The Hokey Cokey (Hinkumbooby) is a traditional British Folksong, dance, and nursery rhyme with variants dating back to at least the 19th century. A early version of the dance was first published in Robert Chamber's “Popular Rhymes of Scotland” in 1826. The most famous version was recorded in the 1940s by Roland Lawrence LaPrise and Jimmy Kennedy as the United States "Hokey Pokey" and British "Cokey Cokey."
Public Domain Publications[]
Music[]
- The Hokey Cokey (While it's believed the song is from 1940s, early variants date back to the 1820s and possibly earlier. Therefore it's considered a Traditional song in the UK.)
Copyright Status[]
In the UK, The Hokey Cokey predates the 1940s and is considered a traditional song free of restrictions and was originally a folk dance from the 19th century. However the USA Version The Hokey Pokey despite being covered without permission sometimes is owned by Sony Music .
If you want to be safe, it's possibly best to record "The Hokey Cokey" or "Hinkumbooby" and not Roland Lawrence LaPrise's more iconic version. The Hokey Cokey is often mistaken to be copyrighted by Jimmy Kennedy but the song is known to have disputed authors over the years, and it has been covered without permission since it's regarded as a Traditional folksong.
Another similar nursery rhyme is "Here We Go Looby Loo," Which is also in the public domain.