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That Da-Da Strain

Lyrics credited to Mamie Medina and music credited to Edgar Dowell.

Dadaism: An Anti-Art Movement

Dadaism refers to an anti-art movement that was created out of bitterness toward the events of World War I, which ended in 1918. The movement protested the logic and reason associated with modern warfare by promoting art that went against social norms and purposefully shocked or confused its audience. It is said that the movement was founded by Hugo Ball, who met with other artists at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Switzerland, who were seeking refuge from the war. While there is not a clear consensus on how the term “Dada” or “Dadaism” was coined, the given name supports the promotion of absurdity in the movement, as “Dada” could be considered a nonsense word.

The lyrics for “That Da-Da Strain” are dated back to the 1920s, which would have been around the ending to the first World War. The phrase “Da-Da” is repeated frequently throughout the lyrics, seemingly relating to rhythm. In connection to Dadaism, the phrase does not seem to have a clear meaning, adding an element of ambiguity into the lyrics.

Form: External & Internal Rhyme

“That Da-Da Strain” includes both external and internal rhymes that are most evident in the first stanza:

Have you heard it, have you heard it

That Da-Da Strain?

It will shake you, it will make you

Really go insane

Everybody's full of pep,

Makes you watch your every step,

Every prancer, every dancer,

Starts to lay 'em down,

Everybody when they hear it

Starts to buzzing 'round;

I get crazy as a loon,

When everybody hums this tune . . .

The rhythm in the form of the lyrics adds to the content, which is focusing on a song that makes everyone around want to start dancing: “Everybody when they hear it/ Starts to buzzing 'round” (548). The structure of these lyrics, including the external and internal rhymes, creates an energetic mood that is strengthened by the repetition used in later stanzas: “Because this feeling/ Sets your brain a-reeling,/ Just like you're falling . . .” (548)

Composers and Performers

Little can be found on Medina and Dowell other than their names appearing on the music sheets. Famous performances of this song include artists such as Muggsy Spanier and His Ragtime Band, Eva Taylor, and Mamie Smith, who bears a similar name to the Mamie Medina. In SAF, Rothenberg situates the year the song emerged as a historical marker for Medina as a composer.

Chronologically, it appears the first recorded performance was done by Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds. Mamie Smith (1891-1946) was an American vaudeville and jazz singer. Around the time “That Da-Da Strain” was written, Smith had just entered the blues scene as the first African-American singer to record a blues song. While “That Da-Da Strain” doesn't appear alongside her popular discography, she nonetheless appears to be the first vocalist to perform the song over audio. By the 1930s, Smith had given up her career as an artist and died a rather obscure death in 1946, penniless and in an unmarked grave.

Shortly after Smith (a mere 4 or 5 months), another recording appears by Eva Taylor (1895-1977). The recording appears under Taylor's birthname, Irene Joy Gibbons. Smith was a prominent American blues singer and stage actress. She started her career in vaudeville performances and other stage performances before she married Clarence Williams, a pianist and publisher, where the two worked together to produce recordings. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, they created a lasting legacy of recordings/performances with other famous blues musicians such as Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Sippie Wallace and Bessie Smith. Taylor produced her first recording in 1922, the same year she recorded a version of “That Da-Da Strain.” Taylor went on to perform on Broadway and radio shows. Taking a brief hiatus from performing between the 1940s-60s, Taylor returned to the stage in the mid-1960s, where she continued to perform until her death in 1977.

The final set of performers strongly associated with this song is Muggsy Spanier and His Ragtime Band. Born Francis Joseph Spanier (1901-1967), Spanier was a jazz cornetist known famously for pioneering the “Chicago style” in jazz and swing. At the age of thirteen, Spanier began learning the cornet and by 1921 was performing with other prominent jazz musicians. During the 1920s, Spanier adopted the stage-name “Muggsy” after John “Muggsy” McGraw, the manager of the New York Giants. Sometime in the 1930s, Spanier formed an eight-man group called Muggsy Spanier and His Ragtime Band. They later became known as The Great Sixteen which influenced the Dixieland Revival. Band members included George Brunies (trombone and vocals), Rod Cless (clarinet), George Zack/Joe Bushkin (piano), Ray McKinstry/Nick Ciazza/Bernie Billings (tenory sax), and Bob Casey (bass). While dates vary, Muggsy and His Ragtime Band most likely recorded their version of this song between 1940-44. This version also appears as entirely instrumental. Spanier continued to perform for the remainder of his life until his death in 1967.