Larry LaPrise (Roland Lawrence LaPrise, born: 11 November 1912 Detroit, Michigan, died: 4 April 1996 Gooding, Idaho) was the writer of the Hokey Pokey. Jump to: navigation, search November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 1912 was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Gooding is a city located in Gooding County, Idaho. ... The Hokey Pokey is a participation dance that became popular in the USA in the 1950s. ...

LaPrise wrote the song in the late 1940s for the aprés-ski crowd at a club in Sun Valley, Idaho. The song was first recorded by his group the Ram Trio (with Charles Macak and Tafit Baker) in 1949. They were awarded U.S. copyright in 1950. // Events and trends The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. ... Skiing is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites) strapped to the feet with ski bindings. ... Jump to: navigation, search A nightclub (often shortened to club in both the UK and US) is an entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ... Sun Valley is an affluent resort community located in Blaine County, Idaho, very near the city of Ketchum. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... ... For copyright issues in relation to Wikipedia itself, see Wikipedia:Copyrights. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After the group broke up in the 1960s, LaPrise worked for the Post Office in Ketchum, Idaho. Jump to: navigation, search The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Jump to: navigation, search A USPS truck in San Francisco A smaller truck used in suburban areas This article describes the United States Postal Service. ... Ketchum is a city located in Blaine County, Idaho. ...

The authorship of the Hokey Pokey is disputed, with Jimmy Kennedy claiming to have written the original (entitled Cokey-Cokey, or Hokey-Cokey, or Okey-Cokey) during WWII. Robert Degan sued LaPrise for copyright infringement of his 1946 The Hokey-Pokey Dance. They settled out of court. Jimmy Kennedy (born July 20, 1902, in Omagh, Northern Ireland, died April 6, 1984 in Northern Ireland) wrote over 2000 songs. ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in which the party commencing the action, the plaintiff, seeks a legal remedy. ... Copyright infringement is the unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owners exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Some scholars attribute the origin to the Shaker song Hinkum-Booby which had similar lyrics and was published in Edward Deming's A gift to be simple in 1940: Jump to: navigation, search shakers or shaker, see Shakers (disambiguation). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

 "I put my right hand in, I put my right hand out, I give my right hand a shake, And I turn it all about." 

Jokes

After LaPrise's death, a joke circulated on the Internet comparing the Hokey Pokey to the process of placing LaPrise in his coffin. [1] Jump to: navigation, search A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorous by the listener or reader. ... An open casket A coffin (which some call a casket) is a box used for the display and burial or cremation of a cadaver. ...

A similar joke was made regarding the inventor of the Frisbee (though the history of that flying disc is also much disputed) indicating when he died, his family put out an announcement indicating he would lie in state on the neighbor's roof. A Wham-O Professional Frisbee While the word Frisbee is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company, the term is often used generically to describe flying discs similar to those made by the company. ...