Larry LaPrise, 83; Singer Wrote Dance Ditty ‘The Hokey Pokey’
<i> Times Wire Services</i>
BOISE, Idaho —
Larry LaPrise, a club singer who wrote the classic dance ditty “The Hokey Pokey,” has died.
LaPrise, 83, died April 4.
LaPrise was leading the Ram Trio at Sun Valley’s Ram Bar when he concocted the group dance for the apres-ski crowd in the late 1940s. It gained national popularity in 1953 when bandleader Ray Anthony recorded it on the flip side of another novelty song, “The Bunny Hop.”
After his trio disbanded in the 1960s, LaPrise worked for the post office in Ketchum, Idaho.
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