The Watusi is a

solo dance A solo dance is a dance done by an individual dancing alone, as opposed to couples dancing together but independently of others dancing at the same time, if any, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner. ...

that enjoyed brief popularity during the early 1960s. It was one of the most popular dance crazes of the 1960s in the United States. "Watusi" is a former name for the

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic ...

people of Africa, whose traditions include spectacular dances. The naming of the American dance may have been inspired, in particular, by a scene in the 1950 film ''King Solomon's Mines'' which featured Tutsi dancers, or by its sequel ''Watusi''.

History

The Orlons The Orlons are an American R&B group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1960. The group won gold discs for three of their singles. Career The quartet consisted of lead singer Rosetta Hightower (June 23, 1944 – August 2, 2014), Sh ...

, a vocal quartet from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, had the biggest hit of their career as recording artists with their recording of "

The Wah-Watusi "The Wah-Watusi" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell and performed by The Orlons. It reached No.2 on the U.S. pop chart behind Bobby Vinton's " Roses Are Red (My Love)", No.5 on the U.S. R&B chart, and No. 12 in Canada in 1962. It wa ...

" (Cameo 218), which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on June 9, 1962, and remained on the Hot 100 for 14 weeks; it peaked at #2 and held the position for two weeks. On the R&B chart, the single peaked at #5. This was not the only version of the song to hit the charts. On January 18, 1963,

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

released his single version of "The Wah-Watusi" ( B-side of Cameo 221). Later that year,

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

also recorded their own version. Popular covers of the song included Annette Funicello, and

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

The Vibrations The Vibrations were an American soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's hit singles were " My Girl Sloopy" (1964) and "Love in Them There Hills" (1968). The quintet's membe ...

had previously released an R&B single in 1961 called "The Watusi" (US #25). Also in 1963, Puerto Rican jazz musician Ray Barretto had his first hit with a song called "El Watusi", and—although he didn't invent the dancing style—he came to be typecast as connected to the style. Barretto's recording, "El Watusi" (Tico 419), debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on April 27, 1963, and remained on the Hot 100 for 9 weeks; it peaked at #17 for 9 weeks.

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

covered Barretto's version on their 1965 album '' Let's Go!''. The "Monkey Watusi" is mentioned in the 1964 single "Hey Harmonica Man" by

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. "The Watusi", along with "The Twist", is mentioned in the fragmentary "lyrics" of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' sound collage "

Revolution 9 "Revolution 9" is a sound collage from the Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album"). The composition, credited to Lennon–McCartney, was created primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Yoko Ono and George ...

". "The Watusi" is also mentioned in Chris Kenner's song "

Land of 1000 Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. A ver ...

". "The Watusi" was one of the inspirations for the

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

song " The Toxic Waltz", from their 1989 album ''

Fabulous Disaster ''Fabulous Disaster'' is the third studio album by American thrash metal band Exodus. It was released on January 30, 1989 on the UK label Music for Nations, while the US version was released on Combat/Relativity Records. In 1999, Century Medi ...

''. The "Watusi" is also mentioned in a song by The Go-GOs "We Got The Beat". The dance was central to "We Love You Miss Pringle." That 26th episode of the second season of the ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'' television series first aired March 28, 1965. It was also referenced in the 1967 movie "

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, and written by William Rose. It stars Spencer Tracy (in his final role), Sidney Poitier, and Katharine Hepburn, and feature ...

" in a light-hearted conversation, between Matt Drayton and John Prentice, about black teenagers dancing. It was also referenced in the 33rd episode of the first season of ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

'', "Lurch the Teenage Idol", first aired May 21, 1965.

Steps

In the classic Watusi, the dancer is almost stationary with knees slightly bent, although may move forward and back by one or two small rhythmic paces. The arms, with palms flat in line, are held almost straight, alternately flail up and down in the vertical. The head is kept in line with the upper torso but may bob slightly to accentuate the arm flailing. The dance, which became popular in the American surf/beach sub-culture of the 1960s, may be enhanced if one imagines that one's feet are on

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watusi, The Novelty and fad dances 1960s in music 1960s fads and trends

History

Steps

See also

References