Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part IV of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.
Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British commercials, recorded songs, television shows, and movies. This lists is presented with information and comments.
This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch. Please help me identify a date for this Coca Cola ad!
Please add to this time line by sharing examples of references to Double Dutch that aren't included in this list. Thanks.
**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.
In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.
**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).
In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.
**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).
In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.
Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.
The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).
Comments about the source of certain of these jump rope rhymes and explanations about the meanings of some of the topical references in those rhymes are also included in this post.
****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are mentioned in this post and thank to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.
Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Coca Cola Double Dutch 30 sec KOCL 8352 6:1:98 Edge Creative Red Car
TheRedCarChannel, Published on Oct 28, 2015
Coca Cola Double Dutch 30 sec KOCL 8352 6:1:98 Edge Creative Red Car
-snip-
When was this ad first aired? Please add that information in the comment section below so that I can include it in this Double Dutch timeline.
Also please help with the lyrics. Here's my transcription so far (Corrections to this transcription are welcome.)
The bottle is cool
The taste is real
When I drink it down
This is how I feel
The girls alright
This is what I say
C.O.C.A COLA"
-snip-
Later in the commercial, girls say "Coca Cola" faster and faster to match with the jumper's speed jumps.
****
PARTIAL TIME LINE OF REFERENCES TO DOUBLE DUTCH (Jump Rope) IN UNITED STATES & BRITISH COMMERCIALS, RECORDED SONGS, TELEVISION SHOWS, AND MOVIES
[Pancocojams Editor: This entry doesn't include the use of any of the featured songs in electronic games. If you know of any examples of this, please add them. Each British entry is noted as such. All other entries are from the United States.]
1979 - McDonald's (Jump Rope theme) commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up1kh0HF3Oo
jingle:
"McDonald’s knows your Double Dutch is really hard to beat
‘cause when your jumping there is something magic with your feet
You’re jumping up and up and up
and we’ll give you a hand
You’re the reason we do it
If anyone can do it McDonalds knows who can."
****
1981 - McDonald`s Chicken McNugget Double Dutch commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_va6kLEIdY
Jingle:
"Down at McDonalds where the arches go
They got Chicken McNuggests
And there hot to go"
****
1981 - Frankie Smith's Funk/old school Hip Hop record "Double Dutch Bus" was first released
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_Bus for information about that song and click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK9hK82r-AM for a YouTube video of that song.
****
1981 - Pick Up Your Feet documentary on Double Dutch
http://mediaburn.org/video/pick-up-your-feet-the-double-dutch-show/
"A sweet, interesting, and enjoyable documentary about a double dutch championship for junior high age kids in New York. The tape featured mainly local kids from Manhattan and the boroughs, but the event drew an international crowd to the Lincoln Center on 6/13/81. We spend time with the teams as they practice and compete and hear about how they train and how they feel about their sport. The tape manages to simultaneously capture all of the tension of the competition and give a personal look at a number of the teams. Blumberg manages to catch the participants at their most raw and emotional moments, like when a 10 (?) year old girl is sobbing uncontrollably like she had just lost a family member. Blumberg asks her what place her team got. They were #1."
****
1983 - [British] Malcom MClarens 1983 single "Double Dutch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_(song)
" "Double Dutch" is a 1983 single by Malcolm McLaren. It is taken from his debut album Duck Rock....
"Double Dutch" is the follow-up to his successful debut single, "Buffalo Gals", and reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, making it his highest-charting single release... The song concerns the skipping game of the same name, with McLaren's narration mentioning several New York double Dutch troupes by name, notably the Ebonettes, whose name is also used as a chant in the chorus."...
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nn974m/double-dutchs-forgotten-hip-hop-origins-456 "Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015
...."Double dutch's rhyming chants fit with those of the MCs, and the sport demanded a physical dexterity not too far removed from breakdancing. Soon, Blue was showing double dutch to British impresario and musician Malcolm McLaren—he immediately fell in love and wrote a song about the Ebonettes, another New York double dutch team, for his 1983 Duck Rock album. It quickly became McLaren's most popular song, reaching third place on UK singles charts."...
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ4jMSCBswY for a YouTube video of this song.
****
1985 - McDonald's "Big Mac" Double Dutch commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo5DbV0ZKAI
"Big Mac
Fillet of Fish
Quarter Pounder
French Fries
Icy Coke
Sundaes
And apple pies"
-snip-
This is now widely known as a hand clap rhyme "Welcome To McDonalds" . (Note that the hand clap rhyme has added words). Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/two-mcdonalds-handclap-rhymes-source.html for a pancocojams post on two McDonalds commercials that became hand clap rhymes . That post showcases "Welcome To McDonalds" and "McDonalds Is Your Kind Of Place".
