Jitterbug
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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In the early 1920s a string of dance crazes swept the world, including jitterbug and the Charleston.
Jitterbug can be used as a noun to refer to a swing dancer or various types of swing dances, e.g., Lindy Hop, Jive and East Coast Swing. This has led to confusion within the dance community since jitterbug can refer to different swing dances. It can also be used as a verb to mean someone dancing to swing music. For example, "People were top-notch jitterbugging, jumping around, cutting loose and going crazy".
Various editions of Arthur Murray's "How To Become a Good Dancer" contain the following text. "There are hundreds of regional dances of the Jitterbug type", "A favorite with young New Yorkers is the Lindy Hop"(1947), "Whether it's called Swing, Lindy or Jitterbug.." (1954). "Formerly called Jitterbug, Lindy Hop and various other names in different parts of the country... Swing is the newer title"(1959)."
The term "jitterbug" comes from an early 20th century slang used to describe alcoholics who suffered from the "jitters" (delirium tremens). During the early 1900s, the term became associated with swing dancers who danced without any control or knowledge of the dance. This term was famously associated with swing era dancers by band leader Cab Calloway because, as he put it, "They look like a bunch of jitterbugs out there on the floor" due to their fast often bouncy movements on the dance floor. In popular culture it became generalized to mean a swing dancer (e.g., you were a jitterbug), a type of swing dance (e.g., you danced the jitterbug), or the act of swing dancing (e.g., you were jitterbugging).
Calloway’s 1935 recording of “Call of the Jitter Bug (Jitterbug) [1] and the film “Cab Calloway's Jitterbug Party” popularized use of the word “jitterbug”, and created a strong association between Calloway and jitterbug. Lyrics to "Call of the Jitter Jug" clearly demonstrate the association between the word jitterbug, and the consumption of alcohol. "If you'd like to be a jitter bug, First thing you must do is get a jug, Put whiskey, wine and gin within, And shake it all up and then begin. Grab a cup and start to toss, You are drinking jitter sauce! Don't you worry, you just mug, And then you'll be a jitter bug!"
Jitterbug was also done to early rock n roll. In 1957 the Philadelphia, PA based American Bandstand was picked up by the American Broadcasting Company and shown across the United States. Bandstand featured then currently popular songs, live appearances by musicians, and dancing in the studio. At this time the most popular fast dance was Jitterbug, which is described as “a frentic leftover of the swing era ballroom days that was only slightly less acrobatic than Lindy”.
World War II facilitated the spread of jitterbug to Europe. For instance, by May 1944 in preparation for D-Day, there were nearly 2 million American troops stationed throughout Britain. Time magazine reported that American troops stationed in France in 1945 jitterbugged. [2], and by 1946 jitterbug had become a craze in England. [3]
See also
