still can recite the entire scene verbatim!"

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13. hebneh, 2014
"I think most people hearing this song today don't really understand the lyrics. The subject is the Vietnam War, and the peace negotiations which were being attempted in Paris between the USA and North Vietnam. At the beginning of the process, there was endless discussion about the shape of the table everyone would sit at, before any real talks even began. Pigmeat is saying that he'll go there and force everyone into agreement, since he is "the judge".

So it's not just the prototype rap style he's performing that's interesting, it's also that a black comedian was even discussing the Vietnam War, which at that time was mostly being debated by young white men who were potentially to be drafted into the military."

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REPLY
14. Raider577, 2017
"+Hebneh . Black men were more likely to be drafted into the Vietnam war so why shouldn't he be discussing it.
A lot of the white men emigrated were draft dodgers or got out of it some other way like D Trump. Most of the white men were back home enjoying free love , drugs and protesting against things that would benefit themselves in the long run."

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15. joejoe blackman, 2017
"Raider577
That's the truth"

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16. Greg Warren, 2015
""We. Want. Pigmeat, We. Want Pigmeat". To you youngins, does that sound familiar? How about a hint, just like Pigmeat Markham, Im "Straight Outta Durham". "We want Easy.........".

I have known about Pigmeat and his "Minstrel Shows" for some time, but did not give the "Rap" credit to him."

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17. CrowdPleeza, 2015
"Even though there are examples of "rapping" before the beginning of Hip Hop(The Last Poets,Reggae DJ's,Gil Scott Heron etc)this sounds like the closest thing to modern American rap."

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18. MisterZoe, 2016
"+CrowdPleeza Reggae artists got it from American radio DJs. Look up Jocko Henderson."

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19. dETROITfUNK, 2018
"yeah, but its actually just called a "squaredance caller" and is based on a rather old folk tradition."

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20. ColeMizeStudios, 2015
"wow!! this is crazy! I wrote an article on the first rap song commercially released being Fatback Band King Tim III Personality Jock. Looks like I need to go back and revise it now. Thanks a million for the upload! Much respect!"

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21. Andrea Marshall, 2016
"+ColeMizeStudios Yeah it's amazing how rap goes back to Pigmeat Markham, I remember as a little 13 year old listening to him and didn't know that one day young people would be doing the same over 40 years later."

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22. Larry Ham, 2016
"I swear I heard a blues song, with rapping in it, from the 40's. But this song has the "rap cadence" which influenced spoken parts in Parliament Funkadelic's music, which in turn influenced late 70's to early 80's hip-hop."

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23. ColeMizeStudios, 2016
"@Larry Ham I know it's crazy! lol! I found a song even older than this one with rapping in it from the 40's check this out! http://buff.ly/1WAcvO1"

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24. Larry Ham, 2016
"@ColeMizeStudios Naw, I heard some real rap sounding stuff....maybe not that old (maybe it is). But what you showed me is like a "proto-rap". Even could be "proto-rock". Because that style of "strum/stop" guitarring, paired with lyrics filling in the "space", was common in early rock and roll (50's style aka hoy hoy)."

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25. Shane Gooding, 2016
"This style of vocal performance had even migrated outside the States to the Caribbean by the late 60s and DJ Kool Herc would have heard it there when he was a kid in Jamaica. An early recording from there in which rapping is definitely heard over a reggae beat is Love Is A Treasure by Lizzy from 1973, but there were guys earlier than this who performed live working in the same way as emcees. I have no doubt that rapping like Pigmeat Markhams originates in the States, developing out of spoken word Jazz, Blues etc. But it is interesting that this kind of performing had been adopted overseas at such an early date and when Jamaicans like Herc migrated to New York they would have already been familiar with it whenever they encountered it."

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26. GodmindNY NYC, 2018
"ColeMizeStudios when will you actually consider something rap? What gives definition to it? The reason why I ask, is because I want to know if it's the beat, the sound, or the combination of both? Ok, you said that you have to go and revise what you wrote after hearing this correct? So.... What I'm trying to say is if you heard slaves " singing" in this style, would you consider that rap?"

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REPLY
27. WebMint, 2018
"Devare Wilson Yes, I think it's considered rap. It's definetly not hip hop though."

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28. Larry Toering, 2018
"I agree King Tim III was the first, but Jimmy Spicer's "Adventures Of Super Rhyme" was also recorded in 1979 and certainly classified as rap and a hardcore one compared to Fatback's. Much more like Sugarhill Gang and Grand Master Flash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRkPdMJWZls

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29. svanablak, 2016
"I don't believe folk have never heard of pigmeat!!! he was waaaaay ahead of his time! you can almost hear how he influenced Bernie Mac and Robin Harris! He would sell out theaters! even the "cool" white entertainers knew of him! While Redd Foxx made it big time Pigmeat was "underground". Hip-Hop need to show him some overdue love!!!"

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29. John Taves, 2017
"Although I love the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets and Gill Scott and them I gotta say the first rhythmic rap goes back to the 1910's with early gospel recordings or maybe come of the old Calypso kings like Lord Invader. Look up "my intention is war" by him its great."

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30. WebMint, 2018
"This isn't hip hop."

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31. Mr. Chevy Mills, 2018
"It's not Hip-Hop, frog-boy.
It's rap."

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32. WebMint, 2018
"Mr. Chevy Mills It's not even the first rap song. It goes back to the 30s"

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33. Ortho Tech, 2017
"Listen to "Noah" by The Jubalaires which was recorded in the 40's."

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