The Daily Feather — The Hokey Pokey

“You put your right foot in,

You put your right foot out,

You put your right foot in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey,

And you turn it all around,

That's what it’s all about...”

Sometimes credit doesn’t land where it’s due. You remember Jimmy Kennedy, the Irish songwriter who penned “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic.”? No? Maybe you can tap your foot to the “Hokey Cokey,” the song and dance he created in London in 1942, much to the delight of the Canadian troops entertained. Several renditions later, ultimate credit went to Charles Mack, Taft Baker, and Larry Laprise. The trio wrote the second American version of “The Hokey Pokey,” (not ‘Cokey”) in 1949, to amuse skiers at the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho. Critically, this was a commercially viable version, which trumped the flop written three years earlier by Robert Degan and Joe Brier to regale summer vacationers at Poconos Mountains resorts. As for what we skated to at birthday parties growing up, that credit goes to Ray Anthony’s orchestra, which recorded the double A-side single with “The Bunny Hop.” That climbed to No. 13 on the charts.

As for Monday’s markets shock, it appears that’s not what it’s all about. Stocks roared back and bonds took it on the chin as unwind trades were unwound. In what can only be described as “quaint,” a fresh debate erupted. As reported by Bloomberg, “traders in the futures and options market (are cashing) in on their bets for aggressive Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year.” Perhaps we should leave it at “Traders are gunslingers,” innately inclined to herd in and out of crowded trades, seeking the latest driver of momentum. Asset class is an afterthought. It could be nickel, and the next month Nvidia.