Jitterbug

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For other uses, see Jitterbug (disambiguation).
Jitterbug dancers in 1938
Jitterbugging at a juke joint, November 1939
Dancing the jitterbug, Los Angeles, 1939

Jitterbug can be used as a noun to refer to a swing dancer or various types of swing dances, for example, the Lindy Hop[1], Jive, West Coast Swing, and East Coast Swing. This has led to confusion within the dance community, since jitterbug can refer to different kinds of swing dances. It can also be used as a verb to mean someone dancing to swing music. For example, "People were top-notch jitterbugging, jumping around, cutting loose and going crazy".[2]

Various editions of Arthur Murray's "How To Become a Good Dancer" contain the following text. "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type", "A favorite with young New Yorkers is the Lindy Hop" (1947), "Whether it's called Swing, Lindy or Jitterbug.." (1954). "Formerly called Jitterbug, Lindy Hop and various other names in different parts of the country... Swing is the newer title"(1959)."

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[edit] Etymology

The term jitterbug comes from an early 20th-century slang term used to describe alcoholics who suffered from the "jitters" (i.e., delirium tremens).[citation needed] The term became associated with swing dancers who danced without any control or knowledge of the dance.[3] In popular culture, it became generalized to mean a swing dancer (e.g., you were a jitterbug), a type of swing dance (e.g., you danced the jitterbug), or the act of swing dancing (e.g., you were jitterbugging).

Cab Calloway's 1935 recording of “Call of the Jitter Bug (Jitterbug) [2] [3] and the film “Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party” [4] popularized use of the word “jitterbug”, and created a strong association between Calloway and jitterbug. Lyrics to “Call of the Jitter Bug” clearly demonstrate the association between the word jitterbug and the consumption of alcohol.

If you'd like to be a jitter bug,
First thing you must do is get a jug,
Put whiskey, wine and gin within,
And shake it all up and then begin.
Grab a cup and start to toss,
You are drinking jitter sauce!
Don't you worry, you just mug,
And then you'll be a jitter bug! [5]

Youngsters were jitterbugging in the aisles as Benny Goodman played the Paramount Theatre in New York City in 1936, making headlines from coast to coast.

Writing of the Savoy Ballroom, dance critic John Martin, of The New York Times, wrote the following:

The white jitterbug is oftener than not uncouth to look at...but his Negro original is quite another matter. His movements are never so exaggerated that they lack control, and there is an unmistakeable dignity about his most violent figures...there is a remarkable amount of improvisation...mixed in...with Lindy Hop figures. Of all the ballroom dances these prying eyes have seen, this is unquestionably the finest."[4]

A young, white middle class man from suburban Pittsburgh, PA learned to dance jitterbug in 1939 by going to the black "Hill City" section of that city to watch dancers. They danced smoothly, without hopping and bouncing around the dance floor. "The hardest thing to learn is the pelvic motion. I suppose I always felt these motions are somehow obscene. You have to sway, forwards and backwards, with a controlled hip movement, while your shoulders stay level and your feet glide along the floor. Your right hand is held low on the girl's back, and your left hand down at your side, enclosing her hand."[5]

When he ventured out into "nearby mill towns, picking up partners on location", he found that there were white girls who were "mill-town...lower class" and could dance and move "in the authenic, flowing style". "They were poor and less educated than my high-school friends, but they could really dance. In fact, at that time it seemed that the lower class a girl was, the better dancer she was, too."[5]

[edit] Popularity

World War II facilitated the spread of jitterbug to Europe. For instance, by May 1944, in preparation for D-Day, there were nearly 2 million American troops stationed throughout Britain. [6] Time Magazine reported that American troops stationed in France in 1945 jitterbugged [6], and by 1946, jitterbug had become a craze in England. [7] It was already a competition dance in Australia.[7]

In 1944, with the United States' continuing involvement in World War II, a 30 percent federal excise tax was levied against "dancing" night clubs. Although the tax was later reduced to 20 percent, "No Dancing Allowed" signs went up all over the country. Jazz drummer Max Roach argued that, "This tax is the real story why dancing...public dancing per se...were [sic] just out. Club owners, promotors, couldn't afford to pay the city tax, state tax, government tax.[8][9]

Jitterbug dancing was also done to early rock and roll. Rockabilly musician Janis Martin equates jitterbug with rock and roll dancing in her April 1956 song "Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll".

The girls fill the jukebox and then demand
The jitterbug hand-in-hand...
Drugstore's rockin', rock-rock".[8][9][10]

In 1957, the Philadelphia-based American Bandstand was picked up by the American Broadcasting Company and shown across the United States. American Bandstand featured currently-popular songs, live appearances by musicians, and dancing in the studio. At this time, the most popular fast dance was Jitterbug, which was described as "a frenetic leftover of the swing era ballroom days that was only slightly less acrobatic than Lindy". [10]

In a 1962 article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Bassist Bill Black as leader of his own Bill Black Combo listed "jitterbug" along with the twist and cha-cha as "the only dance numbers you can play".[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Manning, Frankie; Cynthia R. Millman (2007). Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. pp. 238. ISBN 1-59213-563-3. 
  2. ^ Lipton, Shana Ting (2005-07-09). "A swing king reemerges", feature, Los Angeles Times, pp. E1, E4-E5. Retrieved on 22 July 2007. 
  3. ^ Al Minns. (1984). Al Minns Part 1. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. Event occurs at 2:48. "The jitterbug... We called people who would just jump on the floor, without any knowledge of what they were doing, and go mad with the drumming what not and just go boodedoo boodedoo doo and shakin' their head and just jump up and down without any control ... that's what we called the jitterbug."
  4. ^ Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1968). Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. page 331. ISBN 0-02-872510-7
  5. ^ a b Stearns, Marshall and Jean (1968). Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. page 330. ISBN 0-02-872510-7
  6. ^ Ambrose, Stephen (1994). D-Day, June 6, 1944: the climactic battle of World War II. New York, New York: Touchstone. p. 151. ISBN 0-671-67334-3. 
  7. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/08/1231004167858.html Sydney Morning Herald article, "Muscle beach party," by Steve Meacham, 8 Jan 2009
  8. ^ Stomping the Blues. By Albert Murray. Da Capo Press. 2000. page 109, 110. ISBN 0-252-02211-4, 0-252-06508-5
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ Shore, Michael; Dick Clark (1985). The History of American Bandstand. New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 12, 54. ISBN 034531722X. 
  11. ^ The Blue Moon Boys - The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin. 2006. Chicago Review Press. page 146. ISBN 1-55652-614-8

[edit] See also

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