"The Hucklebuck" (sometimes written "The Huckle-Buck") is a jazz and R&B dance tune, structured around a twelve-bar blues progression, first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy Alfred. Williams recording, produced by Teddy Reig, was released by Savoy Records.
Reig and Williams had first heard the tune (originally titled "D-Natural Blues") when it was played by Lucky Millinder and his band at a rehearsal earlier that year for a concert, either in Newark or Baltimore, at which both bands performed.
Paul Williams wanted to record it but, says Teddy Reig, songwriter Andy Gibson had already sold the song to Lucky Millinder as "D-Natural Blues".
Millinder later took court action against Gibson and United Music, the publishing company, for copyright infringement, but eventually dropped the case while retaining the rights to "D-Natural Blues".
Maybe he dropped the case, because the riff in "D-Natural Blues" was strongly influenced by the main riff from "Now's the Time", a composition by Charlie Parker who first recorded it in 1945 for Savoy Records, also produced by Teddy Reig.
And then there's the main theme of the verse in "D-Natural Blues"/"The Hucklebuck", which is already present in a few older compositions.
In 1924 George W. Thomas and his sister Sippie Wallace wrote "Underworld Blues", which contained this main theme.
(c) Sippie Wallace (1924) (as "Underworld Blues")
Recorded May 26, 1924 in New York City
Released on Okeh 8144
Listen here:
In the reissue of a 1924 Capitol nickelodeon roll of "Underworld Blues", played by James Blythe, this theme is even more recognizable.
Listen here (after 15 seconds in the video below)
Or here:
But already in 1915 Artie Matthews wrote "Weary Blues", which contains the main theme, which would later re-emerge in the verse of "D-Natural Blues"/"The Hucklebuck".
The first version I could find was recorded in 1919.
(o) Louisiana Five (1920) (as "Weary Blues")
Recorded December 1919 in New York City
Released on Emerson 10116
Listen here (the Hucklebuck verse starts at 33 seconds in the video below)
In Erskine Hawkins' version of "Weary Blues", the theme is even more recognizable.
(c) Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra (1938) (as "Weary Blues")
Recorded September 12, 1938 in New York.
Released on Bluebird B-7839
Listen here (at 13 seconds in the video below)
As I said above, Paul Williams had first heard the tune (originally titled "D-Natural Blues"), when it was played by Lucky Millinder and his band, at a rehearsal earlier that year for a concert, either in Newark or Baltimore, at which both bands performed.
But Williams might also have seen Lucky Millinder perform "D-Natural Blues", with Slim Henderson's sax solo, in the movie "Boarding House Blues" (1948)
Watch it here (after 1 hour 18 minutes and 3 seconds in the Youtube below)
Or here:
As I said above "The Hucklebuck" was also influenced by the main riff of Charlie Parker's "Now's The Time", a tune he recorded with his Ree-Boppers for Savoy in '45, with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Curley Russell, Max Roach and produced by Teddy Reig, who also produced Paul Williams' "Hucklebuck" for Savoy Records.
(c) Charley Parker's Ree Boppers (1945) (as "Now's The Time")
Recorded November 26, 1945 at WOR Studios, Broadway, NYC
Released on Savoy 573
Listen here:
And here's the version that took the tune to world fame. Paul Williams "The Huckle-Buck" stayed in the R&B charts for 32 weeks (14 weeks at nr 1)
(c) Paul Williams And His Hucklebuckers (1949) (as "The Huckle-Buck").
Phil Guilbeau (trumpet), Miller Sam (tenor sax), Paul Williams (baritone and alt sax),
Floyd Taylor (piano), Herman Hopkins (bass), Reetham Mallett (drums). Producer: Teddy Reig
Recorded December 15, 1948 in New York City
Released on Savoy 683
Listen here:
After Paul Williams hit the big time with "The Huckle-Buck", Lucky Millinder also made an official recording of "D-Natural Blues".
(c) Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra (1949) (as "D-Natural Blues")
Recorded January 3, 1949 in New York City
Released on Victor 20-3351
Listen here:
The success of Williams' and Millinder's instrumental recordings also led to words being written to the tune, by Tin Pan Alley lyricist Roy Alfred. The lines included: "Wiggle like a snake/ Waddle like a duck/ That's the way you do it/ When you do the Hucklebuck".
The first vocal version was made by Roy Milton, whose recording on the Specialty record label entered the R&B chart in April 1949, rising to #5.
(c) Roy Milton (1949) (as "The Huckle-Buck")
Recorded February 22, 1949 in Los Angeles, CA
Released on Specialty 328
Listen here:
Coincidence or not, only a few months later, the Delmore Brothers recorded "Blues Stay Away From Me", which also clearly uses the "Weary Blues" / "Underworld Blues" theme.
In addition they also used the bass line from Sonny Thompson's "Long Gone" (which Sonny might have learned from Jimmy Yancey's "Yancey Special".
(c) Delmore Brothers (1949) (as "Blues Stay Away From Me")
Recorded May 6, 1949 in Cincinnati, OH
Released on King 803
Listen here:
Tommy Dorsey's version of "The Huckle-Buck", with vocals by Charlie Shavers, entered the Billboard pop chart in May 1949, also rising to #5.
(c) Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (1949) (as "The Huckle-Buck")
Recorded March 22, 1949 in New York
Released on RCA Victor 20-3427
Listen here: The Huckle-Buck - Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra.mp3
Or here:
Later the same year Frank Sinatra's recording reached #10 on the pop chart.
(c) Frank Sinatra (1949) (as "The Huckle Buck")
Recorded April 10, 1949 CBS Studio in Los Angeles, Hollywood, CA
Released on Columbia 38486
Listen here:
Recordings were also made in 1949 by Cozy Cole Orchestra (recorded on March 2, 1949 in New York), Lionel Hampton Orchestra (recorded on May 10, 1949 in New York), Tito Burns and his Sextet (recorded on June 7, 1949 in London) and Pearl Bailey with Hot Lips Page (recorded on June 23, 1949 in London)
The song was later covered by many other musicians – it has been said that "no standard has been covered in as many different styles as the Hucklebuck".
As well as jazz and pop versions, there have been blues versions by Earl Hooker, Canned Heat and others, and recordings in styles such as rockabilly, easy listening, soul, ska, Latin, punk, and R&B.
The 1960 recording by Chubby Checker reached #14 on the US pop chart.
(c) Chubby Checker (1960) (as "The Hucklebuck")
Recorded august 1960 in the Cameo Parkway Studio in Philadelphia
Released on Parkway 813
Listen here:
In Ireland, the Royal Showband featuring Brendan Bowyer had a #1 hit with the song in 1965
(c) The Royal Showband Waterford (1964) (as "Hucklebuck")
Released on His Master's Voice POP (I) 1377
Listen here:
The British band Coast to Coast had a #5 pop hit in Britain with it in 1981.
(c) Coast To Coast (1979) (as "The Hucklebuck")
Originally recorded in 1979 on the Yorkie-label, produced by J. Brady, of the record shop mentioned on the label - J. B. Music, of Church Street, Biggleswade.
Released in 1979 on Yorkie JB 102
In 1980 they re-recorded the song and released it on the Polydor-label. It was this version, produced by Hal Carter, that was a Top 5 hit in the UK
(c) Coast To Coast (1980) (as "(Do) The Hucklebuck")
Released on Polydor POSP 214
Listen here:
BTW: Fletcher Henderson's ""D" Natural Blues" (1928) is another tune.
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