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1990 -Reebok Double Tongue Double Dutch commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aqqQ_NRYB0
Update July 31, 2017
"Reebox" is a brand of tennis shoe. This commercial is filmed as a video game. There's no jingle/rhyme. main words are "Reebox double tongue". ("Double tongue" refers to the fastener flap on the shoe.)
**
[Update August 2, 2017]
1991 - Double-Dutch Clorox Bleach Commercial, 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjhj7nUvp-w
vintage commercial Published on Jan 12, 2013
"There's only one way to get it Clorox clean." Perhaps, but there's probably a way to cause fewer hours of work for yourself. For instance, here's a laundry-lessening idea: maybe avoid playing double-dutch on a grimy sidewalk while wearing only white socks. There's another little kid wearing orange socks AND a pair of shoes - let's maybe try to emulate that kind of outdoor jumprope fashion behavior."
-snip-
This commercial for a brand name bleach product shows a multiracial group of girls doing double dutch. In includes a jingle about there being "only one way to be Clorox clean".
-end of 8/2/2017 video-
**
[Update: 7/30/2017]
1997- Sister, Sister (television series), episode entitled "Double Dutch" [Season 4, Episode 19]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701710/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
"Tia and Tamera enter a double-Dutch contest for a family street fair and Tia overworks Tamera, not letting her see her 'guy' or even telling Tamera the reason why she is so driven. It turns out that after meeting an old childhood bully, Tia became obsessed with finally beating her at something."...
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdokT3mzKuI for a clip of that episode that shows "double dutching".
-end of 7/20/2017 update
**
2002 - Missy Elliot' (featuring Ludacris)'s single "Gossip Folks" sampled Frankie Smith’s 1981 record “Double Dutch Bus”
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYKI8tAELXY [Warning: Some of the lyrics in this song are considered to be "dirty".]
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2003 Hitman Sammy – "Step Daddy" (sampled Frankie Smith’s "Double Dutch Bus")
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2005 - Xbox 360 TV Commercial - "Jump Rope"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQdjAukXJgM
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2007 - Jump In!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_In!
"Jump In! is a 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie, which premiered on January 12, 2007. It was released on Disney Channel UK on April 27, 2007. The film, starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer, revolves around a young boxer, Izzy Daniels (Corbin Bleu), who trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. When his friend, Mary (Keke Palmer), who harbors a secret crush on him, asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, then, Izzy discovers his new love for jumping rope and in the meantime, he soon discovers true love in Mary."...
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2008- Raven-Symone recorded a cover of Frankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus"
****
2012 - Phineas and Ferb [Disney animated series, "Double Dutch" episode]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_RKZgUUbY
-snip-
That episode includes this song:
"Volgen nu!
One dutch, two dutch
Queens of the double dutch
We skip better than you by that much
Watch our feet, our moves are sweet
Our double dutchin' won't be beat
Touwtje springen, wat leuk.
-snip-
"Volgen nu = Dutch for "now follow"
Touwtje springen = Dutch for "jumping rope"
wat leuk = Dutch for "what fun") is often erroneously given as "fast feud".
****
2012 [British] "Maltesers Let Your Lighter Side Out TV Ad Airport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exPHfGsSRao
-snip-
"Maltese" is the brand name for United Kingdom chocolate candy drops. This commercial features
Malcolm NcClaren's "Double Dutch" song.
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2013 - Wolf Of Wall Street movie includes Malcolm McClaren's Double Dutch song.
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2014 - BET Awards/Pharrell & Missy Elliot performance includes Double Dutch jumping ("double dutching")
http://www.bet.com/video/betawards/2014/performances/pharrell-williams-and-missy-elliott.html
"Pharrell Takes Us to #BaeUniversity With Missy Elliott.
Missy joins Skateboard P for a special mash-up performance of "Come Get It Bae" and her classic "Pass That Dutch."
-snip-
[No other description is given on that page besides that quote.] The inclusion of Double Dutch in that BET televised show is mentioned in the article "Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015 whose link is given above.
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Added July 30, 2017
2014- The Real syndicated television talk show-[Double Dutch segment] Sep 29, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0c4OfX6JU
"Tamera Shows Off Her Double Dutch Skills"
-snip-
Tamera Mowry-Housley one of The Real's hosts, was the star of Sister, Sister along with her twin sister Tia. A popular episode of that series was when the sisters jumped in a Double Dutch competition.(1997).
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2015 - "Double dutching" is included in the Top Five movie about New York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Five
This is mentioned is in the article "Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015 whose link is given above.
