Skate Anthems

Back in 1981 I spent most evenings hanging out in our rec room basement listening to Magic 108 on the radio and talking with Margot D. on the phone. I had a huge crsuh on Margot, who I knew from Hebrew School, and since we went to different schools, my only chance to see her and the rest of the Shaere Emeth crew outside of class was Friday nights at Saints Roller Skating rink, where we would skate to the soul jams we knew from Magic.

Todays post is one of those jams. Commonly misattributed to The Gap Band, Double Dutch Bus was actually a one-hit wonder from Frankie Smith. It was made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" form of slang, and was used by Missy Elliot and Snoop Dog in later hits. According to the wiki "The song title represents a portmanteau of two institutions in Smith's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania neighborhood: the double dutch game of jump rope played by neighborhood kids, and the SEPTA bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position. The song spent 8 weeks at #1.

DOUBLE DUTCH BUS