Is there anything better as a kid, or an adult, than hearing the music that indicated the ice cream truck is headed your way? Well, apparently Good Humor wants to change the music we all associate with the ice cream man, and for a very good reason.
The company, which admits it no longer has ice cream trucks of its own, has just come out with a new ice cream truck jingle, after discovering the original song has racist roots dating back to the 1800s. The original tune is based on “Turkey in the Straw,” which came to prominence at minstrel shows, where actors would wear blackface and act out racial stereotypes.
If you need help placing the tune, check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
After learning about the song’s racist lyrics and offensive history, Good Humor teamed with Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA to come up with a new song, noting, “while we have not owned ice cream trucks since 1976, we wanted to be part of the solution and offer ice cream truck drivers a jingle that can bring joy to every community.”
- And RZA was glad to be a part of the update. “I remember the days when I would hear that iconic ice cream truck jingle outside, and I would drop what I was doing to chase it down for a treat," he said in a statement. "When I learned about that song's problematic history this summer, I knew I had to get involved and do something about it."
Source:Yahoo
photo: Getty Images
First the old tune (performed from a 1942 movie). This version DOES NOT include any racist lyrics.
Here is the new version co-written by RZA from Wu_Tang Clan (courtesy of YouTube).