Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)
| ""Flat Foot Floogie (With a Floy Floy)"" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Slim & Slam | |
| B-side | "Chinatown, My Chinatown" |
| Released | February 17, 1938 |
| Recorded | New York City |
| Genre | |
| Label | Vocalion |
| Writer(s) | Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart, Bud Green |
"Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)" (also "The Flat Foot Floogee") is a 1938 jazz song, written by Slim Gaillard, Slam Stewart, and Bud Green, and performed by Gaillard and Stewart as Slim & Slam.
"Flat Foot Floogie" was Slim & Slam's first and biggest hit song. Their version was one of the top records of 1938, peaking at number two on US charts.
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (1916–1991) and Leroy "Slam" Stewart (1914–1987) met in New York City in 1936 and formed a duo, performing together on the radio and in 52nd Street clubs, with Gaillard on guitar and vocals and Stewart on bass. They attracted radio pioneer Martin Block to manage them and he arranged a contract with Vocalion. On February 17, 1938 Slim and Slam recorded "Flat Foot Floogie" (Vocalion 4021).
Gaillard sold the publishing rights to "Flat Foot Floogie" to Green Brothers and Knight for $250, and writing credit was shared with Bud Green. Shortly thereafter, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra played it on the Camel Caravan radio show, launching its rise to popularity.
Slim & Slam's record peaked at number 2 on Billboard charts and at number 5 on Your Hit Parade.
The lyrics are brief and are dominated by the repetition of the title words and the nonsense refrain, "floy-doy, floy-doy, floy-doy". The original lyric, recorded in January 1938, was "flat foot floozie with a floy floy"; Vocalion, however, objected to the word "floozie", meaning a sexually promiscuous woman, or a prostitute. The second recording in February changed the word to "floogie". In the second part of the title phrase, "floy floy" was slang for a venereal disease, but the term was not widely known and failed to catch the attention of censors. It was regarded as nonsense and came to have positive connotations as a consequence of the song.
Many artists covered the song in 1938: Wingy Manone on May 23; Benny Goodman & His Orchestra on May 31 (Victor 25871);Louis Armstrong with The Mills Brothers on June 10 (Decca 1876); as well as Woody Herman and Count Basie. In Europe, Fats Waller recorded it in London while on tour (HMV BD5399), an instrumental version was recorded by jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt (Decca F-6776) and the Dutch singing duo Johnny and Jones covered it.
...
Wikipedia