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[Kellye Tunks]

"Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!" merits the distinction of the most racist song title in America. Released in March 1916 by Columbia Records, it was written by actor Harry C. Browne and played on the familiar depiction of black people as mindless beasts of burden greedily devouring slices of watermelon.

I came across this gem while researching racial stereotypes. I was a bit conflicted over whether the song warranted a listen. Admittedly, though, beneath my righteous indignation, I was rather curious about how century-old, overt racism sounded and slightly amused by the farcical title. When I started the song, the music that tumbled from the speakers was that of the ever-recognizable jingle of the ice cream truck. (For the record, not all ice cream trucks play this same song, but a great many of them do.)

I wondered how such a prejudiced song could have become the anthem of ice cream and childhood summers. I learned that though Browne was fairly creative in his lyrics, the song's premise and its melody are nearly as old as America itself. As often happens with matters of race, something that is rather vanilla in origin is co-opted and sprinkled with malice along the way.

For his creation, Browne simply used the well-known melody of the early 19th century song "Turkey in the Straw," which dates to the even older and traditional British song "The (Old) Rose Tree." The tune was brought to America's colonies by Scots-Irish immigrants who settled along the Appalachian Trail and added lyrics that mirrored their new lifestyle.

The first and natural inclination, of course, is to assume that the ice cream truck song is simply paying homage to "Turkey in the Straw," but the melody reached the nation only after it was appropriated by traveling blackface minstrel shows. There is simply no divorcing the song from the dozens of decades it was almost exclusively used for coming up with new ways to ridicule, and profit from, black people.

In the late 1820s, the music was given new lyrics, which dripped with racism, and titled "Zip Coon." The blackface character of the same name parodied a free black man attempting to conform to white high society by dressing in fine clothes and using big words. Fifty years later in post-bellum America, the character became an archetype of the black urbanite and propelled minstrel shows to the height of their popularity. Zip Coon was the city-slicker counterpart to the dimwitted, rural blackface character whose name became infamous in 20th century America: Jim Crow. These two characters would often interact onstage and were the inspiration for the hugely successful Amos 'n' Andy act decades later.

The lyrics of "Zip Coon" follow the namesake through encounters with possums, playing the banjo and courting a woman whose skin was so black that he calls her "ol Suky blue skin." A century later, it was still celebrated and inspiring America's music. The recognizable melody aside, we've all sung a variation of the lyrics. The chorus goes:

The ice cream crossover happened concurrently: 19th century ice cream parlors played the popular minstrel songs of the day. After World War II, the advent of the automobile and the ensuing sprawl required parlors to devise a way to take their products to customers. Ice cream trucks were the solution, and a music box was installed in them as a way to announce their presence in neighborhoods. Naturally, the traditional minstrel tunes of the previous century were employed to evoke the memorable parlor experience.

Here in the nation's capital, the cherry blossoms have come and gone. This means the warm weather will soon bring out the ice cream trucks, and I'll be confronted once again by their inconvenient truth. It's not new knowledge that matters of race permeate the depths of our history and infiltrate the most innocent of experiences, even the simple pleasure of ice cream (who can forget Eddie Murphy's famous, NSFW routine about the poor black experience with ice cream trucks?). However, when the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again.

Whenever I hear the music now, the antique voice laughing about niggers and watermelon fills my head. I can live with this, but what's to be done on the summer day when my children's eyes light up at the far-off sound of the familiar melody, and they dash in a frenzy toward me for change? Do I empower them with the history of our country, or encourage the youthful exuberance induced by the ice cream truck? Is it my responsibility to foul the sweet taste of ice cream with their first taste of racism?

The answer is intellectually complex, but parental intuition provides clarity. When teeth fall out, I blame the dollar under their pillow on the tooth fairy. When presents appear overnight under the fir tree, I say Santa Claus is the culprit. And so when a song about niggers and watermelon fills the suburban air, I will smile and hand over money from my pocket. The sight of my children enjoying a Good Humor ice cream bar will fight back the racist song that lampooned black people who happened to be in good humor. The delivery of the cold hard truth can wait until another day.

Theodore R. Johnson III is a writer, naval officer and former White House fellow. His writing focuses on race, society and politics. "Talking About Race And Ice Cream Leaves A Sour Taste For Some" is the author's response to critics of this article.

