‘My ding a ling, my ding a ling, I want to play with my ding a ling. My ding a ling, my ding a ling, I want to play with my ding a ling.’ Those are the words to the second stanza of the 1972 hit single by Chuck Berry called, ‘My Ding a Ling.’
Berry recorded it as a cover to the 1952 original written and recorded by Dave Bartholomew. The 1952 version didn’t make the Top 100, in fact, in just about all 48 states at the time, it was strongly suggested to be banned from the radio all together. It carried too many double ententes and suggestive meanings in the lyrics according to certain moral and ethical groups across the country. Beginning with the title. So, they protested the song and its writer, Bartholomew, threatening massive boycotts across the country against anyone who even hummed the song. The protestors would win the battle, but overall victory was not in their wheelhouse. By the time Berry recorded his version, the United States was already celebrating Dec. 12 as unofficially, ‘National Ding a Ling Day!’
Today we are encouraged to hold our Ding a Ling, if you got one, and wave it willy nilly as we parade down Main Street, shouting out the lyrics to the song. Interesting bit of background. The inspiration for the song Bartholomew wrote came from, of all places, his grandmother. Apparently, as the story goes, one year for his birthday, Bartholomew’s grandmother presented him with his very own Ding a Ling. Just what is or was a Ding a Ling then? In Bartholomew’s case, it was a toy his grandmother either bought or made for him consisting of a string, with silver bells hanging from it, supported by two thin pieces of wood on each end of the string. The idea was that the one playing with the Ding a Ling would hold the wood pieces apart as tight as they could and simply, ring the bells by waving the toy back and forth. I want to play with my Ding a Ling, as Bartholomew put it in 1952.
Over 10 years later, a toy company called Topper created a toy they called, ‘The Ding a Lings’. These were a family of robots who had super powers cancelled in their battery-operated backpacks. They were all 6 inches tall, and came in 16 distinct personalities. There was, among others, Answerman, Bank, Detector, Flying Saucer, Gofer, Jack in the Box, Policeman, Spy, and Worker. These enigmas from the 1970’s came onto the scene rather abruptly, and unfortunately left just as suddenly. The toy world would have been rocked by the arrival of these 6-inch robots from another planet, but despite their cuteness and curb appeal, they did not skyrocket into toy story fame. However, these ‘Ding a Lings’ were most likely the ancestors to a race of superior bots from a planet that was destroyed by war over 10 years later. There was more than meets the eyes with this bunch of second-generation robot refuges. Even though Hasbro never said it, the Autobots and Decepticons from space were decedents of ‘Ding a Lings’! They are called, ‘Transformers’.
That’s one way to celebrate the day, playing with your Ding a Ling, but the phrase has a different, and even opposite meaning according to Webster’s Dictionary. Here the word is a noun, a slang word and means a stupid, foolish, or even eccentric person. Odd or unusual thinking person who spends his or her time not only thinking outside the box, but living in that neighborhood as well.
It was commonly used in the 1930’s and was eventually reworded by the generation that followed,sd into dingbat, flake, and kook, or nut. The 1930’s was one of America’s darkest times. The Great Depression as it is referred to hit the country hard in 1929, and carried on until around 1939. Over 15 million people were unemployed, and almost twice that number were homeless. President Herbet Hoover made the situation worse by offering only advice and not a real solution, ‘Patience and self-reliance is what the American people need to get thru these tough times’ was his answer. What a Ding a Ling! As the Depression lasted through 939 when, under the new President, Franklin Roosevelt, things changed and the country was recovering, then that Dingbat over in Germany decided he wanted to rule the world, and two years later we were in a different sort of war. The world had gone nuts!
One other thing that Dave Bartholmew’s grandmother told him when she gave him his Ding a Ling was, whenever you feel like you are with your back up against a wall, and the world is falling down around you, reach into your pocket and pull out your Ding a Ling and start playing with it. She told Bartholomew, ‘Everything will be good again, I promise’. I don’t know about you, but there are times when I could play with my own Dong a Ling nowadays.
Ding a Ling Day
