That 1944 recording of “Drinkin’ Rum and Coca-Cola” by the Andrews Sisters was the third best-selling record of the 1940s, behind Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Patti Page’s “Tennessee Waltz.” And amazingly it got to that position without much radio play. I’ll talk about that in a minute.
But first some background. I’d heard the song years ago, but only recently when I was looking for the music so I could play it did I see that the song was copyrighted by Morey Amsterdam. Amsterdam was a fast-talking comedian and radio DJ in the 1940s and 1950s, who hit it big on the 1960s sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
I was impressed. I’d been a big fan of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and I could imagine that a wise-cracking guy like Amsterdam might have written a light-hearted song like “Drinkin’ Rum and Coca-Cola.”
The story was that Money Amsterdam was in Trinidad in 1943 on a USO tour entertaining the soldiers and sailors stationed there. There was a big naval station and airfields on Trinidad to protect allied shipping in the Caribbean from German submarines that were a serious threat there.
By the way, the Point Cumana mentioned was a seaside resort, a place where the GIs could socialize with the Trinidadians.
Rum was plentiful throughout the Caribbean and mixing it with a sweet soda like Coca-Cola was what they call a no brainer. Amsterdam heard the song down there, which later he said he thought was a traditional tune, he made some changes, and obtained a copyright on it in the U.S. in 1944.
Apparently he thought the natives in far-off Trinidad wouldn’t notice. In fact, the lyrics had been written by Rupert Grant (who used the stage name Lord Invader), and had been copyrighted in Trinidad in 1943 by the music publisher, Mohamed Khan. Moreover, the Calypso melody, written back in 1906 by Lionel Belasco, had been copyrighted by one Maurice Baron of Trinidad.
Khan and Baron each sued Morey Amsterdam in 1946, and after very little deliberation the court awarded the original authors $150,000, which today would be just over $2 million. The reason for the high penalty was due to the popularity and extraordinary sales of the song’s records and sheet music, but also because of Amsterdam’s wholesale piracy — he had changed only about half a dozen words from the original, and hadn’t changed the melody at all.
Amsterdam got a parting shot though — he agreed to pay the hefty damages, but negotiated to keep the copyright himself. That’s why his name still appears on the music today. Morey Amsterdam died in 1996 at the age of 88, but I’ll bet his estate is still collecting royalties on the song.
Now about that radio airplay. This all took place in the 1940s, and radio stations in the U.S. and Britain (where the song was also a big hit) were loath to play songs that mentioned alcohol. And some stations didn’t want to give the Coca-Cola Co. free advertising.
But oddly, few critics mentioned the subtle reference to prostitution. There’s that line “mother and her daughter working for the Yankee dollar.”
Now is that really what the original lyrics referred to? Well, I’ll let you decide.
Here’s Morey Amsterdam’s version:
[C] Since the Yankee come to Trinidad
They got the young girls all [G7] goin’ mad
[G7]Young girls say they treat ’em nice
[G7] Make Trinidad like [C] par-a-dise
…and here’s Lord Invader’s original:
[C] Since the Yankee come to Trinidad
They got the young girls all [G7] goin’ mad
[G7]Young girls say they treat ’em nice
[G7] So they give them a [C] better price.”
Now what do you think?
We’ve got 30 seconds left, let’s all sing the chorus. Ready? 1-2-3
[C] Drinkin’ rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point [G7] Cumana
[G7] Mother and her daughter
[G7] Workin’ for the Yankee [C] dollar!
Madam Toastmaster!
