Iko Iko is a much covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians. The song under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a single by Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters but it failed to make the charts. The song first became popular in 1965 by girl group The Dixie Cups, who scored an international hit with it.
Dr.John also had a hit with his version of Iko Iko. The most successful version in the UK was recorded by Scottish singer Natasha England. The Grateful Dead and Cyndi Lauper also recorded it. The original single release was by James "Sugar Boy” Crawford and his Cane Cutters. Crawford (1934–2012) was an American R&B musician based in New Orleans. Starting out on trombone, Crawford formed a band which local DJ, Doctor Daddy-O. The group was signed by Chess Records and was renamed Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters. His song Iko Iko became a standard at the New Orleans Mardi Gras, although Crawford's original version did not make the charts. In an interview Crawford said the words came from Indian chants that he put music to which he made a song out of. Linguist Geoffrey Kimball derives the lyrics of the song came in part from Mobilian Jargon, an extinct American Indian trade language consisting mostly of Choctaw and Chickasaw words and used by Indians, Blacks, and European settlers and their descendants in the Gulf Coast Region of the USA. In another article, the Ghanaian social linguist Dr. Evershed Amuzu said the chorus was "definitely West African", reflecting the tonal patterns of the region. Haitian and Louisiana Voodoo practitioners would recognise many aspects of the song as being about spirit possession and credit it with bringing West African cultural influences to Haiti and New Orleans.
