Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of the 1964 Soul record "Gouster" by the Five Du Tones.
This post also includes my attempt to transcribe the lyrics to "Gousters". Additions and corrections are very welcome.
The Addendum to this post includes information about Chicago Gousters.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to The Five Du Tones for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE The Five Du-Tones - The Gouster
loempiavretermusicUploaded on Sep 2, 2008
Northern Soul
-snip-
The Five Du Tones are best known as for their original recording of the song "Shake A Tail Feather". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Du-Tones to read a Wikipedia page of this group.
Here's a comment from another sound file of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1JJj_dnNs4
Jiji Solomon. 2011
"Well, here's a little history. The Gouster was a style that had a counterpart called the 'Ivy League'. Gousters wore loose clothes and word suspenders or knitted Banlon shirts. The pants had pleats and the girls wore skirts with pleats. The Ivy leaguers wore tight clothes. The pants were usually high water or above the ankle. The shirts were buttoned down. Shoes, penny loafers. I was a Gouster... when my mother let me choose my clothes. LOL"
****
LYRICS - THE GOUSTER
(recorded by The Five Du Tones)
Come on baby
Baby, it’s Gouster time.
Yeah
Come on baby,
Form a big boss line.
Try to do my ___ steps, baby
And keep in time.
Yeah!
Form a big boss line.
Keep in time.
One and ah two
And you know what to do.
This dance is something that you just got to do.
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Well, my sister, I got to get me one of them Gouster vines
Yeah, I just got to get me one of them Gouster vines.
So the next time I go on __ street
I can join that big boss line.
Well this dance it started
In Chicago on the Southside
Yes, this dance it started
In Chicago, baby, on the Southside
But before I leave, baby,
We gonna try to make it nationwide.
Yeah!
Form a big boss line.
[Come on baby!] The soloist interjects an exhortation after each line that group sings
Keep in time.
One and ah two
And you know what to do
This dance is something that you just got to do.
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Repeat this section with the soloist vamping
The group sings "Doo be doo doo be doo" throughout much of this song
-snip-
Transcription from the recording by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are very welcome.
Explanations of some of the terms and phrases
"Gouster"= pronounced "GAWS-ter" = Chicago African American fashion styles and way of acting/dancing. Some information about Gousters is found in the Addendums' quotes.
Gouster vines - clothes that the Gousters wear
"Form a big boss line" = form a really hip [horizontal] dance line
"Boss" = a 1960s African American vernacular term that meant something that is excellent, really hip, really cool. Another synonym is "out of sight", which is also no longer used.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT "GOUSTERS"
From http://eastchatham.blogspot.com/2013_05_01_archive.html "Remembering Chicago during the 1950-1965"
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
..."I then started to think about the way we used to dress. Another Chicago Only peculiarity. Ivy League or Gouster. I was a Gouster. I loved the freedom. I believe a Southside Gouster was neater than a Northside Gouster. Most kids I grew up with were Ivy League, wore the tight pants, buttoned down collar, shirt buttoned all the way up and a collegian hair cut, very short and lined.
Well, I was just thinking about the Chicago Gousters and thought that I would go on Google to see if I could find some. I went to images, put in 'Chicago Gousters' and came up with a barrage of images, but not one Gouster. Not ONE. Yes, they had images of Cooley High, North side wannabes, but Gousters were very neat and loved their pleats....
By the way, Gousters also had props. The hat, the cane, suspenders, sunglasses.
Sometimes a chain or rings.
A dead give away for a Gouster, male or female was another prop...the belt. You NEVER tied or fasted you belt that looped through your jacket. The loops were not on the sides but were mostly near the rear on the sides and you just put the belt through the loops and let it hang. This way, you can also show off your suspenders.
Gouster girls wore the hoop earrings and fluffy hair. If it were the 70s, she would be the one with the Afro, but instead she wore the curly hair, puffed up. She wore pleated skirt with suspenders that matched. If she really wanted to roll, she and her boyfriend, best friend, or brother would visit Cherry the Tailor in Woodlawan at 63rd and Cottage Grove and he would create a pattern on a Banlon shirt to go with the skirt and when you walked down the street together you were so cool.
Usually the Banlon shirt was worn without the jacket or cane. But, every once in a while you would see a brother with a cane with his Banlon if it matched a hat (known as a crown) he had on.
These days you can see the Gouster 'look' on Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac on his DVDs of the Bernie Mac show.
Here is a picture of some Gousters in the late 50s, early 60s: Notice that the pants hit the shoes. Ivy Leaguers' pants were a little above the ankle, tight as they were."...
****
From http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2012/02/lesser-known-youth-culture-chicago-gousters.html
"It seems that back in the late 1950s through to the mid- 1960s in Chicago there were two main fashions amongst African American high school pupils – you were either an Ivy Leaguer or you were a Gouster....
