Got a nice response from Bob Walser after sending him the quotation from Asbury's THE BARBARY COAST:

"Thanks for the great quote. I hadn't seen it before...As for the words, Carpenter wrote 'hula-hula' (not "hoochy-coochee") and the recording, if there ever was one, does not survive. I think you've spotted the source, we'll just have to take Fender's words as folk-processed."

Bob's sending me a copy of his article in The Folk Music Journal that Malcolm refers to above. This should be interesting.

I could swear that people have referred to Carpenter's original wax cylinder recordings that were re-recorded onto tape that are or were available from both Cecil Sharp House and the Smithsonian. I wonder if my mind is playing tricks with me? Should the hunt continue? Of course, we can sing anything we damn well please, but it's nice to know more about where a song comes from.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble