Media Platforms Design Team
Yodeling: I know it's a Swiss thing, but when did it start and why? And does anyone still do it?
Not so fast, dirndl-breath. Bart Plantenga, author of Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World, tells AF that this "Swiss thing" business is hooey: "There are tons of yodelers in France and the Netherlands. It's also in punk and contemporary rock. It's coming back like crazy. Jewel is a big yodeler. A lot of African musicians use yodeling. That's what my book tried to dispel, the idea that it's limited to this one area of the Alps."
Plantenga suggests that yodeling most likely originated in Africa, "at the beginning of mankind, when man decided he could do different things with his voice. More practically, it probably began 10,000 years or so ago, when animals first were domesticated, [as] a way to keep the cattle together. It probably also had to do with people amusing themselves. The Pygmies [still] use it for many things, including feasts and playing. They have this method of singing back and forth between two voices, and it's just pure pleasure at that level."
AF also phoned two professional yodelers, Erika Stucky, whose album Suicidal Yodels won Germany's Schallplattenkritik award, and Randy Erwin, aka Cowboy Randy, who works rodeos, kids' shows, and the pumpkin-festival circuit throughout the Midwest. No doubt each had much to say, but AF's first call was to Ms. Stucky, whose "Hellooo-aiiiiii-eeee-ooooo" punctured both his eardrums.
Don't miss Mr. Plantenga's soon-to-be-released Blaaaaaat!: Finns and Flatulence.
Got a question? Send it to Answer Fella via esquire.com/talk.
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