Growing up in the 60’s we had THIS 45 in the house. But I never “got it”. WTF? Why was Popeye hitchhiking? And why is there a “Popeye” dance done about him hitching a ride?
About 90% of you are younger than me (and I’m only 50, gawd damn it!:mad: ) and may not even know what the hell a “45” is (it’s not the one my old man came back from Korea with 
) but even when I was a kid I thought this song was kind of weird.
Maybe it’s just some random guy called Popeye, not Popeye the sailor.
I believe there was a dance in the early 60s called the Popeye. Back then, there was basically a new dance every week for a while, and a lot of pop songs were about those dances. There was also a dance called the Hitch Hike. Presumably, Chubby Checker combined the two.
At some point, wasn’t it possible that “Popeye” could become a nickname for anyone with funny eyes?
Found it! The Sherrys’ “Pop Pop Pop-Pie”. Billboard #25, 1962.
Hi! So, I was researching and came across this thread, lol. I know it is from 4 years ago, but I hope you’ll get it and let me know by responding to this.
In the 90s, my grandfather used to take me with him to the commissary in Ft. Rucker, AL sometimes. One time, we saw an old man around my grandfathers age (give or take 5 years) walking the opposite way that we were going on the side of the road. My grandfather told me to watch the man and honked his horn. The man, a black man in old looking (thought relatively well maintained) Navy dress whites, smiled and started dancing. When we passed him, I asked my grandfather about it. According to him, the man went by Popeye, he didn’t know his real name. He said that Popeye lived in Alabama, too, but spent most of his time hitchhiking across the country. He would dance if he saw you or if you honked at him, hoping you’d give him a ride, and he worked random jobs along the way to pay for food. From what I saw of him, he only had one duffel bag with him. I saw him probably 3 or 4 times in my life, last time probably in the mid 90s. My grandfather said he had given him a ride a few times in his life when they would be heading in the same direction, and that he had been doing it since he was my Dad’s age. (30-40)
I had never heard of the song before, but after I looked it up…it certainly fits. I do know Chubby Checker came to the city near our home a few times when I was growing up, so it is possible he once met (or heard of) Popeye, too.
That’s quite a story. I had heard the Sherrys and Chubby Checker’s records, knew about the Popeye dance but never suspected it might be based on a real person.
“Popeye the Hithchiker”, Chubby Checker
Hitchhike
Hitchhike
Popeye
Standing on the side of the street
Uh huh
Hitchhike
Hitchhike
Popeye
Clapping both his hands to the beat
Oh yeah
Hitchhike
Hitchhike
Hey Popeye
Tryin’ hard to bum a ride
Popeye
Tryin’ but no come a ride
They go by
Hey
Popeye
[[SHORTENED QUOTE]]
Those words sound like the observation of someone the writer had met, or at least heard of, a character who developed this gimmick of doing a little dance to catch the eye of passing motorists. Not so much like that other Popeye, the cartoon guy who’s better known for his diet than his fancy footwork.
You say that Chubby came to Alabama and may have met him. But Chubby Checker didn’t write “Popeye the Hitchhiker” . . . or did he? The song’s credited to Dave Appell and Karl Mann, the latter being co-founder of the Cameo-Parkway label. There were earlier Popeye records too - Ernie K-Doe had one called “Popeye Joe”. Some seem to identify Popeye as the spinach-guy (“Pop Eye” by Huey Smith and the Clowns - “Down in New Orleans, where it got its start, everybody’s doing it from dawn to dark. Let’s do it, Pop Eye the Sailor Man”), others don’t.
Chubby’s version is certainly different enough that you can imagine he heard about this new dance craze, remembered seeing this weirdo in Alabama who called himself Popeye, and told his collaborators at Cameo/Parkway they should make a record out of it. Or maybe he did write it and Appell/Mann took the credit, as was common in those days. (Dave Appell, at least, was a musician and arranger himself, so I’m not necessarily accusing anyone of anything.)
So - I have stayed up way too late researching this stuff, but maybe I’ll try writing to Chubby Checker on his website and see if he remembers there being a real Popeye the Hitchhiker. Or maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and wonder why I thought it was so important. Anyway, great anecdote.
Given Popeye’s emphasis on safety, I have a hard time believing he would hitchhike.
If the driver tries anything funny, Popeye can always whip out his can of spinach.
The song “Charlie Brown” confused the hell out of me when I was a kid, too.
Me too, because my actual best friend in first grade was named Charlie Brown, and he was indeed a cutup. I was sure the song was about him.