Turntable Talk #40 – Dog Days Are Here Again

(This blog originally appeared on the A Sound Day blog as part of the Turntable Talk Series)

It is time once again for my monthly contribution to Turntable Talk for Dave at A Sound Day. The feature is in its 40th round this month! In the span of over three years Dave has presented us each month with a musically themed topic. Some of them have been easy to write about, while others were more difficult.

This month’s topic, however, is only difficult because there are hundreds of songs to choose from! As we are smack dab in the middle of the Dog Days of Summer, Dave’s instructions were:

“Pick your favorite ‘animal song’ and tell us about it. A song with an animal in the title. Could even be ‘Dog Days are Here Again’! Might be the ‘Year of the Cat’. ‘Eye of the Tiger’?that drowsy lion? Spiders , snakes, affectionate muskrats, ant music… possibilities seem endless as a ‘Hummingbird’ wingbeats.“

He couldn’t be more right! As soon as I read the topic, about 50 songs popped into my head. Along with those songs, I could guess which of the other contributors might pick for their piece.

There are Beatles fans among our group, so I Am The Walrus, Black Bird, Octopus’ Garden and Rocky Racoon are all possible choices for them. Then there are “rockers” and “metal heads” who might choose Black Dog, Cat Scratch Fever, Freebird or War Pigs. The 80’s fans could pick Hungry Like The Wolf, When Doves Cry, or Eye of the Tiger. Then there are the ones that every one I asked answered with – The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Cats in the Cradle, White Rabbit, and Brass Monkey.

Many of those were on my list of possible choices. I decided on one that I always loved to play on the oldies stations. I chose it because it is a snapshot of the early 60’s social scene.

Union Hall Dances were big back then. They would usually have a large gym or dance floor where people would come to “let loose.” These dances were attended mostly by teenagers and young adults and mainly happened on Friday nights. They were a place to dance, socialize or just listen to music. Many of these dances had live bands that played music. The Union Hall Dances are mentioned in the first line of my animal song.

The 1960s was a decade known for various dance crazes, including “The Mashed Potato,” “The Frug,” “The Jerk,” “The Hully Gully” and “The Watusi”. Many of those songs would go straight to the top of the charts and were the inspiration for dance contests all over the country. There were many other dance crazes during that time including The Twist which was a massive phenomenon thanks to Chubby Checker.

Chubby had great success providing songs – and dance crazes – that people could dance to. The Twist, Let’s Twist Again and other incarnations of the “twist” dance were his bread and butter. He also sang songs about other dance crazes like the Limbo (Limbo Rock), the Hucklebuck, and my animal song – the Pony.

I was surprised to find out that this was actually a cover song. According to songfacts.com: The soul singer Don Covay recorded the original version of “Pony Time” and released it as the first single with his group The Goodtimers in 1960. Checker’s version came out soon after and became the hit, as he was the big name. The Goodtimers’ rendition made it to #60 in March 1961, a month after Checker’s topped the chart.

Fun Fact: The Twist was a cover song, too. It was originally recorded by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters.

So what exactly is the Pony? This shouldn’t surprise you as the dancer tries to look as if they are riding a horse. According to one source, the dance is described this way: “In the dance the feet are kept comfortably together, while various arm and hand motions are possible. Movement around the dance floor may occur, but there is no line-of-dance. Couples generally face each other and do not touch.” You’ll get to see it before I am done.

Two things grab you as the song begins. First, that simple chord and Chubby’s announcement “It’s Pony Time! Get up!” It’s a call to attention. This is followed by that little drum kick and the “Boogety Boogety Shoos” which are a constant throughout the song. Ok, Chubby, you have my attention and I am ready to dance.

Fun Fact: The Boogety Shoo line was so popular, it is featured in Barry Mann’s Who Put the Bomp.

Chubby then sings, “Hey now everybody in the Union Hall ….” There is no doubt that this song was catered to be played at these venues. Much like the Twist, Checker calls out instructions on how to do that dance as the song plays. The calls are truly commands that were used by horsemen, but they are actually incorrect. The lyrics reverse the Gee and Haw commands. In use by horsemen for centuries, Gee was right and Haw was left.

So “let’s get it,” and give the hit version a listen:

The Dan Covay version with the Goodtimers is not too different from Chubby’s cover. Instead of yelling “It’s Pony Time,” the group actually harmonizes the line before the “Get Up!” Honestly, when I heard the original, I really liked it. It has more of an R&B feel to it. Chubby’s is truly all Rock and Roll. Give it a listen, it’s a shame this never gets airplay anymore…

Before wrapping up, there is a video on YouTube that shows Chubby illustrating how to do the dance. For me, it is hard to watch, as the dancers just look ridiculous. Watching them, it doesn’t look like they are riding a horse at all…. The only saving grace of this video is they tend to focus on Chubby more than the dancers – which may or may not be intentional. Thankfully, the video is cut off early….

I cannot help by watch that and wonder “What in the world are they doing?” I am grateful that whenever I played the song on the radio or heard it in the car, it is just the audio!

I want to thank Dave for hosting this feature each month. As many of the other contributors have said in the past, it really is something I look forward to writing each month. The topics continue to be worth writing about. I cannot wait to see what the others write about and will wait for topic #41 soon.

Thanks for reading, and listening!