"Poon tang" in the Philippines?

[Douglas G. Wilson]

A while back I noted on this list that French "putain" is not the only
plausible etymon for "poontang", that Tagalog "puta[ng]" (apparently
from Spanish "puta") provides another candidate with similar evidential
support (i.e., about none). Somebody noted that there was no indication
of any connection with the Philippines. Now I see a little connection --
slim, and undesirably late, and not decisive or conclusive at all ...
but then where is the decisive connection to any French-speaking place?

 From ProQuest:

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_Philadelphia [PA] Tribune_, 7 Feb. 1953: p. 12:

<<Okeh announces forthcoming Fletcher Peck waxing of "Moon Dog," backed
by "Poon Tang." If the people who censor record titles have ever been
GI's in the Philippines, they'll have to withdraw the latter title too.>>

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_Afro-American_ [Baltimore MD], 14 Feb. 1953: p. 7:

<<But, Fletcher Peck's "Moon Dog" and "Poon Tang," satires on GI's in
the Philippines, might get the censors' hatchet.>>

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Of course there were plenty of GI's in the Philippines throughout most
of the 20th century. But it seems as though somebody thought the
expression "poon tang" had a particular connection to them.

Anybody familiar with the music in question?

-- Doug Wilson

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