"Jigaboo Man" (1911)

[Wilson Gray]

FWIW, Richard Berry, who wrote and originally recorded the
now-legendary "Louie, Louie," earlier, ca.1956, had a modest R&B hit
entitled, "Yama Yama, Pretty Mama." Again, as Doug notes about the
earlier cite, "yama yama" doesn't seem to include any geographic or
ethnic reference.

-Wilson


On 3/26/07, Douglas G. Wilson <douglas at nb.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> Subject:      "Jigaboo Man" (1911)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  From N'archive:
>
> ----------
>
> _Sandusky [OH] Star-Journal_, 28 April 1911: p. '2':
>
> <<The modern musical comedy of the Hough-Adams-Howard variety is not
> complete without an imitation of Bessie McCoy's famous "Yama Yama Man". In
> the new Chicago revue, "Miss Nobody from Starland," seen at the Sandusky
> theater Thursday, the song is called "The Jigaboo Man" and it was the most
> tuneful of the production, while the effects were good.>>
>
> ----------
>
> There are other mentions of "The Jigaboo Man", but I can't find lyrics.
>
> "Yama Yama Man" (1908, I think) was very famous: lyrics and a recording are
> available on-line: it is a simple song about a "boogeyman". Maybe "The
> Jigaboo Man" was about a boogeyman too, I don't know.
>
> I assume that "Jigaboo" here was basically a nonsense word.
>
> I assume "Yama Yama" was a nonsense expression too. A book about "Yama Yama
> Land" (something like Oz, I gather) was apparently inspired by the "Yama
> Yama Man" song, but the song itself (in its simple form) doesn't seem to
> include any geographic or ethnic reference.
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>
>
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