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2015 - Jump! television series on Lifetime channel
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/new-series-jump-to-premiere-friday-april-10-on-lifetime/377692/ New Series 'Jump!' to Premiere Friday, April 10 on Lifetime, Steve Baron, March 20, 2015
"via press release:
April - Lifetime’s all-new docu-series Jump!, chronicles the journey of one of the hottest jump rope teams in the country, Floyd-Little Double Dutch (FLDD), as they compete to defend their championship titles. Known as the face of Double Dutch, the team performed at the White House Easter celebration and opened up the 2014 BET Awards with Pharrell and Missy Elliot. Premiering Friday, April 10, at 10pm ET/PT, Jump! provides an inside look at the international competitive event filled with tricks, turns, tears and triumphs, and examines what it really takes to make it as the fiercest team in the country."
-snip-
This one season series showcased Newark, New Jersey's Floyd Little (Double Dutch) team. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVHEcfrCkuI "Jump!: Meet the Floyd Little Double Dutch Team | Lifetime"
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Please add to this timeline. Thanks!
****
This concludes Part IV of this four part pancocojams series on Double Dutch.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label British music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British music. Show all posts
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Friday, August 26, 2016
The REAL Meaning Of "Bad To The Bone" In George Thorogood & The Destroyers' Song
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post presents information about the (White) British group George Thorogood and the Destroyers' 1982 Blues rock song "Bad To The Bone" along with lyrics for and a video of that song.
This post also presents my critiques of online definitions of the term "bad to the bone" means in the context of this record and my statement about what "bad to the bone" REALLY means in this song and why it has that meaning.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, etymological, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners
Thanks to George Thorogood and the Destroyers for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS' RECORD "BAD TO THE BONE"
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11616 [referred to below as songfacts. com #1]
Album: Bad to the Bone
Released: 1982
This is based on the Bo Diddley Blues song "I'm A Man." Thorogood is influenced by The Blues, and Diddley is one of his heroes... Both songs are full of swagger, with the singers exuding lots of testosterone...
With MTV coming on the air in 1981, Thorogood picked a good time to release a memorable video. The clip showed Thorogood playing pool against Bo Diddley in a place where there was no chance of a dance sequence breaking out. Pool champion Willie Mosconi also appears in the video, which introduced Thorogood - and to some extent, Diddley - to the younger MTV crowd."...
***
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_to_the_Bone
"Bad to the Bone" is a song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released in 1982 on the album of the same name. While it was not widely popular during its initial release, its video made recurrent appearances on the nascent MTV, created a year before. Licensing for films, television, and commercials has since made the song more popular.
Structure and influences
The song's roots can be traced back to rock and roll musician Bo Diddley's song "I'm a Man", which uses a similar guitar riff and vocal rhythm, and has a similar overall structure, as well as Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man", Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy," John Lee Hooker's "I'm Bad Like Jesse James", and Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Gangster of Love". The riff is also very similar to the one from Chuck Berry's song "No Money Down" as well as Elvis Presley's "Trouble"."
****
SONG LYRICS: BAD TO THE BONE
(As sung by George Thorogood and the Destroyers)
On the day I was born
The nurses all gathered 'round
And they gazed in wide wonder
At the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up
Said "leave this one alone"
She could tell right away
That I was bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
I broke a thousand hearts
Before I met you
I'll break a thousand more, baby
Before I am through
I wanna be yours pretty baby
Yours and yours alone
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
I make a rich woman beg
I'll make a good woman steal
I'll make an old woman blush
And make a young girl squeal
I wanna be yours pretty baby
Yours and yours alone
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
And when I walk the streets
Kings and Queens step aside
Every woman I meet
They all stay satisfied
I wanna tell ya pretty baby
Well Ya see I make my own
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/georgethorogoodandthedestroyers/badtothebone.html
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: George Thorogood And The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone
emimusic, Uploaded on Apr 22, 2010
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2015
Craig Jackson
"good song ROCK N ROLL forever
**
Reply
"+Craig Jackson Led Zeppelin and George are the best White boy bluesmen ever....no offense to Eric Clapton."
****
2016
Freddy Ramirez
"Anybody besides me ever thought this was sung by a black guy? I had no idea, always loved this song!"
**
Reply
stephen brooks
"+Freddy Ramirez You're dumb lol"
**
Freddy Ramirez
"+stephen brooks don't tell me you never thought about it lol"
**
Reply
duttyow709
"+Freddy Ramirez Muddy Waters, Mannish Boy."
**
connfyoozed
"For those who don't know, this is a cover of a Bo Diddley song. That is Bo Diddley playing pool against George in the video. And Bo Diddley was one bad mofo with a guitar."
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THE REAL MEANING OF "BAD TO THE BONE" IN THE CONTEXT OF GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS' RECORD
In the context of George Thorogood & The Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone" song, a man who is "bad to the bones" is "thoroughly good when it comes to pleasing women sexually". A man who is "bad to the bone" has really "got it goin' on" when it comes his success with women.
