All Hail The Noble Ubangi! (STOMP!)

I have been fascinated by Ubangis from the time I was old enough to gawk at the dinner plate adorned lips of African tribes-people on the pages of National Geographic. And justly so, I do think. These labret-laden heathens have been capturing the fancy of wide-eyed Westerners since they were first introduced to our culture in the 1930′s. Included in this group is old-school Rockabilly twangster, Warren Smith, who wrote and performed the 1956 hit ‘Ubangi Stomp’.

Vilanous Dylan DeVille

Now before I go any farther, I am aware that some of my loyal readers (and you know who you are, boy) aren’t big fans of the Rockabilly genre in general, but it isn’t like Warren Smith is some greasy-haired, snarly-lipped, overly-tattooed, athletic-upright-bass-playing, fuzzy-dice-wielding, modern-rockabilly-poser.  He was from the 50′s.  He helped create Rockabilly as we know it.  He was of the ilk that those greasy posers are aping — what those pomaded buffoons WISH they could be, really.  (Though I do admit I harbor a soft spot for pomaded, ink-skinned, snarling, double-bass-slapping buffoons…but I digress…)

Warren Smith -- Real Rockabilly

I became aware of this little ditty this morning whilst reading the book Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock’n’Roll by Nick Toches at my desk between Very Important Corporate Job tasks. (I have some downtime at my job – between yesterday and the day before I knitted a hat from start to finish.) Toches mentions ‘Ubangi Stomp’ in the very beginning of the book. And being as I love both Rockabilly AND Ubangis, I decided this song just needs looked into. Apparently this song was at one point wildly popular and remains well-known among the knowledgeable crowd. (I thought I was in that crowd. Seems I’m not – or wasn’t but now I am — ‘cause now I do know. How’d I go so long without knowing?)

Where It All Started

Unfortunately, I learned in my research today (Damn you Wikipedia!!!) that the Noble Ubangi tribe that occupied the Vast African Jungle in the world of my childhood mind is entirely the creation of a Ringling Brothers Circus publicist because the name ‘sounded exotic’. How disappointing. Oh well. I still totally adore the idea of Ubangis. And Ubangi-like people did (and do) exist in the regions around the Ubangi River (alternately spelled Ouabangi – a name which has to have roots in the mother tongue of the same folks that founded dubbed Ouagadougou, the capitol city of Burkina Faso) so the Noble Ubangi will continue to live on in my imagination. And I still desperately want a brass dinner plate inserted in my lower lip because I think it’d be sexy as hell.  (At least it might be to a bass-humping Rockabilly spunk monkey?)