Kid Chocolate, a former WWII sailor-turned-lightweight, allegedly went undefeated on the boxing circuit up in the Pacific Northwest, before decamping back to his home of New Orleans. There, he was known by his birth name of Lee Dorsey and at the age of 35, embarked on two distinct new careers: auto repair and R&B singer. He immediately caught the ear of Toussaint, who found in Dorsey a distinct voice: “He had a happy voice and he wasn’t too cool to sing a humorous song.” They quickly topped the R&B charts with “Ya! Ya!” and other skip-a-rope chants readily turned into nightclub burners on his debut album. No doubt Dorsey had an ear tuned to the playgrounds for other frivolous yet jubilant tunes like “Do-Re-Me,” “Eenie Meenie Mini Mo,” and “Ixie Dixie Pixie Pie.”

– Andy Beta