|
The Stroll (memoir)
The Stroll was both a slow rock 'n' roll dance and a song that was popular in the late 1950s. ''Billboard'' first reported that "The Stroll" might herald a new dance craze similar to the " Big Apple" in December 1957. In the dance two lines of dancers, men on one side and women on the other, face each other, moving in place to the music. Each paired couple then steps out and does a more elaborate dance up and down between the rows of dancers. Dick Clark noted the similarity of the dance to the Virginia reel.''Rock Roll & Remember''. Dick Clark, Richard Robison. 1978. Page 98. It was first performed to " C. C. Rider" by Chuck Willis on ''American Bandstand''. Link Wray's "Rumble" was also a popular tune for doing the stroll. The Diamonds had a hit song entitled The Stroll in 1957. When 1950s nostalgia came to the forefront in the 1970s, The Stroll saw renewed public awareness. It was used in the film '' American Graffiti'' (1973) during the scene at the high school dance an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryan Francois
Ryan Francois is a swing dancer, choreographer and actor, who played a central part of the revival of the Lindy Hop . Specialising in dances related to the Jazz & Swing era - including the Lindy Hop, Charleston, Tap and Authentic Vernacular Jazz, Ryan has over 30 years dance experience. Ryan learned from and danced with Frankie Manning as well as Pepsi Bethel, George Lloyd and Mama Lu Parks. Biography Choreography for the UK TV shows: * ''Strictly Come Dancing'' * ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (UK Series 1) * ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (UK Series 2) Founder and artistic director of the dance companies: Swing X-Treme and Zoots and Spangles. Choreographed the swing dance Jitterbug Stroll (1992). Appeared in the musical ''Swing!'' by Paul Kelly. Co-choreographer for Feelin In The Mood' musical. Movies * Malcolm X * Idlewild * Swing Kids * The Polar Express * Lackawanna Blues * Shore Leave Awards Twice winner of the U.S. Open and American Swing Dance Champion. Nomin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie, gospel, as well as country music. While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s,Peterson, Richard A. ''Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity'' (1999), p. 9, . the genre did not acquire its name until 1954. According to journalist Greg Kot, "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll."Kot, Greg"Rock and roll", in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', published online 17 June 2008 and also in p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Apple (dance)
The Big Apple is both a partner dance and a circle dance that originated in the Afro-American community of the United States in the beginning of the 20th century. History Origin (1860–1936) The exact origin of the Big Apple is unclear but one author suggests that the dance originated from the "ring shout", a group dance associated with religious observances that was founded before 1860 by African Americans on plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. The ring shout is described as a dance with "counterclockwise circling and high arm gestures" that resembled the Big Apple. It is still practiced today in small populations of the southern United States. The dance that eventually became known as the Big Apple is speculated to have been created in the early 1930s by African-American youth dancing at the Big Apple Club, which was at the former House of Peace Synagogue on Park Street in Columbia, South Carolina. The synagogue was converted into a black juke joint called the "Big ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Reel (dance)
The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier origin from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance. The dance was most popular in America from 1830–1890. The Virginia reel was a popular dance, and in each area there would be slight differences. This has given rise to a large number of dances called the Virginia reel. All of the versions have certain similarities, such as the reel figure. Today, Virginia Reel is one of the traditional dances danced in Finland by upper secondary school students in their prom Vanhojen tanssit. The dance Described below is one version of the Virginia reel. The dancers usually line up in two lines of 5-8 couples, partners facing each other. Traditionally men would line up on one side, and women on the other, but that is not necessary. The lines have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chuck Willis
Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1926 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, " C. C. Rider" (1957) and "What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. He was known as The King of the Stroll for his performance of the 1950s dance the stroll.Windham, Ben (February 15, 2003). "New release digs deep into Chuck Willis' background". ''The Tuscaloosa News''. p. 16. Life and career Willis was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1926. He was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951. After one single, Willis began recording on a Columbia subsidiary, Okeh. During his stay at Okeh, he established himself as a popular R&B singer and songwriter, performing material that he wrote himself. In 1956, he moved to Atlantic Records where he had immediate success with " It's Too Late", "Juan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the program's producer. It featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run–D.M.C.