"Bad to the bone" is an intensification of the standard English language meaning of the word "bad". Instead of something negative, in African American slang, the adjective "bad" means "very good". The adjectives "dope" and "sick" are two other contemporary [beginning of the 21st century?] African American originated synonyms of "bad".
Read the other definitions of "bad to the bone" below that I found online. I don't think the definitions of "evil through and through" fit the sexually bragging lyrics of those Blues, Blues Rock, and R&B songs that I mentioned.
-snip-
It should be noted that "the bone" that is referenced in the term means "skeleton bones" and not the slang term for a man's sexual organ.
**
It's ironical that George Thorogood's last name echos the real meaning of the term "bad to the bone".
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OTHER ONLINE DEFINITIONS OF "BAD TO THE BONE"
From http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11616
"The phrase "Bad To The Bone" means there isn't a bit of good in him....
While Thorogood is a disciple of the Blues, he was raised in a Delaware suburb and by most accounts is actually a pretty nice guy, despite what he claims in this song"...
-snip-
The songfact.com writer arrived at those conclusions even though he or she wrote that "George Thorogood & The Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone" is "based on the Bo Diddley Blues song "I'm A Man."
Another songfacts.com article about Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" song (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12395; songfacts.com #2) indicates that "He sings about his sexual prowess".
-end of quote.
"I'm A Man", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", the British Blues Rock song "Bad To The Bone", and countless other Blues & R&B songs are self-bragging songs. And what the men are bragging about is their sexual prowess with women.
People who read the lyrics of those songs and concludes that a man who describes himself as "bad to the bone" is using the standard definitions of "bad" rather than the African American Vernacular English meaning which is coupled with the slang definition of "to the bone", meaning "thoroughly". Add a large amount of sexual inferences and you arrive at what I strongly feel is the REAL meaning of "bad to the bone" in the context of George Thorogood & The Destroyers' song*.
-snip-
*I added italics to highlight the end of that sentence.
****
From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bad_to_the_bone
"Adjective
bad to the bone (not comparable)
(idiomatic) Completely bad and evil; pure evil."
**
From http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bad+to+the+bone
“bad to the bone".- idiom
Thoroughly and completely immoral, wicked, dangerous, and/or unlawful. Often used in an ironic, jocular way.
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OTHER USES OF THE PHRASE "___ TO THE BONE"
Barbecue Bob's 1928 song "Chocolate To The Bone" is an example of an early use of "___ to the bone" phrase. In that song, the singer brags about how I "Love that I’m brownskin, chocolate to the bone." Although the extended form of this phrase isn't used in that song, "chocolate to the bones" means "chocolate down to my bones". While that 1928 song includes a considerable amount of sexual bragging, the "chocolate to the bone" phrase refers to the person being proud that he/she* is part of the brownskin (i.e. Black) race.
*I wrote he/she because it appears to me that although the singer is a man, the person whose words are spoken in that 1928 song is a woman.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbecue-bob-chocolate-to-bone-sound.html for a pancocojams post about that song.
****
"She's My One Black Two Black" is the title/first line of a children's rhyme/song which includes the words "chocolate to the bone". I believe that Barbecue Bob's 1928 song is the primary source of "One Black Two Black". I also believe that the phrase "chocolate to the bone" in that song means the same thing that it does in that earlier song -i.e. the person who is "chocolate to the bone" is proud of her or his Black racial identity.
****
"Trini to the bone" [Trinidadian] to the bone" is a contemporary Caribbean form of the phrase "chocolate to the bone". That patriotic phrase affirms one's love of being from Trinidad (or from Trinidad & Tobago). The use of the colloquial referent "Trini" marks this form of that phrase as being of somewhat recent origin. That phrase may have been used prior to David Ruffin's 2003 Soca song "Trini to de bone". However, that song certainly popularized that phrase. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VCYlLG8VR8 for a sound file of that Soca song.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post presents information about the (White) British group George Thorogood and the Destroyers' 1982 Blues rock song "Bad To The Bone" along with lyrics for and a video of that song.
This post also presents my critiques of online definitions of the term "bad to the bone" means in the context of this record and my statement about what "bad to the bone" REALLY means in this song and why it has that meaning.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, etymological, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners
Thanks to George Thorogood and the Destroyers for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS' RECORD "BAD TO THE BONE"
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11616 [referred to below as songfacts. com #1]
Album: Bad to the Bone
Released: 1982
This is based on the Bo Diddley Blues song "I'm A Man." Thorogood is influenced by The Blues, and Diddley is one of his heroes... Both songs are full of swagger, with the singers exuding lots of testosterone...
With MTV coming on the air in 1981, Thorogood picked a good time to release a memorable video. The clip showed Thorogood playing pool against Bo Diddley in a place where there was no chance of a dance sequence breaking out. Pool champion Willie Mosconi also appears in the video, which introduced Thorogood - and to some extent, Diddley - to the younger MTV crowd."...
