Crawford’s vocal supply – half chant, half incantation – is intoxicating. It turns the repeated refrains of ‘Jock-a-mo charge na ne’ right into a spell that lingers lengthy after the report stops spinning.
Phrases of the music are rooted in traditions of Mardi Gras Indians, rival ‘tribes’ who stage mock battles throughout carnival parades. Crawford borrowed the mantra from this tradition, although even he admitted he did not know the exact that means of ‘Jock-a-mo’. The phrase was misheard and misspelt by Checker Data, including to its enigmatic attraction. That thriller, paradoxically, is what makes the music common: nonsense syllables that anybody, anyplace, can sing alongside to.
‘Jock-A-Mo’ would turn out to be the seed for ‘Iko Iko’, later popularised worldwide. In its authentic type, nevertheless, it stays a joyous, infectious anthem – proof that rhythm and spirit can carry a music far past the necessity for literal that means.
