Wah-Watusi

Wah-Watusi

Penned by Kai Mann and Dave Appell in 1962. My JukeBox brain is digging into my preteen memory and replaying this tune on repeat until I want to scream or maybe dance. Recorded by the Orlons. Was that a synthetic fabric? Dick Clark American Bandstand featured the song where the Phillie kids voted on it. My high school band, Those Five, played at a Dick Clark’s “Where the Action Is” a few years later. We all towered over Dick. I realized he needed that podium to level up. He never aged. Almost creepy. He remarked that we did not wear matching outfits. Beginning of a new age in culture. Watching the girls in that era doing the Watusi was a moving experience and was a good workout. Better than Pilates and more fun. I have no idea how authentic the dance moves were. Any kind of movement was good for the soul. Hula hoops too. Bobbie sox on the polished basketball court floor. Poodle skirts and “virgin pins” Hormones running wild and no one heard of Viet Nam yet. Music and dance are eternal.