Professor Silver's Lindy and Jazz 101: The Hop's History and Harlem's Heroes Jazz Dance and Music History Lecture at You Should Be Dancing...! Studios on January 10, 2016.

1. Lainey Silver
1.10.16
SWING ERA HISTORY:
MUSIC AND DANCE LECTURE
You Should Be Dancing…! Studios

2.  Ragtime (1895-1918 peak popularity)
 Fully composed, syncopated “ragged” rhythm
 Scott Joplin
 Stride piano (early 1920s)
 Improvisational, played at all tempos
 James P. Johnson
 Willie “The Lion” Smith
 Fats Waller
 Cakewalk
 Minstrel Shows
 Texas Tommy
RAGTIME AND PRE-CHARLESTON ERA

5.  Jazz
 Born in New Orleans
 Buddy Bolden
 Jelly Roll Morton
 Kid Ory
 Fletcher Henderson
 The Charleston
 Song by James P. Johnson
 Written for the dance
 Black Bottom
EARLY JAZZ AND THE CHARLESTON

6.  “Shorty George”
Snowden
 After Seben (1929)
 The Breakaway
 Shorty George with
Pauline Morse
 Leroy “Stretch”
Jones
 Twistmouth George
FIRST GENERATION DANCERS
Madeline and Freddie Lewis, Big Bea, Leroy “Stretch” Jones, Little Bea, “Shorty George” Snowden

8.  March 12, 1926 –1958
 Opening night admission: $0.75 (Worth $10 today)
 Lenox Ave between 140th and 141st St
 Integrated
 “Home of Happy Feet”
SAVOY BALLROOM

12.  Rhythm section – piano,
bass, drums and guitar
 Emotional focus -
trumpets, trombones,
woodwinds, and vocals
 Kansas City Style and
Harlem Influence
 Fletcher Henderson,
Duke Ellington, Chick
Webb, Jimmy Lunceford,
Benny Goodman, Lionel
Hampton, Count Basie,
Roy Elderidge, Coleman
Hawkins
EMERGENCE OF SWING – 1930S
Freddie Green, Jo Jones, Walter Page, Count Basie.

13.  Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers
 Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Al Minns, Leon James, Ann Johnson,
Sandra Gibson, George Grenidge, Dorothy Johnson, Mildred Pollard, Billy
Ricker, WillaMae Ricker, Russell Williams
GOLDEN AGE OF LINDY HOP

14.  1935-1984 at Madison Square Garden
 Preliminaries at various ballrooms
 Rumba, Conga, Lindy Hop, Fox Trot, Polka, Tango, Waltz
 “All Around Champion”
awarded
HARVEST MOON BALL

15.  The Big Apple – 1938
 Radio City Revels - 1938
 1939 World’s Fair
 Hellzapoppin’ - 1941
 Jumpin’ At The Woodside and Hellzapoppin’
 Harlem Congaroo Dancers
 William Downes (uniform) and Frances “Mickey Jones (maid)
 Norma Miller and Billy Ricker (chef’s hat)
 Al Minns (white coat, black pants) and Willa Mae Ricker
 Ann Johnson (maid) and Frankie Manning (overalls)
 Hot Chocolates – aka Cottontail – 1941
 Gjon Mili
 Life Magazine photography – 1943
 Jammin’ The Blues - 1944
 Groovie Movie – 1944
 Killer Diller – 1948
DANCE CLIPS

16.  The Spirit Moves – 1950
 Mura Dehn
 Playboy Clip – Al Minns and Leon James – 1959 or 1960
LATE ERA CLIPS
“Well, I do it when the spirit touches me. When
the spirit leaves me, I leave." So, "the spirit
moved me" were the words they used all the
time. And I understood that the spirit was the
moving essence of jazz.”

17.  WWII
 Closure of ballrooms
 1948 musician’s union
strike
 Rise of the crooner, bop,
and rock
DECLINE OF BIG BANDS
Frank Sinatra 1947

18.  Swedish dancers
 The Rhythm Hot Shots
 Harlem Hot Shots
 Al Minns in Sweden
 Frankie Manning
 Norma Miller
 Jean Veloz
 Pop culture of the 1990s
 Swing Kids, Swingers, Gap Khaki’s Swing
 Neo-Swing bands
SWING REVIVAL

19.  Revival fades
 Groove era
 Minnie’s Moochers
 Trad Jazz era
 New Orleans Influx
 Big band is back
 Frankie 95 global Shim Sham
 Jean Veloz birthday viral video
SWING IN THE MODERN ERA