>From: Rob Cibik <[email protected]> >Newsgroups: alt.obituaries >Subject: Robert Degen, credited with writing famed "Hokey Pokey" dies at 104 >Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:13:24 -0800 (PST)
Scranton native credited with writing famed "Hokey Pokey" dies at 104 By Roger DuPuis II Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune November 27, 2009 A Scranton native credited with having his right hand in - penning the famed "Hokey Pokey" - died this week at the age of 104. Robert Degen died Monday at St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Ky., where he had lived for many years. According to his obituary, he wrote the song in 1944 with the late Joe Briar. "He was very proud that he wrote that song," Mr. Degen's son, jazz pianist Bob Degen, told The Times-Tribune on Thursday night in a phone interview from his home in Frankfurt, Germany. The origins of the popular tune - and its namesake dance - are surrounded by a bit of mystery and controversy. Some sources suggest the dance was born in Great Britain. Often dubbed "The Hokey Cokey" there, its dance motions have been criticized in recent years as deriving from a Protestant "hocus pocus" parody of the Roman Catholic Mass in the 17th or 18th century. Critics of that theory point out that the popularity of the combined song and dance is clearly a 20th century phenomenon, and they seem to have been a hit with Allied soldiers in England during World War II - though historians still debate whether the fad started over here or over there. Either way, it took off in the postwar years and the tune was recorded by several artists. At least two other musicians claimed authorship of the music. One was Anglo-Irishman Jimmy Kennedy; the other was Detroit-born Larry LaPrise, both now deceased. But Mr. Degen held a 1944 copyright for "The Hokey-Pokey Dance," issued five years before Mr. LaPrise recorded the song. Reports indicate Mr. Degen filed suit against Mr. LaPrise in the 1950s and settled out of court. Whatever its origins, "The Hokey Pokey" took on a life of its own, and not just in English-speaking countries. "A lot of people here in Europe know it and were influenced by it," said the younger Mr. Degen, who went on to become a noted name on the Frankfurt jazz scene. A 1957 Scranton Times feature story and photo showed 13-year-old "Bobby Degen of South Scranton" posed at the keyboard, noting that "veteran musicians consider him a pianist of unusual promise," and that he already was a dues-paying member of the American Federation of Musicians. Having played the piano since age 4, the Prospect Avenue youth also composed his own arrangement of his father's famous song, the story added. Speaking from Germany Thursday, the younger Mr. Degen said his father had been a musician since the 1920s and continued until he was in his 60s. "As far as I know he played up until about 1969," Bob Degen said. Mr. Degen met his wife of 74 years, Vivian Elaine Gibson Degen, when the two were touring with a Country and Western band, their son said. Mrs. Degen, an Arkansas native, still lives in Kentucky, as does their younger son, Bill. Bob Degen - who has lived in Germany since 1965 but has made frequent return visits to the U.S. - said he started playing gigs with his father as early as age 10, recalling jobs in Scranton and Carbondale, and later, to visit the jazz clubs of New York. "He was wonderful to me," Bob Degen said. "He was just a great dad. That's what it's all about. http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/1.447701 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Degan "Bob" Robert "Bob" Degan, 104, of Scranton, died Monday at St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington, Ky. His wife of 74 years is Vivian Elaine Gibson Degen. Born in Scranton, he was the son of the late William W. and Augusta Rautenberg Degen. He wrote the famous song "Hokey Pokey" with the late Joe Briar in 1944. He was a member of Southern Hills United Methodist Church. Also surviving are two sons, Bill and Bob Degen; a grandson, Chris Degen; and two great-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters. A private family gathering will be held Saturday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home, Harrodsburg Road, Lexington. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetimes-tribune/obituary.aspx?n=robert-degan-bob&pid=136523957 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en.
