Swing, Jump and Jive

  What a neat homage to the swing era. I remember Swing and the Jump Blues had a revival in the early to mid '90s with the help of california bands such as, Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Brian Setzer Orchestra (Setzer a Long Island native). What a great relief from the drowns of other music genres during that period; Techno, Rap, Hip-Hop, angst ridden Grunge and Alternative Rock. The tail end of the revival basically focused around the Jump Blues rather than Swing proper. A familiar and popular original Jump Blues artist that became one of my favorites was the legendary Louie Prima...

 One of Prima's popular songs denoting the style and dance of the era, Jump Jive an' Wail. Another interesting aspect to Louie Prima's music was his infusion of Italian folk songs coupled with humorous stage antics. Not only was he a consummate musician, he was a true entertainer.

  Swing dancing! A time when men and women actually danced together. This must be around the mid 40s. I recognize the drummer of the orchestra, Gene Krupa. At the hight of his career, Gene became a notable band leader. There were different regional styles of Swing dancing in those days. The Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Jive and the East Coast Swing.

  The black version of the Lindy Hop. Pretty racy, eh? This may well have been the genesis of the use of the term Jitterbug made famous by Cab Calloway's song, The Call of the Jitterbug and his film, Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party (1934). Jitterbug is a reference to dancing wildly after drinking alcohol. Remember the US prohibition law was repealed in 1933. Woot, party time! I'm sure this style of dancing was popular during the Speak Easy days of prohibition.