Modoc (was High Iron)

[George Thompson]

David Bergdahl writes:

> Anyone else remember the Lou Monte hit recording of the early 50s "The
> Gandy Dancer's Ball" with these memorable lines?
>
> I'll be down to getcha in a pushcart, Honey
> Better be ready by half-past nine

These are a variation of lines from an older song "Darktown Strutter's
Ball", which I remember as "Down to get you in a taxi, honey, better be
ready about half past eight, something, something, don't be late."  I
don't remember the Lou Monte recording.  Does this represent a separate
tradition or a show of sensitivity?  I don't recall the 50s as being
much concerned to avoid racial stereotypes, but maybe Monte was a
liberal thinker.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African
Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998.