Larry La Prise R.I.P.

What with all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment,it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person which almost went unnoticed last week. Larry La Prise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at
age 93.

The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in... and then the trouble started.

Thanks for your post. I'm sure we all agree that's what it's all about.

as crushed as you may be, i think larry would want you to "turn yourself around" & carry on w/ life.

chris

Hokey Pokey? A rip-off!

"Degen, 90, owns a 1944 copyright for "The Hokey-Pokey Dance," and claims to have written the words and music. His copyright predates LaPrise's by six years.

"He's a faker," Degen said of LaPrise. In fact, Degen sued LaPrise in 1956 in U.S. District Court in California. According to Degen, the two parties settled out of court to split 40 percent of the royalties. Degen is adamant that he wrote the song without any influences. The truth, unusually, seems to lie not in between but without: Pure Invention is rare.

A December 1945 issue of Dance magazine contains an article about an English novelty song called "the Okey Cokey," which American GIs were said to have danced to in England during WWII.

You put your left arm in.
You put your left arm out,
And shake it all about.
You do the okey-cokey
And you turn about.
And that's what it's all about."

Trader Woody

I think Degen also invented the Mai Tai!

& don't forget inventing the internet!

And Post-It Notes! Don't forget post-it notes!

(anyone know where that ref came from? It's your trivia of the day!)

This girl at work was convinced I invented the words 'bling bling' and 'peeps'. I ought to give her the post-it notes line too. And the Mai Tai. But she probably wouldn't know what that was.

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion?

Exactly! One of the funniest movies ever in my opinion. In a dumb way.