"Double Dutch Bus" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. It was released in February 1981, although some sources indicate 1980 as the original release date. The single capitalized on the concepts of the double-decker bus and the jump rope game called Double Dutch, popular with American children since the early 1970s. The song became a foundation of

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

and dance. Co-written by Bill Bloom of WMOT Records, "Double Dutch Bus" hit number 1 for four weeks on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Best Selling Soul Singles chart.

History

"Double Dutch Bus" was released in late 1980 and gained momentum on the charts in mid-1981. The song's rhythm and lyrics are based on the Double Dutch jump rope game. Such games were played by urban school children, and in 1973 they were formalized into a team sport in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The song lyrics follow the pattern of older skipping-rope rhymes, and they mention the TransPass used by the

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

bus system in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In the 1970s, the Double Dutch jump rope game was growing quickly in popularity, with the Fantastic Four competition team (four high school girls from New York) winning the Double Dutch World Championship and appearing in commercials for

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Production and reception

Using the stage name Franklin Franklin, Frankie Smith wrote a song called "Double Dutch", published as a 7-inch single by

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

in 1973, arranged by Caldwell McMillan Jr. and produced by Schulman Music, but it did not chart. After Smith saw that the jump rope game was again rising in the media, he and co-writer Bill Bloom persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance an updated version; it was recorded in 1980, engineered by Gene Leone at Alpha International, Philadelphia. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks and debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart in February, rising to the top spot by July, where it held at number one for four weeks. It also crossed over to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 30 in the summer of 1981. The record became only the second in history (following the 1979

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

/ Donna Summer duet " No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)") to receive two separate standard-release Gold certifications from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

: first in June 1981 for sales of the 12-inch single; and a second Gold record in September 1981 for sales of the 7-inch radio edit. In the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

documentary ''King of Coke: Living the High Life'', Frankie Smith explains how the song was composed. He also states that WMOT Records failed to pay him his royalties, and how he therefore was unable to pay his taxes. An investigation was started which brought to light that WMOT Records was not only badly managed, but in fact laundering money for Larry Lavin, aka Dr. Snow, a dentist who was secretly dealing cocaine.

Track listings

*U.S. 7-inch single – WMOT Records WS8 5356 #"Double Dutch Bus" – 3:29 #"Double Dutch" – 4:33 *U.S. 12-inch single – WMOT Records 4W8 5351 #"Double Dutch Bus" – 5:20 #"Double Dutch" – 4:33 *Canada 12-inch single – P.B.I. Records W12-107 #"Double Dutch" / "Double Dutch Bus" (Special Disco Mix) – 9:00 #"Double Dutch" – 4:33 *Canada CD maxi-single (1994) – Unidisc SP5-1683 #"Double Dutch Bus" – 5:20 #"Triple Dutch" – 6:01 #"Double Dutch Bus" (Original 12" Mix) – 8:25 #"Double Dutch Bus" (Radio Edit) – 4:18

Chart positions

Sampling

The song was sampled by

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

for use in the song " Gossip Folks".

Raven-Symoné version

"Double Dutch Bus" was covered by Raven-Symoné in 2008. The track was released to promote the film '' College Road Trip'' and is the lead single from her eponymous fourth album. The single was placed on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

on February 9, 2008, and became available for digital download through iTunes on March 4, 2008.

Music video

The music video premiered on

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

on February 18, 2008. The music video shows Raven and others dancing under a disco ball and enjoying a party bus. Images from the film ''College Road Trip'' are also seen. Cast member Donny Osmond makes a cameo appearance in the video, which was directed by Patrick Hoelck.

Track listing

;CD single/digital downloadDouble Dutch Bus - Amazon
Amazon.com #"Double Dutch Bus" - 3:02

Radio and release history

References

External links

Music video of Raven-Symoné version
at YouTube {{authority control 1981 singles 2008 singles Raven-Symoné songs Hollywood Records singles 1981 songs Skipping rope