Jody, Come back and get your shoes Jody!
You Left Your Shoes Under My Bed...
I don’t know, but I’ve been told…
I genuinely can’t be sure which record caused the click. Though I suspect it may have been Johnnie Taylor’s ‘Jody’s Got Your Girl And Gone. ’ The clicking I refer to, was the realisation that this wasn’t the first time I heard Jody mentioned. That was in Bobby Newsome’s ‘Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes .’ So, there I had two. That’s when the search began, and before I knew it, I had a Playlist consisting of twenty-four songs, and I’m confident I’ve not even scratched the surface of Jody songs. Who is Jody? Well, we can be fairly confident of one thing- he’s black. Man, if the Jody of song fame turned out to be white, that really would put the cat among the pigeons…
No, the cat referred to in these songs is almost certainly African American. Yet, we know Jody comes in all shapes, sizes, and, of course, colours. Unfortunately, what we don’t know, however, is who Jody is… After all, he’s known by various names. Jody. Jody the Rider, Jody Ryder, Joe the Grinder. No doubt, we can throw in a few more, but the bottom line is we’re still clueless as to Jody’s true identity. According to Bobby Newsome’s lyrics, “He maybe your best friend.” There’s one thing we can be sure of about Jody- nobody likes him. At least, no serving (male) US soldiers/prisoners. However, some of the wives of serving US (male) soldiers and prisoners are quite partial to old Jody, and that’s the problem. At least, for their long-suffering husbands…
An early example of spoken word, and it’s all about Jody… Paying to the piper (1964)
The Jody of song fame is a folklore character, born of the US Southern States, but he, as all men know- is real. He’s been around since time began and has gone by many names. Further, this cat has never restricted himself to a specific region. He roams. He always has, and, much to the consternation of good men around the globe, he always will. Worse still, for those good men the world over, he’s often welcomed. In the track below, Jean Knight of ‘Mr Big Stuff’ fame gives half a dozen reasons why.
Despite Jody’s omnipresence throughout time and space, the fact remains that it was the black artists of the US who brought him to prominence. It’s one of a multitude of reasons that, in my opinion, they have made the greatest single contribution to popular music in the history of mankind. Moreover, as far as I’m concerned, no other ethnic group come close. This opinion is not held on the strength of Jody songs alone, but the fact that they’re prepared to drag Jody out of the shadows is part of it. Along with Country artists, US blacks are prepared to sing about anything and everything relating to the pain and misery we’re required to overcome during our short stint on this earth. While Jody types have appeared in literature, operas and suchlike, I doubt their Jodys have been portrayed so consistently or, with such flair and, most vitally, such humour.
As far as I know, the earliest known recorded Jody song dates back to 1936. The latest, at least that I’m aware of, is ‘Don’t Blame It On Jody’, which was released in 2019. That’s about 75 years of Jody songs. As I said, my playlist doesn’t even scratch the surface.
For me, the best explanation of Jody is delivered by Johnnie Taylor and the video’s brilliant…
Jody, the ashes in your ashtray
Footprints on your carpet
While you work all day
He even got the nerve
To sleep in your bed
Sit down at the table
Eat your bread…
Below, the 1972 release of Bobby Newsome’s ode to Jody. It’s dependent on which I last heard last, as to which I like best, between this, and Johnnie Taylor’s contribution.
White folks need to come and get him, throw him back in the can…
Many songs feature retribution. This is a natural reaction, of course, but… So Jody’s been captured by the posse and placed in the stocks. This town is somewhere between the Wild West and Medieval England. As stated, Jody gets around… The townsfolk gather, and the men, eager for vengeance, are armed with rocks. The eerie silence is broken by a cry, quite possibly from Jody. Not looking quite so slick now, eh Jody? Clearing his throat, Jody states, “Hold up. Hold up, just for a second, gentlemen. Let’s not forget scriptures here. Seriously, I mean was it not Jesus himself who said- It’s in John 8;7. The page number’s dependent on which bible you’ve got, but it’s definitely John; 8;7 and this- this is a direct quote; "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone"
I’m certain of this much, Cowboy. That first chucker? It ain’t gonna be me… How about you?
Bonus track: But It Ain’t Jody…