The term “Daddy” and its variants, “Daddy-O” (or Daddio) and “Dad” have been through some time and changes. It goes back at least to the 1940s when NOLA disc jockey Vernon Winslow used it as part of his on-air moniker. I remember it mostly from the 1950s and the hepcat-beatnik era. In 1957, the doo-wop group The Rays released what would become their big hit, “Silhouettes” with “Daddy Cool” on the flip side. Flip side. There’s a term that the iPod generation won’t understand. It means the song on the other side of a record, sometimes called the B-side. Records are flat discs that look something like CDs but are way cooler. Then, if you’re of a certain age, like me, you probably remember the TV show 77Sunset Strip (1958-64) and Kookie, the Edd Byrnes character Kookie was the valet-parking-detective-wannabe-hair-combing-heartthrob of the show. Kookie called everybody Dad, the same way kids today call everybody Dude. I think Dude is fine, but I’m secretly hoping Daddio will make a comeback. In fact, I think I’ll start using it on my male friends and see what happens. I invite any of you out there in the Blogiverse to do the same. Daddio hasn’t really gone away; it’s just waiting there for someone to re-cooligize it. We can do it!
Here are the two YouTube videos for our double bill of hits. I think they’re both real gone, daddio. (Now doesn't that sound great?!)
Daddy Cool video by YT member ladyrockndoowop
Kookie, Kookie video by YT member GjuroKaiser
Photo at www.tvparty .com
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