Born in Belhaven, North Carolina, she moved to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York, at a young age. Although some sources claim that her stage name was inspired by a character from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, she stated in an interview that she was named after her aunt, which prompted her family to call her "Little Eva." As a teenager, she worked as a maid and earned extra money as a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. It is often claimed that Goffin and King were amused by Boyd's particular dancing style, so they wrote "The Loco-Motion" for her and had her record it as a demo (the record was intended for Dee Dee Sharp).
However, as King said in an interview with NPR and in her "One to One" concert video, they knew she could sing when they met her, and it would be just a matter of time before they would have her record songs they wrote, the most successful being "The Loco-Motion."
Music producer Don Kirshner of Dimension Records was impressed by the song and Boyd's voice and had it released. The song reached #1 in the United States in 1962. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. After the success of "The Loco-Motion," Boyd was stereotyped as a dance-craze singer and was given limited material.
The same year, Goffin and King wrote "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" (performed by the Crystals) after discovering that Boyd was being regularly beaten by her boyfriend. When they inquired why she tolerated such treatment, Eva replied without batting an eyelid that her boyfriend's actions were motivated by his love for her.
Phil Spector's arrangement of the song was ominous and ambiguous.
It was a brutal song, as any attempt to justify such violence must be, and Spector's arrangement only amplified its savagery, framing Barbara Alston's lone vocal amid a sea of caustic strings and funereal drums, while the backing vocals almost trilled their own belief that the boy had done nothing wrong. In more ironic hands (and a more understanding age), 'He Hit Me' might have passed at least as satire. But Spector showed no sign of appreciating that, nor did he feel any need to. No less than the song's writers, he was not preaching, he was merely documenting.
Boyd's other single recordings were "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby," "Let's Turkey Trot," and a remake of the Bing Crosby standard "Swinging on a Star," recorded with Big Dee Irwin (though Boyd was not credited on the label). Boyd also recorded the song "Makin' With the Magilla" for an episode of the 1964 Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Magilla Gorilla Show.
She continued to tour and record throughout the sixties, but her commercial potential plummeted after 1964. She retired from the music industry in 1971. She never owned the rights to her recordings. Although the prevailing rumor in the 1970s was that she had received only $50 for "The Loco-Motion," it seems $50 was actually her weekly salary at the time she made her records (an increase of $15 from what Goffin and King had been paying her as nanny). Penniless, she returned with her three young children to North Carolina, where they lived in obscurity.
Interviewed in 1988 after the success of the Kylie Minogue cover version of "The Loco-Motion", Boyd stated that she did not like the new version; however its then-current popularity allowed her to make a comeback in show business.
She returned to live performing with other artists of her era on the cabaret and oldies circuits. She also occasionally recorded new songs.
The only existing footage of Little Eva performing "Loco-Motion" is a small clip from the ABC sixties live show Shindig! where she sang a short version of the clip along with the famous dance steps. She also sang "Let's Turkey Trot" and the Exciters' song "I Want You to Be My Boy" in the same episode. This TV show was one of her final performances until 1988, when she began performing in concerts with Bobby Vee and other singers. In a 1991 Richard Nader concert, she performed "Loco-Motion" and "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby". The concert was partially documented on videotape, albeit of marginal quality.
She continued performing until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in October 2001. She died on April 10, 2003 in Kinston, North Carolina, at the age of 59, and is buried in a small cemetery in Belhaven, North Carolina. Her gravesite was sparsely marked until July 2008, when a report by WRAL-TV of Raleigh, North Carolina highlighted deteriorating conditions at the cemetery and efforts by the city of Belhaven to have it restored. A simple white cross had marked the site until a new gravestone was unveiled in November of that year. Her new grey gravestone has the image of a steam locomotive prominently engraved on the front and the epitaph reads: "Singing with the Angels".
Let's Turkey Trot
Little Eva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's get it while its hot
This dance is really fine
{it shouldn't take much time} ?