In addition to the look what was also important, especially when it came to impressing the ladies, was how a man could dance. Gousters had their own dances – the Gouster Bop, the Gouster Walk and the Dip. These dances have evolved over the years and their roots can still be seen today in the dance style known as Steppin. The Steppers Express website based in Chicago traces the evolution of modern Steppin back to the Gouster Bop and further still than that. The music Gousters danced to was not unusual but instead tended to be the hits of the day – it was the dancing (and impressing the girls) that was the priority."...
****
From http://www.steppershistory.org/personal-recollections.htm
The Gouster (A Personal recollection from Bopdaddy)
"The radio legend Herb Kent, the Kool Gent helped push the concept, of Gouster and Ivy Leaguer. The Gouster phenomenon was much like the Flappers of the 20's and the Zoot Suiters or Jitterbugs of the 30's & 40's. Herb's radio show helped broaden and gave essence to the pop culture that was created. Herb's weekend Sets, at the Catholic Schools, gave Gousters a platform to dance their Gousters Bop (a fast paced ten-step dance). Each week a true Gouster went thru the ritual of preparing for the Set. The Gousters baggy pants had to have a crease so sharp you could cut butter with 'em. The Gousters clean white shirt, worn with suspenders, were so heavily starched it could stand-up by itself. Some shirts were colorful and they had extra long collars and coordinated with their outfit. Sometimes, Gousters spent half the night spit-shinin' their shoes until they shined to a mirror finish. You could see the stars at night twiklin' in yo' shoe. The hats of the Gousters Stetson and Barcellino and waxed beavers, with the gangster cross folded in. But, the real trademark of the Gouster was his Barracuda trench coat (like a baggy, belted London Fog except it came in any color, even iridescent. Our signature songs were, "Lookin for a Love" by the Contours, "Dear Lady Twist" by Gary U.S. Bonds. Plus, the signature dance was the 47th St. Strut. Yet, the dance they developed was the Gousters Bop. There was a step that came from an unlikely source the county jail and they called it the Jailhouse Bop. (it is characterized by the swivelin of the heels). Today, it's movement are called Freestyle. Also, the Gouster Gals had their own dress code as well. The Gouster phenomenon lasted 1961 - 1967. It's foreal- Bopdaddy"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/reflections-on-history-meanings-of.html for other quoted descriptions of Gousters and another recollection/reflection essay from a Chicago Stepper.
Note that "Chicago Steppers" dances are different from syncopated, synchronized group movements that are known as "stepping" that originated with historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome
This post showcases a sound file of the 1964 Soul record "Gouster" by the Five Du Tones.
This post also includes my attempt to transcribe the lyrics to "Gousters". Additions and corrections are very welcome.
The Addendum to this post includes information about Chicago Gousters.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to The Five Du Tones for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE The Five Du-Tones - The Gouster
loempiavretermusicUploaded on Sep 2, 2008
Northern Soul
-snip-
The Five Du Tones are best known as for their original recording of the song "Shake A Tail Feather". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Du-Tones to read a Wikipedia page of this group.
Here's a comment from another sound file of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1JJj_dnNs4
Jiji Solomon. 2011
"Well, here's a little history. The Gouster was a style that had a counterpart called the 'Ivy League'. Gousters wore loose clothes and word suspenders or knitted Banlon shirts. The pants had pleats and the girls wore skirts with pleats. The Ivy leaguers wore tight clothes. The pants were usually high water or above the ankle. The shirts were buttoned down. Shoes, penny loafers. I was a Gouster... when my mother let me choose my clothes. LOL"
****
LYRICS - THE GOUSTER
(recorded by The Five Du Tones)
Come on baby
Baby, it’s Gouster time.
Yeah
Come on baby,
Form a big boss line.
Try to do my ___ steps, baby
And keep in time.
Yeah!
Form a big boss line.
Keep in time.
One and ah two
And you know what to do.
This dance is something that you just got to do.
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Well, my sister, I got to get me one of them Gouster vines
Yeah, I just got to get me one of them Gouster vines.
So the next time I go on __ street
I can join that big boss line.
Well this dance it started
In Chicago on the Southside
Yes, this dance it started
In Chicago, baby, on the Southside
But before I leave, baby,
We gonna try to make it nationwide.
Yeah!
Form a big boss line.
[Come on baby!] The soloist interjects an exhortation after each line that group sings
Keep in time.
One and ah two
And you know what to do
This dance is something that you just got to do.
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Oh yeah
Come on!
Repeat this section with the soloist vamping
The group sings "Doo be doo doo be doo" throughout much of this song
-snip-
Transcription from the recording by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are very welcome.
Explanations of some of the terms and phrases
"Gouster"= pronounced "GAWS-ter" = Chicago African American fashion styles and way of acting/dancing. Some information about Gousters is found in the Addendums' quotes.
