Had that Eccentric Soul: Omnibus 45 box for Christmas, great releases in there, anyhow two of the songs mentioned Jody, my favourite is Darker Shades Ltd. - Trackin' Down Jody, anyhow then I keep noticing Jody in the title of lots of records, was this some sort of fad, was jody on US TV in the early seventies, does the name mean something like John Doe say.

So who is Jody, and what does it all mean???

Trackin' Down Jody, that Bass.. Reminds me of the Dirty Harry music the one for Magnum force....

Mal.C

think this has already been explored on here, quite recently, but i guess the gist is the name is a reference to "the other man" sneakin' through the back door as the woman's guy goes out the front...and it fits so well in so many of those songs you're thinking of...anne sexton probably the most well known but isnt bobby patterson just great as well?

From Wikipedia....

"In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching. In the United States, these cadences are sometimes called jody calls or jodies, after Jody, a recurring character who figures in some traditional cadences."

"In the US, what are now known as cadences were called jody calls or jody (also jodie) from a recurring character, a civilian named "Jody", whose luxurious lifestyle is contrasted with military deprivations in a number of traditional calls. The mythical Jody refers to a civilian who remains at home instead of joining the military service. Jody is often presumed to be medically unfit for service, a 4F in WWII parlance. Jody also lacks the desirable attributes of military men. He is neither brave nor squared-away. Jody calls often make points with ironic humor. Jody will take advantage of a servicemember's girlfriend in their absence. Jody stays at home, drives the soldier's car, and gets the soldier's sweetheart (often called "Susie") while the soldier is in boot camp or ressions#I"]in country.

The name derives from a stock character in African-American oral traditions, "Joe the Grinder,"^[6] who is also prominent in Merle Haggard's song "The Old Man of the Mountain."^[7] The character's name has been transcribed as "Joady," "Jody," "Jodie," "Joe D.", or even "Joe the ____" (in dialect, "Joe de ____") with Joe then identified by occupation. He was a stock anti-hero who maliciously took advantage of another man's absence. Enlisted African-American soldiers incorporated this character into cadence songs during the Second World War."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence

A big hit back in the early 70's ............. Johnny Taylor ..........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF_m0v_S6B8

Bobby Newsome is my favourite Jody song just ahead of JT's other Jody tune - Standing in for Jody.

Ann Sexton's Jody sums it up for me. She is 'speaking' in the first person, but becomes Jody as as way of externalising the pain.

So, yeah, Jody is a figurative name.

Edited January 7, 201312 yr by Droylsdonian