Iko Iko

Originally titled "Jock-a-Mo," the song now known as "Iko Iko" was written and released by Chess Records' Checker subsidiary in 1953 by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford. It tells the story of competition between two bands of Mardi Gras parade "Indians." The lyrics are just random chants -- as Crawford explained in an interview -- although some have tried to impute meaning to them. Crawford's record didn't chart, but the Dixie Cups had a hit with an a cappella version in 1965. One of them had evidently only heard her grandmother singing it and, unaware of Crawford's release, and believing it to be a traditional song, claimed the copyright. (Evidence, btw, that such copyright claims were common at the time, and not only by Pete Seeger.) Litigation followed, with Crawford mostly prevailing. 

"Iko Iko" has since become closely identified with New Orleans, though many of the numerous covers have been by non-NOLA artists.

Long but worth every minute:

Crawford's original lyric was "Chock-a-Mo," but Leonard Chess misheard it, and the record label's spelling stuck.

The Dixie Cups' very different arrangement gives some credence to the story that they'd never heard Crawford's single.

The Grateful Dead included it in their live act for a couple of decades, playing it almost 200 times (always too long, in my opinion):

The Papua New Guinea version:

The German version:

Another NOLA version:

Sugar Boy's grandson:

Not sure what I think about this:

Worth a shorter reprise:

Comments

[Charlie Martel]

Every version of this classic is great, but my two faves are Dr. John and the Nevilles.