Scat “boop oop a doop” and variations (Esther Lee Jones, Helen Kane, Betty Boop, Marilyn Monroe); hippie “coo coo ca choo”; Beatles “goo goo ga joob”
A few years ago I was working regularly with a director who filled any conversation pause with a descending musical vocalization “doo de-doo de-doo.”
While the similar “dum de-dum de-dum” means “I’m just sitting here minding my own business,” the brighter, more cheerful “doo de-doo de-do” was a cross between a satisfied sigh and a scat, and seemed to convey motion, or anticipation. It was so bright that maybe I should render it “doot te-doot te-doot.”
Not “attention!” like the CSI “dun-dun” gavel sound, or impatience, like the “writing down your Final Jeopardy response” theme song.
I remember looking into “doo de do de doo” and concluding that it was probably a reference to the ad-libbed tinkly piano music that would be performed during a set change. (The person who used it regularly was an opera singer, and she used the phrase as a cheerful transition after she realized we were finished with something and she needed to decide what we should do next.)
I would have sworn I posted something about “doo de do de doo,” but if I did, I can’t find it.
So instead, here are some links I put together on the whitewashing of “boop oop a doop,” inspired by an article on Vocabulary.com.
- “coo coo ca-choo” — surfer turtle (Finding Nemo, 2003)
Esther Lee “Baby Esther” Jones was a Black child performer in the 1920s and 30s, who sang and scatted in a baby voice. Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop were echoing her act, which also influenced the Beatles and Finding Nemo.
- “my coo ca choo” — Alvin Stardust (1974)
- “coo coo ca-choo” — lyricist Paul Simon (“Mrs Robinson,” film The Graduate 1967, expanded version in an album 1968)
- “goo goo ga-joob” — The Beatles (I Am the Walrus, 1967)
- “boop oop a doop” — Marilyn Monroe (I Wanna Be Loved By You, in movie Some Like It Hot, 1959)
- “boop oop a doop” — Max Fleischer (Betty Boop, cartoon character spoofing Helen Kane, 30s)
- “boop oop a doop” — Helen Kane (I Wanna Be Loved By You, in musical Good Boy, 1928; sued Fleisher over using “her” catchphrase for the Betty Boop character)
- Many similar scat phrases — Esther Lee “Baby Esther” Jones (Black child performer, sang in a baby voice in late 1920s and early 30s; cited as evidence in the above lawsuit that Helen Kane did not originate the “boop oop a doop” catchphrase.)
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Post was last modified on 18 Apr 2025 11:39 pm
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Esther Jones was a child dancer and acrobat. She also did impersonating of popular singers of the time.
When Helen Kane sued Fleischer, Fleischer lawyers played records and films of various Helen Kane impersonators. These included a film of Esther Jones, recorded long AFTER Kane became famous. The Judge ruled the film to be that of "a Helen Kane impersonator".
Only several decades later did it become an internet meme that Jones somehow inspired Kane. But, because it's racial, it took off like wildfire. It's easily debunked, but people flock to it.
It is a historical fact that Kane sued Fleisher, and that Jones used similar scat phrases. Memes do tend to flatten complexity. I love the one that implies film star Heddy Lamarr helped the Allies win WWII by inventing a missile guidance system. (Yes, she used her celebrity to sell war bonds, and yes she and musician-artisan George Antheil patented a missile guidance system that was rejected by the Navy and never implemented, but the memes that spread farthest tend to flatten the connection the most.)
But Esther had nothing to do with the verdict. Esther Jones was mainly a dancer and acrobat, who also impersonated stars of the day. At the club where Kane ALLEGEDLY saw Jones(Kane stated that that was a lie) Jones was impersonating Florence Mills.
However, people were doing "boo boo boo" interpolations before Esther was even born. Kane was doing them since 1923. As I said, claiming that Jones "inspired" Kane doesn't fit the historical reality.
As I recall, the arguments about Jones's scatting were designed to keep Kane from winning a judgement against Fleischer, by demonstrating that an earlier artist had already been using the contested phrase before either party in the lawsuit, so (according to Fleishcer's lawyers) whatever Kane claims about the Betty Boop character wouldn't "prove" that Fleisher stole a catchphrase from Kane, but rather that Fleisher and Kane and Jones were all drawing from a long-standing tradition, and that seems to align with the main point you are making.
But honestly this was just a random blog post about the transitional "doo de doo de doo" phrase I often heard from a musically-trained director I used to work with frequently. I don't claim any special knowledge on the history of scat singing.