My grandmother taught this dance to me
She did it at the turn of the century
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on let's turkey trot
People may say your some kind of a nut
When you're lifting your knees and you start to strut
But if your really want to get out of a rut
Do some turkey trottin' and all your cares will be forgotten
Come on let's turkey trot
Let's give it all we got
And when the dance is through
I'll trot some turkey with you
Oh we're gonna do the turkey trot again
Just like they did it back in 1910
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on and turkey trot
Gobbididly gobbididly
Oh we're gonna do the turkey trot again
Just like they did it back in 1910
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on and turkey trot
And give it all we got
You'll never want to stop
Come on and turkey trot
The lyrics of the song Let's Turkey Trot by Little Eva are about the fun dance craze that was popular in the early 1960s. The song encourages people to participate in this energetic dance and enjoy it while it’s hot. The lyrics acknowledge the unusual movements of the dance, but also express that it’s an excellent way to get out of a rut and forget about your problems for a while. The chorus emphasizes the overall excitement of the dance and emphasizes that it is something that people should not hesitate to participate in.
The verses of the song talk about the roots of the turkey trot. The song’s protagonist reveals that her grandmother taught her the dance and performed it back in the turn of the century. This reference to the 1900s provides a sense of the timeless appeal of the dance, and this musical ode emphasized its ability to continue to excite and energize people decades later. Overall, the lyrics of Let's Turkey Trot celebrate the joy of dancing and the importance of not taking oneself too seriously.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on let's turkey trot
Let's do the Turkey Trot dance
Let's get it while its hot
Let's do the dance now while we're excited
This dance is really fine
The Turkey Trot dance is enjoyable
{it shouldn't take much time} ?
The dance will not require too much time to learn
My grandmother taught this dance to me
My grandmother taught me this dance
She did it at the turn of the century
She did it in the early 1900s
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
An enthusiastic response
People may say your some kind of a nut
Others may think you're strange
When you're lifting your knees and you start to strut
When you start to dance and move your legs
But if your really want to get out of a rut
If you want to break out of a boring routine
Do some turkey trottin' and all your cares will be forgotten
Doing the Turkey Trot will take your mind off troubles
Let's give it all we got
Let's put in full effort
And when the dance is through
When the dance is finished
I'll trot some turkey with you
We will enjoy ourselves together
Oh we're gonna do the turkey trot again
We will do the dance again
Just like they did it back in 1910
We will do the dance like it was done in 1910
Come on and turkey trot
Let's do the Turkey Trot dance
Gobbididly gobbididly
A nonsense phrase expressing excitement
And give it all we got
And put in full effort
You'll never want to stop
You will not want to stop doing the dance
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GERRY GOFFIN, JACK KELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@smokinjz
Come on let's turkey trot
Let's get it while its hot
This dance is really fine
{it shouldn't take much time} ?
My grandmother taught this dance to me
She did it at the turn of the century
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on let's turkey trot
People may say your some kind of a nut
When you're lifting your knees and you start to strut
But if your really want to get out of a rut
Do some turkey trottin' and all your cares will be forgotten
Come on let's turkey trot
Let's give it all we got
And when the dance is through
I'll trot some turkey with you
Oh we're gonna do the turkey trot again
Just like they did it back in 1910
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on and turkey trot
Gobbididly gobbididly
Oh we're gonna do the turkey trot again
Just like they did it back in 1910
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Come on and turkey trot
And give it all we got
You'll never want to stop
Come on and turkey trot
@raymondmalcuit8361
This Song Went To Number 20 On The Billboard Hot-100 Chart In 1963.
@peacelovejoy8786
Did little Eva sing the original of this? I was in the 5th grade and my dad always brought a new 45 home on Fridays! We played the Fu*k outta this and danced like crazies... love to all of you out there who has survived since the 50s and made it through covid! We're all children of God and I love each and every one of you✌💓🙏👍🦃😍
@RDK860
Yes!
@juliereminiec4937
The original version is a ragtime song
@peacelovejoy8786
@@juliereminiec4937
What are you saying?
Ragtime huh?
@robertlavine1690
😂
@rob1248996
Another song I hadn't heard for 55 years. It just makes me feel good in spite of being old as crap.
@jamesmodica6184
old as crap not a problem, it's when that stops it becomes a biiiiiiiig problem. lols.
@kennnethtreistman1973
They should make this a Thanksgiving song officially! If they haven’t already. Maybe they have in a few circles!
@Tytimesinfinity
I play this faithfully every year!