The tunes are played on a swiss wind up musical movement in a box with a magnetic pickup and played into an amp and out of a grapian horn mounted under the ice cream van pointing at the road.

There is now a CD is being sold online via the company that helped me produced it.

I am currently researching Ice Cream Chimes for a promotional DVD that my company is making for a British Ice Cream VAn manufacturer. I have logged about 34 tunes in the UK that
are supplied as chimes for Ice Cream Vans / trucks.
The company in the UK manufacture a very smart V8 Chevy Van
with Yankee Doodle as one of the chimes!

It is the theme adopted by the other 'racist' ice cream truck. 'Turkey In The Straw,' 'Do Your Ears Hang Low,' and the 1916 original version that is politically incorrect to mention here (but for the sake of education, I will.)

Thank you for the thoughts. I am very close to having the sound I want. But I can not figure out how to make one sound go away. Please listen to the link below. The first note has a hard hit as along with a few other notes here and there. HOW DO I MAKE THAT STOP?!?!?!?! I am using the Analog Deep Bass patch that uses the ES2. Can someone guide me to the setting I need to tweak to make all of the "hard hitting notes" sound like the others??

But the best of the bunch? The one that plays a mix of some song and Comin' Round the Mountain, complete with a beat, horns, whistles and a female country-girl voice that yells HELLO?

The first time I've heard the hello ice cream truck was a few months ago while watching Adventure Time. I usually hear "Entertainer" and "Cucaracha" but that day I heard a song I've never heard before. So I went outside and it was a different truck, not the usual ones I see. After the music the truck said hello and i cracked up. Now every day at 5 and 7 the hello truck passes by and it's the best one so far.

Ice cream trucks in my city usually play one of two tunes. The first is the one mentioned in the opening post that has the female voice going HELLO! But we're well inside Mr. Softee territory so we get to listen to this memorable jingle all summer.

A memorable opening theme can be the very thing that makes a tv show span generations.
If you recall the opening theme, you are much more likely to introduce that show to your offspring,
than a show you might have enjoyed in childhood but cannot recall its opening theme. (Save for those rare ones that proved to be your top 2-3 favorite tv shows of all time).

Green Acres has never made my top 10 most brilliant comedies of all time.
Ever just the same, I will never forget this tv show because of its opening theme.
I used to have a blast getting this fun, somewhat annoying,
song stuck in peoples heads whenever I needed to defuse an over heated group debate.

"Turkey in the Straw," "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "The Entertainer" are a few of the commonly recycled ice cream truck theme songs. Aside from their frequent usage, she said they do tend to share a universal formula that makes them ideal for ice cream vendors.

The truck comes down the street, playing its little melody, summoning all the little (and big) kids out for ICE CREAM. The Mister Softee ice cream trucks first hit the streets of Philadelphia in 1956 and now operate in about 15 states in the US.

In 1960, an advertising man in Philadelphia took that melody and gave it Mister Softee words for a television commercial. He retitled it Jingles and Chimes. The piece was so successful, it was then loaded onto the trucks to play, first as a music box, then as a recording.

In New York, the sound of summer was the sound of the ice cream truck but in 2002, under the city crackdown on street noise, Mayor Bloomberg had the jingles banned. Public opposition, however, had him reinstate the song, but only while the truck was moving. When it was parked, the tune had to be turned off (to the sorrow of the children but to the delight of the apartments upstairs).

Ice Cream Man is a custom Chevrolet monster truck owned by Triple B Motorsports, formerly Razin Kane Monster Trucks, out of Deland, Florida. It is driven by Brett Falvey. Since its debut in 2012, the truck has been driven by various drivers, with its most notable being Roy Pridgeon, who drove from 2014-19. It has also been a staple of multiple monster truck leagues, including Monster Jam, and has also become a fan favorite for its unique ice cream truck-themed design.

Ice Cream Man would be built and tested in 2011. The truck would enter its first full year of competition the following year, with Scott Sweat behind the wheel. Sweat would briefly drive the truck throughout the 2012 season before he eventually left RKMT the following year, leaving the truck without a driver for the 2013 season. TJ Tripp would take over the driving duties for the season.

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