Sad day in the world of Hokey Pokey

today in the Lexington Herald Leader, there was sad news of the passing of a musical giant:

Robert Degen, who copyrighted the song The Hokey Pokey Dance in 1944, died in Lexington, on Nov. 23, his 104th birthday. In the New York Times report on Degen's death, the authorship of "You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out," and on and on, is in question. The credit usually goes to Larry LaPrise and the musical group the Ram Trio. It is said that the song was created in Sun Valley, Idaho, as a novelty number to entertain vacationing skiers. The group recorded it in the late 1940s. Degen claimed that LaPrise had stolen the song from him.

the very next time this song comes on The Backyardigans, i'm going to grab a sippy cup and pour a little out for the homey.