From my lindy hop population post I discovered the swing dancing subreddit. During a discussion about a swing dance evolution infographic someone threw down the gauntlet to make an improved evolutionary tree and I (perhaps foolishly) picked it up.

Here’s the result (click on the image to load a viewer for the chart – complete with hyperlinks for most of the dances):

Click on the pic to launch the launch the viewer

I’ve got mixed feelings about this chart. Whilst it’s an improvement over what’s currently out there it’s still rather reductionist. I know the real Lindy Hop historians are unlikely to be impressed, hence one of the reasons why I’ve gone to some lengths to emphasise on the chart it’s inaccurate nature.

Truth be told I’m not sure you could ever draw a decently accurate evolutionary tree. Even if you could pin down dates and names there are two obvious problems:

• Firstly there would be way more edges in the graph. All the dances being danced by the same people at the same time in the same place would have obviously influenced each other and movements of people around the United States and the world would have moved them around. How would you measure the influence of one dance on another – what would qualify as a link?
• Much of what’s written down and documented (aside from folk like Mura Dehn and Marshall Stearns – and even they aren’t necessarily 100% reliable) comes from (white) dance teachers who often invented simplified versions of steps that they saw in the ballrooms, gave them fancy names, and got their picture in the newspaper – but it’s unclear how many people actually danced these forms. What’s the criteria for including a dance in the first place? EDIT: I also don’t think I make clear that many of the ‘evolutions’ of dance forms involved the appropriation of Black vernacular forms by white dancers for profit – making them less cultural evolution and more cultural theft. The lines in the infographic should in no way be interpreted as neutral or natural – they obscure what was often dastardly conduct.

But enough from me – I’m no historian. So I’d welcome comments from those who are, tearing this apart. 🙂

Welcome Loyal Readers!

For improved customisation and hosting of various things (see my next post) I’ve migrated over to a custom wordpress install. Everything should be more or less in the same spot and I’ll be making some enhancements over time. In the meantime why not take the opportunity to read through some of the archives. 🙂

Best

Lindypenguin

PS. Hope to see some of you in Herrang – I’ll be getting there this Friday.

It’s been another nearly 6 months since posting so I thought I’d get another one done. Back to Australia and Hullabaloo, BLX, the Little Big Weekend (oh how I have missed speakeasy) and more dancing, dancing dancing!

Plenty of DJ folks have been putting together A-Z song lists. So I decided to raise the bar and do a list that’s A-Z and in chronological order. I’m not entirely happy with it (one of the more difficult letters sits in one of the more difficult decades – I’m looking at you Q) so if anyone can better it, I’d be happy to hear about it:

Name – Artist – Album – Duration – Date – BPM
A Monday Date – Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five – Hot Fives & Sevens – Volume 3 – 3:15 – 1928 – 243
Blue Harlem – Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra – Creole Rhapsody: Duke Ellington in the Thirties: Disc 1 – 2:55 – 1932 – 144
Chasing Shadows (-1) – Putney Dandridge and His Orchestra – Classic Chu Berry Columbia and Victor Sessions: Disc 1 – 2:40 – 1935 – 133
Darktown Strutter’s Ball – Ella Fitzgerald and Her Savoy Eight – The Complete Masters: CD1 1935-36 – 3:02 – 1936 – 182
E Flat Blues – Fats Waller – Fats Waller and His Rhythm: a Handful of Keys – 2:48 – 1938 – 115
Frenesi – Artie Shaw – Greatest Hits – 3:06 – 1940 – 150
Groove Juice Special – Slim Gaillard & Slam Stewart – Complete Columbia Master Takes Disc 3 – 2:44 – 1942 – 171
Honeysuckle Rose – Oscar Aleman – Swing Guitar Masterpieces 1938-1957 – Disc 1 – 2:32 – 1944 – 208
I’m A Shy Guy – Stan Kenton – Intermission Riff – 2:55 – 1945 – 141
Jiminy Crickets – Ray McKinley & His Orchestra – Howdy, Friends – 3:19 – 1946 – 142
Knock Me A Kiss – Louis Jordan – Swing Party: Disc 2 – 2:55 – 1947 – 113
Let’s Split – Big Jay Mcneely – The Deacon, Unabridged: Vol. 1 1948 – 1950 – 2:39 – 1948 – 120
My Sweet Hunk o’ Trash – Louis Armstrong – Meet the Girls – 3:21 – 1949 – 93
Nobody but Jesus – Sister Wynona Carr – Dragnet for Jesus – 4:35 – 1950 – 135
Original Dixieland One-Step – Sidney Bechet – The Fabulous Sidney Bechet – 4:15 – 1951 – 253
Preview – Ella Fitzgerald with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra – The Complete Masters: CD12 1951-53 – 3:03 – 1952 – 162
Quand Tu Danses – Gilbert Becaud – Swing Party: Disc 1 – 2:23 – 1953 – 249
Rose Room – Benny Goodman – B.G. In Hi-Fi – 3:54 – 1954 – 138
Saturday Night Fish Fry – Louis Jordan – Rock & Roll – 2:39 – 1957 – 212
Them There Eyes – Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie – Ella and Basie! – 5:08 – 1963 – 171
Un Jour Comme Un Autre – Brigitte Bardot – Putumayo Presents: French Cafe – 2:22 – 1964 – 65
Vine Street Drag – Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks – Quality Shout! – 2:35 – 1993 – 318
Wailin’ Caylen – George Gee and His Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra – Swingin’ Live! – 6:39 – 1998 – 187
Xena for Xmas – Lisa Otey – Hard Workin’ Woman – 2:51 – 2001 – 133
You Are My Sunshine – The Treme Brass Band – New Orleans Music – 4:05 – 2008 – 185
Zonky – Crytzer’s Blue Rhythm Band – Chasin’ The Blues – 3:49 – 2009 – 216