"Pony Time" is a song written by Don Covay and John Berry (a member of Covay's earlier vocal group, "the Rainbows"), and originally recorded in 1960 by Covay with his group "the Goodtimers".
It achieved greater success when it was recorded by Chubby Checker the following year, becoming his second US No.1 (after his 1960 single "The Twist"). Chubby Checker's recording of "Pony Time" was also a No.1 hit on the R&B charts.[1] In Canada it reached No. 5.[2]
The lyrics reverse the Gee and Haw commands. In use by horsemen for centuries, gee was right and haw was left. Beside being used to command horse teams, Gee and Haw was used a lot in naming geographic features, like stream branches.
A reference to the new dance style is mentioned in the song "Back to the Hop" (1961) by Danny and the Juniors, and the song was featured in the 1988 film Hairspray.
The song introduced a new dance style, the pony, in which the dancer tries to look like he or she is riding a horse. The beat is 1&2, 3&4. In the dance the feet are kept comfortably together, while various arm and hand motions are possible. Movement around the dance floor may occur, but there is no line-of-dance. Couples, who generally face each other, do not touch[3] and turns and chase positions are possible.
