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Ever since it came out I have been a little obsessed with the lazy cash-in record “Do The Hucklebuck†by Coast 2 Coast. It attempted to create a dance craze with something that was clearly half thought out and rubbish even to the 13 year old me. It was thus a good joke reference which we used for a few years and actually becomes funnier the further from 1981 you get. Apparently it's a song from the 40s, even though it feels like a weak parody of a song from the 40s. It was very successful
according to wikipedia.
Tim Worthington tweeted a joke about the Hucklebuck and for the first time in 40 years it struck me that the singer tells us that if we don't know how to do the Hucklebuck, then we're out of luck, before then immediately telling us how to do the Hucklebuck. Like he's realised how rude he was initially and wants to instantaneously make amends.
All you have to do is "Shove your baby in, twist her all around. Then you start a twisting mad and moving all around Wiggle like a snake, waddle like a duck That's what you do when you do the Hucklebuckâ€
Again in the second chorus (not that there's much of a verse and the verse is the same each time and thus effectively just another chorus), the singer again tries to look tough - he's not going to let the uncool people who don't know how to Hucklebuck how to Hucklebuck. He sings “If you don't know how to do it, ask my little sis.†Before again relenting and telling us how to do it himself.
The little sis thing is a bit of a self own too. He's trying to make out this is a super cool dance, but then admits that his child of a sister knows all about it. Which isn't surprising when the singer reveals you have to do impressions of snakes and ducks, which makes it sound like something that you would do at a 4 year old's birthday party.
In the video the singer (who I assume is Matt Horne's dad) doesn't seem to know how to do the Hucklebuck, even though he has the instructions, preferring to just swing his arms around. Everyone is doing a different dance. Almost like they're making this all up as they go along. By the end the singer manages to listen to his own song and does do some wriggling and waddling, but I don't think he should be mocking anyone else for not knowing how to do a made-up dance. Now I look them up on Wikipedia I see that the man who wanted us to Hucklebuck, but didn't want to tell us how, before immediately relenting, Alan Mills, died in 2016. Now I feel sad. Those ladies doing the Hucklebuck are presumably in their 60s now and not doing any Hucklebucking (I hope I am wrong and they recreate this video daily). Doing the Hucklebuck should keep you young forever, or what's the point?
Paul Williams who did it originally in 1949 has also died. Maybe there's a curse.