***
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_to_the_Bone
"Bad to the Bone" is a song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released in 1982 on the album of the same name. While it was not widely popular during its initial release, its video made recurrent appearances on the nascent MTV, created a year before. Licensing for films, television, and commercials has since made the song more popular.
Structure and influences
The song's roots can be traced back to rock and roll musician Bo Diddley's song "I'm a Man", which uses a similar guitar riff and vocal rhythm, and has a similar overall structure, as well as Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man", Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy," John Lee Hooker's "I'm Bad Like Jesse James", and Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Gangster of Love". The riff is also very similar to the one from Chuck Berry's song "No Money Down" as well as Elvis Presley's "Trouble"."
****
SONG LYRICS: BAD TO THE BONE
(As sung by George Thorogood and the Destroyers)
On the day I was born
The nurses all gathered 'round
And they gazed in wide wonder
At the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up
Said "leave this one alone"
She could tell right away
That I was bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
I broke a thousand hearts
Before I met you
I'll break a thousand more, baby
Before I am through
I wanna be yours pretty baby
Yours and yours alone
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
I make a rich woman beg
I'll make a good woman steal
I'll make an old woman blush
And make a young girl squeal
I wanna be yours pretty baby
Yours and yours alone
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
And when I walk the streets
Kings and Queens step aside
Every woman I meet
They all stay satisfied
I wanna tell ya pretty baby
Well Ya see I make my own
I'm here to tell ya honey
That I'm bad to the bone
Bad to the bone
B-B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
B-B-B-Bad
Bad to the bone
Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/georgethorogoodandthedestroyers/badtothebone.html
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: George Thorogood And The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone
emimusic, Uploaded on Apr 22, 2010
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread:
2015
Craig Jackson
"good song ROCK N ROLL forever
**
Reply
"+Craig Jackson Led Zeppelin and George are the best White boy bluesmen ever....no offense to Eric Clapton."
****
2016
Freddy Ramirez
"Anybody besides me ever thought this was sung by a black guy? I had no idea, always loved this song!"
**
Reply
stephen brooks
"+Freddy Ramirez You're dumb lol"
**
Freddy Ramirez
"+stephen brooks don't tell me you never thought about it lol"
**
Reply
duttyow709
"+Freddy Ramirez Muddy Waters, Mannish Boy."
**
connfyoozed
"For those who don't know, this is a cover of a Bo Diddley song. That is Bo Diddley playing pool against George in the video. And Bo Diddley was one bad mofo with a guitar."
****
THE REAL MEANING OF "BAD TO THE BONE" IN THE CONTEXT OF GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS' RECORD
In the context of George Thorogood & The Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone" song, a man who is "bad to the bones" is "thoroughly good when it comes to pleasing women sexually". A man who is "bad to the bone" has really "got it goin' on" when it comes his success with women.
"Bad to the bone" is an intensification of the standard English language meaning of the word "bad". Instead of something negative, in African American slang, the adjective "bad" means "very good". The adjectives "dope" and "sick" are two other contemporary [beginning of the 21st century?] African American originated synonyms of "bad".
Read the other definitions of "bad to the bone" below that I found online. I don't think the definitions of "evil through and through" fit the sexually bragging lyrics of those Blues, Blues Rock, and R&B songs that I mentioned.
-snip-
It should be noted that "the bone" that is referenced in the term means "skeleton bones" and not the slang term for a man's sexual organ.
**
It's ironical that George Thorogood's last name echos the real meaning of the term "bad to the bone".
****
OTHER ONLINE DEFINITIONS OF "BAD TO THE BONE"
From http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11616
"The phrase "Bad To The Bone" means there isn't a bit of good in him....
While Thorogood is a disciple of the Blues, he was raised in a Delaware suburb and by most accounts is actually a pretty nice guy, despite what he claims in this song"...
-snip-
The songfact.com writer arrived at those conclusions even though he or she wrote that "George Thorogood & The Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone" is "based on the Bo Diddley Blues song "I'm A Man."
Another songfacts.com article about Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" song (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12395; songfacts.com #2) indicates that "He sings about his sexual prowess".
-end of quote.
"I'm A Man", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", the British Blues Rock song "Bad To The Bone", and countless other Blues & R&B songs are self-bragging songs. And what the men are bragging about is their sexual prowess with women.
People who read the lyrics of those songs and concludes that a man who describes himself as "bad to the bone" is using the standard definitions of "bad" rather than the African American Vernacular English meaning which is coupled with the slang definition of "to the bone", meaning "thoroughly". Add a large amount of sexual inferences and you arrive at what I strongly feel is the REAL meaning of "bad to the bone" in the context of George Thorogood & The Destroyers' song*.