—usually appeared in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy Cannon holds the record for most appearances, at 110. The show's popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as '' Soul Train'' and British series ''Top of the Pops''. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company. Background ''American Bandstand'' premiered locally in late March 1952 as ''Bandstand'' on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 and 2017 he was a nominee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."Nirvana, Kiss, Hall and Oates Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" . ''Rolling Stone''. October 16, 2013; retrieved October 16, 2013. Early life Wray was born on May 2, 1929, in , to Fred Lincoln Wray, Sr. and h ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rumble (instrumental)
"Rumble" is an instrumental by American group Link Wray & His Ray Men. Released in the United States on March 31, 1958, as a single (with "The Swag" as a B-side), "Rumble" utilized the techniques of distortion and tremolo, then largely unexplored in rock and roll. In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles. History At a live gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in early 1958, attempting to work up a backing for The Diamonds' " The Stroll", Link Wray & His Ray Men came up with the instrumental "Rumble", which they originally called "Oddball". It was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night. Eventually the instrumental came to the attention of record producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked a pencil through the cone of his amplifier to make the recording sound more like the live version. But Bleyer's stepdaughter loved it, so he released it despite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Diamonds
The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (bass). They were most noted for interpreting and introducing rhythm and blues vocal group music to the wider pop music audience. Contrary to a popular myth, the father of Tom Hanks was never a member of the group. History 1950s In 1953, Dave Somerville, while working as a sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, met three other young singers. They decided to form a stand-up quartet called the Diamonds. The group's first performance was in the basement of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Toronto singing in a Christmas minstrel show. The audience's reaction to the Somerville-led group was so positive that they decided that night they would turn professional. After 18 months of rehearsal, they drove to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Stroll (song)
"The Stroll" is a song written by Nancy Lee and Clyde Otis and performed by The Diamonds. It reached No. 1 on the ''Cashbox'' chart, #4 on the U.S. pop chart, and #5 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1957. The song was ranked #48 on '' Billboard'' magazine's Top 50 singles of 1958. Other versions *Frankie Avalon released a version of the song on his 1958 album ''Frankie Avalon''. * Leroy Kirkland's Rock-Chas released a version of the song on his 1958 EP ''Strollin' the Cha Cha Cha''. * Ken Mackintosh and His Orchestra released a version of the song as a single in 1958, but it did not chart. *Jack Pleis and Owen Bradley released a version of the song on their 1958 album ''Bandstand Hop''. *Chubby Checker released a version of the song on his 1961 album ''It's Pony Time''. *Brenda Lee released a version of the song on her 1985 compilation album ''The Golden Decade''. * Adriano Celentano released a version of the song on his 1998 album ''Selection of Adriano Celentano''. * Jimmy Nalls ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Graffiti
''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny Howard), Paul Le Mat, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Bo Hopkins, and Wolfman Jack. Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Quinlan, Debralee Scott, and Joe Spano also appear in the film. The film is the first movie to be produced by George Lucas's company Lucasfilm. Set in Modesto, California, in 1962, the film is a study of the cruising and early rock 'n' roll cultures popular among Lucas's age group at the time. Through a series of vignettes, it tells the story of a group of teenagers and their adventures over the course of a night. While Lucas was working on his first film, ''THX 1138'', Coppola asked him to write a coming-of-age film. The genesis of ''American Graffiti'' took place in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grease (musical)
''Grease'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based on Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois and named after rock singer Bobby Rydell) and follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.Woulfe, Molly" 'Grease' has deep, dark Chicago roots"''NW Times'', January 2, 2009, retrieved January 10, 2017 The score borrows heavily from the sounds of early rock and roll. In its original production in Chicago, ''Grease'' was a raunchy, raw, aggressive, vulgar show. Subsequent productions toned down the more risqué content. The show mentions social issues such as teenage pregnancy, peer pressure, and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration during adolescence, and, to some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
