Double Dutch Bus

"Double Dutch Bus" is a hit 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang.

"Double Dutch Bus"
Single by Frankie Smith
from the album Children of Tomorrow
B-side"Double Dutch"[1]
ReleasedFebruary 22, 1981
GenreFunk, old-school hip hop
Length3:29
LabelWMOT
Songwriter(s)Bill Bloom, Frankie Smith
Producer(s)Bill Bloom, Frankie Smith
Music video
"Double Dutch Bus" Official video on YouTube

Original version

The song title represents a combination of two institutions in Smith's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania neighborhood: the double Dutch jump rope game played by neighborhood kids; and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position; the Transpass referred to in the song is an actual SEPTA weekly or monthly fare pass).[2]

Smith and co-writer Bill Bloom persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in early 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks and debuted on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart in February, rising to the top spot by July, where it held at number one for four weeks. It also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 30 in the summer of 1981.[3]

The record became only the second in history (following the 1979 Barbra Streisand/Donna Summer duet "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"), and remaining one of the few, to receive two separate standard-release Gold certifications from the RIAA: first in June 1981 for sales of the 12" single;[4] and a second Gold record in September 1981 for sales of the 7" edit.[5]

In the National Geographic documentary "King of Coke: Living the High Life" Frankie Smith explains how the song was composed. He also states that WMOT Records failed to pay him his royalties, and how he therefore was unable to pay his taxes. An investigation was started which brought to light that WMOT Records was not only badly managed, but in fact laundering money for Larry Lavin, aka Dr. Snow, a dentist who was secretly dealing cocaine.

Chart positions
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50)[6] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Single Top 100)[7] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 30
U.S. Billboard Disco Top 100 [8] 51

Sampling

The song was sampled heavily by Missy Elliott for use in the song "Gossip Folks".[9]

Kylie Minogue sampled the song during her Fever Tour in her performance of "Cowboy Style".

Madonna sampled the song on her Sticky & Sweet Tour performance of "Into the Groove".

The "UK Extended Dis" mix of Beat Dis by Bomb the Bass also sampled the track.[10]

Raven-Symoné version
"Double Dutch Bus"
Single by Raven-Symoné
from the album Raven-Symoné
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2008 (Radio Disney)
March 4, 2008 (Digital)
Recorded2007
Genre
Length3:02
LabelHollywood
Songwriter(s)Bill Bloom, Frankie Smith
Producer(s)The Clutch
& Bill Jabr (additional production)
Raven-Symoné singles chronology
"Backflip"
(2004)		 "Double Dutch Bus"
(2008)		 "Anti-Love Song"
(2009)

"Double Dutch Bus" was later covered by Raven-Symoné. The track was released to promote the film College Road Trip and is the lead single from her fourth and self-titled studio album . The single was placed on Radio Disney on February 9, 2008.[11] This version has an updated hip hop and R&B sound.

"Double Dutch Bus" was released to the U.S. iTunes Store on March 4, 2008.

Music video

The music video premiered on Disney Channel on February 18, 2008. The music video shows Raven and a bunch of people dancing under a disco ball and having a great time on a party bus (known as the "double dutch bus"). The music video also features images from the film College Road Trip. Donny Osmond makes a cameo appearance in the video, being a cast member of the movie. The video was directed by Patrick Hoelck.[12]

Track listing
CD single/digital download[13][14]
  1. "Double Dutch Bus" - 3:02

Radio and release history
Country Date Label Format
United States February 9, 2008 Hollywood Records Radio Disney
March 4, 2008 CD single, digital download

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2003). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955 - 2002. p. 652. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  2. SEPTA Transpass (Retrieved 2013-08-09)
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 535.
  4. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  5. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  6. "Ultratop.be - Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  7. "Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 237.
  9. Adam Bradley (2009). Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop. Basic Civitas Books. pp. 146–. ISBN 978-0-465-00347-1. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. "Bomb the Bass's Beat Dis (UK Extended Dis) sample of Frankie Smith's Double Dutch Bus". WhoSampled. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  11. "NME Videos". Nme.com. 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  12. Aim Artists aimartist.com
  13. allmusic ((( Double Dutch Bus > Overview ))) Allmusic
  14. Double Dutch Bus - Amazon Amazon.com
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