Dorothy Dandridge (Cow Cow Boogie) restored & uncut 1942 film 

But way WAY better !!

She certainly was! So talented too!

She transitioned from perky and cute to sophisticated and beautiful.

​@@hebneh yes exactly

Yes she was. Poor Thang

Loco weed. Locoweed (also crazyweed and loco) is a common name in North America for any plant that produces swainsonine, a phytotoxin harmful to livestock. In North America, these plants are Oxytropis and Astragalus. Every rancher is plagued by this stuff on their land. The trouble is it is relatively palatable to livestock, and some individual animals will seek it out. Livestock poisoned by chronic ingestion of large amounts of swainsonine develop a medical condition known as locoism (swainsonine disease, swainsonine toxicosis in North America). They stampede, bellow, gore passers-by, and generaly act up. Locoism is reported most often in cattle, sheep, and horses, but has also been reported in elk and deer. It is the most widespread poisonous plant problem in the western United States. From the Spanish ‘loco’=crazy.

@@HooDatDonDar Oh my gosh, you are an encyclopedia! Thanks for much for that detailed, Illuminating answer. I had no idea this plant existed, let alone caused such harm to livestock and wild animals. So sad. But now I understand the lyrics better. Not a reference to marijuana, but this loco (not local!) weed. Thanks again for your answer.

I'll tell you what, @@Daisnap, I've got a good pair of headphones on and a DAC. Everything's coming through loud and clear, and I can make out the "l" in "local" each time the line comes up! It's no joke, and neither was Harlem. It was already a cosmopolitan epicenter, as well as the home of black excellence on display, by the 1920's, and as early as the 1920's Mexican and African-American groups were developing a mutual and *profound* appreciation for cannabis. It is absolutely not out of the question to have such a pun in this market, in this era; it just makes for fascinating evidence, great cultural anthropology so to speak.

@@crunchy_kvass Ahhh, okay...so you heard the "l"...meaning it was "local" and not "loco" after all? And if it had been "loco", it would have been referring to the aforementioned toxic plants that drove cows crazy and not the marijuana plant? Thanks for the info about Harlem and the great artistry alive there and the cultural appreciation for cannabis. All very interesting.

The original lyric IS “loco weed”, and while this a reference to cattle in the American west, it is also a joking reference to marijuana, which at that point in the 1940s was primarily used by Black and Hispanic Americans, notably musicians. This is made clear by the previous line: “He’s got a knocked-out western accent, with a Harlem touch.” The word “Harlem” in mainstream American songs always indicated Black people or African-American culture.

I've been a Dorothy Dandridge fans for years and she is gorgeous.

She sure was!

I love the 40's and 50's music

She sure did!

They even share some facial similarities

Yep ❤

It's unfortunate she cut her life short using dope! I still remember the news!

@@bobboscarato1313 That’s debatable… they killed her the same way they did Marilyn … too pretty .. too much info 👀💯

@@bobboscarato1313 Dorothy was murdered!

@@missgangsmashers737 She was hooked on drugs; that's what I've heard! ????

​@@bobboscarato1313 seriously? Y'all would believe anything any and everything you hear and see

I keep hearing about that version, but where can I see it? Does it really exist? It would have to be an alternate take since you could not go over 3 minutes and this is exactly 3 minutes long....Not saying it doesn't exist but I would like to confirm it is real and not a myth.If someone has it send it to me and I will post both versions in the same video.....Chris

Not a bad first choice to begin your music Career!

@radiobob805 No one can top Ella May Morse with her version of "Cow, Cow, Boogie" but even you can't deny that the beautiful Dorothy Dandridge did a pretty decent job singing this song. Poor Dorothy. She had so many obstacles to overcome as well as dealing with the bad luck she had in relationships. May she forever rest in peace.

Probably the same weed with a new name!

Don't be so sure that it was any different...Didn't become illegal til 1937...Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and the Marx Bros are all confessed Marijuana users...Locoweed was wild Marijuana that was growing all over the central US from Mexico to Canada...The terms: weed, Mary Jane, and Pot were around for a long time.

Not “local”, but “loco”.

She said "Loco Weed" and it means marijuana even then. It grows wild in Texas and Black and Mexican cowboys were some of the first to smoke it. Also Jazz musicians.

The actual loco weed that cowboys first referred to is a poisonous plant that would make cattle act “loco” after they ate it. For this song, though, it does mean marijuana.

They do favor one another very much. Speaking of which there's a picture of Dorothy I swore it was Doja Cat.

She is reincarnated as dojo cat look up story.

@@perryjackson2648 saw it

True

No Doja is not Dorothy reincarnated! LOL 😂!

I have the original that you're seeing here....it is 16mm....Chris

It may have be "shot" originally on 35mm (but I doubt it due to budget considerations in "race films") but not many small venues had the projection capabilities for 35mm. I remember early "shorts" being released on 8mm for home viewing - a LONG time ago ...

You know it’s a soundie, so why do you ask the name of the film? As you must know, soundies were short musical films, like a precursor to a music video… they were available on coin-operated machines in businesses like restaurants. So this is the film, this is all there is to it 😄 It wasn’t from a full-length musical or anything.

@@malvavisco10 Thanks for setting me straight on the origin of these soundies. I always thought they were made from movie songs. I never knew about the coin-op machines. I could picture colorized DVDs and stereo sound if there were enough of us old folks that cared about this look into the past.

So this was produced in 1942; the AMOS 'N' ANDY radio series was adapted for the feature film CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK in 1930 but with white series and role originators and radio performers Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll playing Amos and Andy in blackface. Even so, the film also had Black performers including highly influential jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington. There was an Amos 'n' Andy television series also which began in 1950, with Black actors Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams playing the lead characters.

Doja made sure we recognized her by doing B*tch Im a Cow, she really came back and did the remix

LOL! Doja Cat is not Dorothy reincarnated! LOL 😂!

I swear I was thinking this exact same thing

I don’t see it

Only she was reincarnated with a lot less rhythm and groove it seems. Dorothy is funky baby!!