Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas

Way back on December 2nd, I asked you all about the Gilly Galoo Bird. Tonight I saw another throw back to my past: I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas.

I remember my parents always sung these seven words, not the whole song, so I never really understood what it was about. As I've shared, a lot of these tidbits run through my head and their origins end up being from 50's and 60's television that my parents repeated.

Here is the official story of the Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas:

The town of Dumas, Texas, is the county seat of Moore County in the near northwestern top of the Texas. In the late 1800’s the Panhandle was one of the final areas of Texas to be developed from the raw prairie.

The small village was only 571 souls in the 1920’s and late in that decade a man who was to become a moderately successful band leader and song writer, Phil Baxter, chanced upon Dumas. He spent a few weeks in Dumas getting acquainted and after he had a steak continued his journey. Less than a year later Baxter penned the words and tune to a song which he name “I’m a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas.”

The catchy song gained national recognition when Phil Harris, band leader for the Jack Benny Radio Show, recorded the song.
Jack Benny, I have to assume, is where my parents heard the song. Listen to a jazzy instrumental version by Sidney Bechet here: I'm A Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas
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