-snip-
*I added italics to highlight the end of that sentence.
****
From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bad_to_the_bone
"Adjective
bad to the bone (not comparable)
(idiomatic) Completely bad and evil; pure evil."
**
From http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bad+to+the+bone
“bad to the bone".- idiom
Thoroughly and completely immoral, wicked, dangerous, and/or unlawful. Often used in an ironic, jocular way.
****
OTHER USES OF THE PHRASE "___ TO THE BONE"
Barbecue Bob's 1928 song "Chocolate To The Bone" is an example of an early use of "___ to the bone" phrase. In that song, the singer brags about how I "Love that I’m brownskin, chocolate to the bone." Although the extended form of this phrase isn't used in that song, "chocolate to the bones" means "chocolate down to my bones". While that 1928 song includes a considerable amount of sexual bragging, the "chocolate to the bone" phrase refers to the person being proud that he/she* is part of the brownskin (i.e. Black) race.
*I wrote he/she because it appears to me that although the singer is a man, the person whose words are spoken in that 1928 song is a woman.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/barbecue-bob-chocolate-to-bone-sound.html for a pancocojams post about that song.
****
"She's My One Black Two Black" is the title/first line of a children's rhyme/song which includes the words "chocolate to the bone". I believe that Barbecue Bob's 1928 song is the primary source of "One Black Two Black". I also believe that the phrase "chocolate to the bone" in that song means the same thing that it does in that earlier song -i.e. the person who is "chocolate to the bone" is proud of her or his Black racial identity.
****
"Trini to the bone" [Trinidadian] to the bone" is a contemporary Caribbean form of the phrase "chocolate to the bone". That patriotic phrase affirms one's love of being from Trinidad (or from Trinidad & Tobago). The use of the colloquial referent "Trini" marks this form of that phrase as being of somewhat recent origin. That phrase may have been used prior to David Ruffin's 2003 Soca song "Trini to de bone". However, that song certainly popularized that phrase. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VCYlLG8VR8 for a sound file of that Soca song.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Lonnie Donegan - Railroad Bill (with information about Skiffle Music)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part V of a five part series of posts about old time American music songs entitled "Railroad Bill". Part I and Part II of this series provides general information about the man known as "Railroad Bill".
Part V provides a sound file and lyrics of this song by Lonnie Donegan, who was a prominent White British Skiffle vocalist. Information about Skiffle music is also provided in that post. An Addendum to that post also features a sound file of
Part I provides lyrics & a sound file of a 1924 version of "Railroad Bill" by Riley Puckett. That post also provides links to information about and examples of some other early versions of "Railroad Bill" songs. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/riley-puckett-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.
Part II provides lyrics to the version of this song that was recorded in 1924 by Anglo-American vocalist Roba Stanley. In the addendum to that post I've also included the "Roborus" fragment and the "Shanghai Rooster" fragment which are folk etymology variants of "Railroad Bill". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/roba-stanley-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.
Part III provides lyrics of a 1929 song by Will Bennett. This is the first version of this song that was recorded by a Black person.
Click for that post. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-bennett-railroad-bill-information.html.
Part IV provides a sound file & lyrics of this song by Frank Hutchinson. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/frank-hutchison-railroad-bill.html for that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED SOUNDFILE: Railroad Bill - Lonnie Donegan
Malcalum, Uploaded on Mar 31, 2007
The death of Railroad Bill - Private detectives, rail detectives, lawmen, and citizens were after Bill, or at least the $1250 reward on his head. A posse was taking a break in the store of Tidmore and Eard in Atmore when a lone, black man with a slight limp walked through to the counter. Nobody paid him much attention except the storekeeper who recognized him as Railroad Bill. After Bill's last visit, the storekeeper placed a double barrel shotgun within reach so that he might win that reward. He was so afraid of Bill that he didn't go for the gun. Bill sat himself on a barrel and proceeded to snack on crackers and cheese, the posse continuing their conversations just across the room.
Leonard McGowin had recognized Bill going into the store. Again, Bill's reputation, the legend that he could only be killed by a silver bullet, his known ability with a gun, caused McGowin to hesitate. McGowin went around to a side door and fired his rifle from outside, issuing a fatal wound. On the way down, Bill went for his gun, but was hit again by a shotgun blast from the storekeeper. It took the startled posse a moment to figure out what was going on and then they opened fire on the corpse.
Railroad Bill's body was strapped to a board. His guns were placed on his person and he was placed on public display. In every "colored waiting room", in every major depot, from Atmore and Brewton to Montgomery, citizens were given the chance to pay 25 or 50 cents to view the remains or have their pictures taken with the notorious outlaw. ... The body was buried in an unmarked grave in Pensacola.
The only genuine picture of McCoy is the final one of his body strapped to a board. All the others are of various other African American bad men and notable characters of those days…..
