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On the extremely racist history of the standard tune (content warning): https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/11/310708342/recall-that-ice-cream-truck
by jedbrown 6y ago
On the extremely racist history of the standard tune (content warning): https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/11/310708342/recall-that-ice-cream-truck-song-we-have-unpleasant-news-for-you https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/11/310708342...
And an interview with RZA: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/15/902811996/wutang-clans-rza-on-the-racist-history-of-a-popular-ice-cream-jingle https://www.npr.org/2020/08/15/902811996/wutang-clans-rza-on...
- christophilus 6y agoWow. The article is worth a read. I think our ice cream trucks use a different tune, but it’s been a while, so maybe I’m wrong. Either way, I will never hear that tune the same way again. Same for “zip a dee doo dah”. Edit: the article mentions this, and that particular tune is being replaced. “He’s replacing it with a new 45-second jingle written and produced by Wu-Tang Clan member, RZA,”
- neolog 6y agoIsn't it the same tune as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Your_Ears_Hang_Low%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Your_Ears_Hang_Low%3F
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- bobthepanda 6y agoLiterally in your wiki link: > The origin of the song is most likely George Washington Dixon's "Zip Coon", penned in 1838. Which is also the racist song being talked about in the NPR article.
- neolog 6y agoThat links to > "Turkey in the Straw" was initially a popular tune for fiddle players as early as 1820. Which seems to predate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_in_the_Straw#Racist_versions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_in_the_Straw#Racist_ver...
- bobthepanda 6y agoThe next sentence: > In the late 1870s until the 1930s, "Turkey in the Straw" was performed in minstrel shows by blackface actors and musicians. In the "racist versions" section: > Another contrafactum, "Zip Coon", sung to the same tune as "Turkey in the Straw",[5] was popularized by Dixon and flourished during 1830s. This version was first published between 1829 and 1834 in either New York or Baltimore. All of the above performers claimed to have written the song, and the dispute is not resolved. It's possible for both things to be true and for multiple versions to have become popular at the same time, with one outshining the other in popularity. As a recent example, Aretha Franklin's "Respect" is a cover. In any case, the NPR's assertion is that specifically in the context of ice cream, 19th century ice cream parlors played minstrel songs (including but not limited to the song in question), and when they moved to trucks they played the music they used to play in parlors to attract customers who remembered what ice cream parlors sounded like.
- lostgame 6y agoOut of personal curiosity and HN's convenience, here's the actual 45 second track RZA produced for them. It's cute enough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWtNeat9CIk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWtNeat9CIk
- 082349872349872 6y agowith a postscript: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=314246332 https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=314246332
- shmageggy 6y agoI know nobody actually reads the articles, but this is discussed and linked in OP.