Guy Hall / Henry Kleinkauf / Jack Lawrence,
Glenn Miller,
Pearl Bailey, Jimmy Dorsey, Merry Macs, Frankie Carle
Hep Hep
There goes the Johnson Rag
Hoy Hoy
There goes the latest shag
Ho Ho
It really isn't a gag
Hep Hep
There goes the Johnson Rag
Jump Jump
Don't let your left foot drag
Jeep Jeep
It's like a game of tag
Juke Juke
It's even good for a stag
Jump Jump
And do the Johnson Rag
If you're feelin' in the groove
It sends you out of the world
Funny how it makes you move
I don't wanna coax
But don't be a "Mokes"
Zig Zig
Then add a Zig Zig Sag
Zoop Zoop
Just let your shoulders wag
Zoom Zoom
And now it's right in the bag
Get hep
And get happy with the Johnson Rag.
This song never charted
but was very popular (Glenn Miller had over 50 recordings, Jimmy Dorsey
had six albums featuring it). From Jack Lawrence: This was originally a 16 bar
instrumental written and copyrighted in 1917 when I was 5 years old, by
Hall and Kleinkauf. It had been long forgotten until Glenn Miller found
it and recorded a great swinging version. The publisher called me in
and asked if I would take a shot at turning it into a proper song with
lyrics.
I added a verse and a middle part
which the original had never had. When I wrote this in 1940 there were
a lot of silly lyric ditties that were popular, like Mairzy Doats, etc.
So I wrote my lyric as a series of funny sounds: Hep hep, juke juke,
zoom zoom, etc. The silly song caught on, had many swing recordings and
a fun version by Pearly Bailey.
Yes, it made the Hit Parade and was
also included in an MGM film still being shown today with Fred Astaire
and my dear friend, Jane Powell: "Royal Wedding."