More on - http://www.northwestfloridacomm.com/Wild_Bill_McCoy.htm
[This article identifies “Railroad Bill” as “Bill McCoy” instead of as Morris Slater as is the case with many other “Railroad Bill” articles.
Comments from the YouTube video comment thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQDI8wTvRv0
"Railroad Bill is credited to Traditional,Arrangement Lonnie Donegan on Lon's CD Skiffle Sessions .Its possible it came from the same source as Rock Island Line that being Leadbelly. Its a great track from a great artist . The CD is A1 contains lots of early tracks"
-Susan Yates, 2007
**
"Do you know the names of all those in your photos on this? The one of the guy holding a rifle w/saddle on the ground & one following where the guy is on a horse, those seem to be Bill Pickett, he is credited with being the founder of todays' Rodeo event, called Bulldogging. Still get a real kick out of your video, keep up with your talent."
-Dunitlucky, 2008
**
"No one knows who wrote the folk song, but it was around by 1909 at the latest, and very likely was already around as of about 1897. Some may have called him "Wild Bill McCoy" as suggested here, but "Railroad Bill," the legendary outlaw who inspired the song and lies dead in the 1897 photo seen at 2:02, was a guy named Morris Slater."
-JosephNScott, 2008
**
"I don't know who wrote it but Lonnie definitely got it from Leadbelly. The opening guitar riff is classic Leadbelly."
-pnomis, 2008
-snip-
Click http://www.lyricsmania.com/railroad_bill_lyrics_lonnie_donegan.html for a link to lyrics of Railroad Bill as sung by Lonnie Donegan.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SKIFFLE MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiffle
"Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, and roots influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly associated with musician Lonnie Donegan and played a major part in beginning the careers of later eminent jazz, pop, blues, folk and rock musicians.
American Skiffle
The origins of skiffle are obscure but are generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in the early twentieth century. Skiffle is often said to have developed from New Orleans jazz, but this claim has been disputed.[1] Improvised jug bands playing blues and jazz were common across the American South in the early decades of the twentieth century, even if the term skiffle was not used to describe them.[2]
They used instruments such as the washboard, jugs, tea chest bass, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, and comb-and-paper kazoos, as well as more conventional instruments, such as acoustic guitar and banjo.[3] The term skiffle was one of many slang phrases for a rent party, a social event with a small charge designed to pay rent on a house.[4] It was first recorded in Chicago in the 1920s and may have been brought there as part of the African-American migration to northern industrial cities. The first use of the term on record was in 1925 in the name of Jimmy O'Bryant and his Chicago Skifflers. Most often it was used to describe country blues music records, which included the compilation "Hometown Skiffle" (1929) and "Skiffle Blues" (1946) by Dan Burley & His Skiffle Boys.[5] It was used by Ma Rainey (1886–1939) to describe her repertoire to rural audiences.[1] The term skiffle disappeared from American music in the 1940s.
Skiffle in Britain
A relatively obscure genre, skiffle might have been largely forgotten if not for its revival in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and the success of its main proponent, Lonnie Donegan."
****
ADDENDUM
BONUS SOUNDFILE: Railroad Bill (Etta Baker with Taj Mahal)
.
anonymoose713, Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009
From the CD titled: "Etta Baker with Taj Mahal" [instrumental]
http://www.musicmaker.org/
****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured vocalists/composers.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part V of a five part series of posts about old time American music songs entitled "Railroad Bill". Part I and Part II of this series provides general information about the man known as "Railroad Bill".
Part V provides a sound file and lyrics of this song by Lonnie Donegan, who was a prominent White British Skiffle vocalist. Information about Skiffle music is also provided in that post. An Addendum to that post also features a sound file of
Part I provides lyrics & a sound file of a 1924 version of "Railroad Bill" by Riley Puckett. That post also provides links to information about and examples of some other early versions of "Railroad Bill" songs. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/riley-puckett-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.
Part II provides lyrics to the version of this song that was recorded in 1924 by Anglo-American vocalist Roba Stanley. In the addendum to that post I've also included the "Roborus" fragment and the "Shanghai Rooster" fragment which are folk etymology variants of "Railroad Bill". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/roba-stanley-railroad-bill-information.html for that post.
Part III provides lyrics of a 1929 song by Will Bennett. This is the first version of this song that was recorded by a Black person.
Click for that post. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/will-bennett-railroad-bill-information.html.
