[Dixielandjazz] Muskrat Ramble

[Steve Barbone]

Kid Ory Copyrighted it but:

Louis Armstrong said he wrote "Muskrat Ramble" but let Ory take the credit
and royalties. And Sidney Bechet thought "Muskrat Ramble" was based on an
earlier Creole tune, "The Old Cow Died."

Babette Ory (K.O.'s daughter) still gets royalties on the tune but as we
know from an earlier thread, she lost an infringement suit brought in 2000
or so and decided about a year ago. She sued Country Joe McDonald (leader of
the Fish) who wrote "Fixin To Die Rag", an anti Vietnam War song of 1964 or
so, which was in part based upon the chorus of Muskrat. Court decided that
too much time elapsed between infringement (if any) and the law suit.

Whenever we played it at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City, many people
thought we were playing "Fixin To Die". ("For It's 1, 2, 3, What Are We
Fighting For?")

Cheers,
Steve Barbone