Part IV provides a sound file & lyrics of this song by Frank Hutchinson. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/frank-hutchison-railroad-bill.html for that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED SOUNDFILE: Railroad Bill - Lonnie Donegan
Malcalum, Uploaded on Mar 31, 2007
The death of Railroad Bill - Private detectives, rail detectives, lawmen, and citizens were after Bill, or at least the $1250 reward on his head. A posse was taking a break in the store of Tidmore and Eard in Atmore when a lone, black man with a slight limp walked through to the counter. Nobody paid him much attention except the storekeeper who recognized him as Railroad Bill. After Bill's last visit, the storekeeper placed a double barrel shotgun within reach so that he might win that reward. He was so afraid of Bill that he didn't go for the gun. Bill sat himself on a barrel and proceeded to snack on crackers and cheese, the posse continuing their conversations just across the room.
Leonard McGowin had recognized Bill going into the store. Again, Bill's reputation, the legend that he could only be killed by a silver bullet, his known ability with a gun, caused McGowin to hesitate. McGowin went around to a side door and fired his rifle from outside, issuing a fatal wound. On the way down, Bill went for his gun, but was hit again by a shotgun blast from the storekeeper. It took the startled posse a moment to figure out what was going on and then they opened fire on the corpse.
Railroad Bill's body was strapped to a board. His guns were placed on his person and he was placed on public display. In every "colored waiting room", in every major depot, from Atmore and Brewton to Montgomery, citizens were given the chance to pay 25 or 50 cents to view the remains or have their pictures taken with the notorious outlaw. ... The body was buried in an unmarked grave in Pensacola.
The only genuine picture of McCoy is the final one of his body strapped to a board. All the others are of various other African American bad men and notable characters of those days…..
More on - http://www.northwestfloridacomm.com/Wild_Bill_McCoy.htm
[This article identifies “Railroad Bill” as “Bill McCoy” instead of as Morris Slater as is the case with many other “Railroad Bill” articles.
Comments from the YouTube video comment thread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQDI8wTvRv0
"Railroad Bill is credited to Traditional,Arrangement Lonnie Donegan on Lon's CD Skiffle Sessions .Its possible it came from the same source as Rock Island Line that being Leadbelly. Its a great track from a great artist . The CD is A1 contains lots of early tracks"
-Susan Yates, 2007
**
"Do you know the names of all those in your photos on this? The one of the guy holding a rifle w/saddle on the ground & one following where the guy is on a horse, those seem to be Bill Pickett, he is credited with being the founder of todays' Rodeo event, called Bulldogging. Still get a real kick out of your video, keep up with your talent."
-Dunitlucky, 2008
**
"No one knows who wrote the folk song, but it was around by 1909 at the latest, and very likely was already around as of about 1897. Some may have called him "Wild Bill McCoy" as suggested here, but "Railroad Bill," the legendary outlaw who inspired the song and lies dead in the 1897 photo seen at 2:02, was a guy named Morris Slater."
-JosephNScott, 2008
**
"I don't know who wrote it but Lonnie definitely got it from Leadbelly. The opening guitar riff is classic Leadbelly."
-pnomis, 2008
-snip-
Click http://www.lyricsmania.com/railroad_bill_lyrics_lonnie_donegan.html for a link to lyrics of Railroad Bill as sung by Lonnie Donegan.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SKIFFLE MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skiffle
"Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, and roots influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly associated with musician Lonnie Donegan and played a major part in beginning the careers of later eminent jazz, pop, blues, folk and rock musicians.
American Skiffle
The origins of skiffle are obscure but are generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in the early twentieth century. Skiffle is often said to have developed from New Orleans jazz, but this claim has been disputed.[1] Improvised jug bands playing blues and jazz were common across the American South in the early decades of the twentieth century, even if the term skiffle was not used to describe them.[2]
They used instruments such as the washboard, jugs, tea chest bass, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, and comb-and-paper kazoos, as well as more conventional instruments, such as acoustic guitar and banjo.[3] The term skiffle was one of many slang phrases for a rent party, a social event with a small charge designed to pay rent on a house.[4] It was first recorded in Chicago in the 1920s and may have been brought there as part of the African-American migration to northern industrial cities. The first use of the term on record was in 1925 in the name of Jimmy O'Bryant and his Chicago Skifflers. Most often it was used to describe country blues music records, which included the compilation "Hometown Skiffle" (1929) and "Skiffle Blues" (1946) by Dan Burley & His Skiffle Boys.[5] It was used by Ma Rainey (1886–1939) to describe her repertoire to rural audiences.[1] The term skiffle disappeared from American music in the 1940s.
Skiffle in Britain
A relatively obscure genre, skiffle might have been largely forgotten if not for its revival in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and the success of its main proponent, Lonnie Donegan."
****
ADDENDUM
BONUS SOUNDFILE: Railroad Bill (Etta Baker with Taj Mahal)
.
anonymoose713, Uploaded on Jul 9, 2009
From the CD titled: "Etta Baker with Taj Mahal" [instrumental]
http://www.musicmaker.org/
****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the featured vocalists/composers.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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