Gouster vines - clothes that the Gousters wear
"Form a big boss line" = form a really hip [horizontal] dance line
"Boss" = a 1960s African American vernacular term that meant something that is excellent, really hip, really cool. Another synonym is "out of sight", which is also no longer used.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT "GOUSTERS"
From http://eastchatham.blogspot.com/2013_05_01_archive.html "Remembering Chicago during the 1950-1965"
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
..."I then started to think about the way we used to dress. Another Chicago Only peculiarity. Ivy League or Gouster. I was a Gouster. I loved the freedom. I believe a Southside Gouster was neater than a Northside Gouster. Most kids I grew up with were Ivy League, wore the tight pants, buttoned down collar, shirt buttoned all the way up and a collegian hair cut, very short and lined.
Well, I was just thinking about the Chicago Gousters and thought that I would go on Google to see if I could find some. I went to images, put in 'Chicago Gousters' and came up with a barrage of images, but not one Gouster. Not ONE. Yes, they had images of Cooley High, North side wannabes, but Gousters were very neat and loved their pleats....
By the way, Gousters also had props. The hat, the cane, suspenders, sunglasses.
Sometimes a chain or rings.
A dead give away for a Gouster, male or female was another prop...the belt. You NEVER tied or fasted you belt that looped through your jacket. The loops were not on the sides but were mostly near the rear on the sides and you just put the belt through the loops and let it hang. This way, you can also show off your suspenders.
Gouster girls wore the hoop earrings and fluffy hair. If it were the 70s, she would be the one with the Afro, but instead she wore the curly hair, puffed up. She wore pleated skirt with suspenders that matched. If she really wanted to roll, she and her boyfriend, best friend, or brother would visit Cherry the Tailor in Woodlawan at 63rd and Cottage Grove and he would create a pattern on a Banlon shirt to go with the skirt and when you walked down the street together you were so cool.
Usually the Banlon shirt was worn without the jacket or cane. But, every once in a while you would see a brother with a cane with his Banlon if it matched a hat (known as a crown) he had on.
These days you can see the Gouster 'look' on Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac on his DVDs of the Bernie Mac show.
Here is a picture of some Gousters in the late 50s, early 60s: Notice that the pants hit the shoes. Ivy Leaguers' pants were a little above the ankle, tight as they were."...
****
From http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2012/02/lesser-known-youth-culture-chicago-gousters.html
"It seems that back in the late 1950s through to the mid- 1960s in Chicago there were two main fashions amongst African American high school pupils – you were either an Ivy Leaguer or you were a Gouster....
In addition to the look what was also important, especially when it came to impressing the ladies, was how a man could dance. Gousters had their own dances – the Gouster Bop, the Gouster Walk and the Dip. These dances have evolved over the years and their roots can still be seen today in the dance style known as Steppin. The Steppers Express website based in Chicago traces the evolution of modern Steppin back to the Gouster Bop and further still than that. The music Gousters danced to was not unusual but instead tended to be the hits of the day – it was the dancing (and impressing the girls) that was the priority."...
****
From http://www.steppershistory.org/personal-recollections.htm
The Gouster (A Personal recollection from Bopdaddy)
"The radio legend Herb Kent, the Kool Gent helped push the concept, of Gouster and Ivy Leaguer. The Gouster phenomenon was much like the Flappers of the 20's and the Zoot Suiters or Jitterbugs of the 30's & 40's. Herb's radio show helped broaden and gave essence to the pop culture that was created. Herb's weekend Sets, at the Catholic Schools, gave Gousters a platform to dance their Gousters Bop (a fast paced ten-step dance). Each week a true Gouster went thru the ritual of preparing for the Set. The Gousters baggy pants had to have a crease so sharp you could cut butter with 'em. The Gousters clean white shirt, worn with suspenders, were so heavily starched it could stand-up by itself. Some shirts were colorful and they had extra long collars and coordinated with their outfit. Sometimes, Gousters spent half the night spit-shinin' their shoes until they shined to a mirror finish. You could see the stars at night twiklin' in yo' shoe. The hats of the Gousters Stetson and Barcellino and waxed beavers, with the gangster cross folded in. But, the real trademark of the Gouster was his Barracuda trench coat (like a baggy, belted London Fog except it came in any color, even iridescent. Our signature songs were, "Lookin for a Love" by the Contours, "Dear Lady Twist" by Gary U.S. Bonds. Plus, the signature dance was the 47th St. Strut. Yet, the dance they developed was the Gousters Bop. There was a step that came from an unlikely source the county jail and they called it the Jailhouse Bop. (it is characterized by the swivelin of the heels). Today, it's movement are called Freestyle. Also, the Gouster Gals had their own dress code as well. The Gouster phenomenon lasted 1961 - 1967. It's foreal- Bopdaddy"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/reflections-on-history-meanings-of.html for other quoted descriptions of Gousters and another recollection/reflection essay from a Chicago Stepper.
Note that "Chicago Steppers" dances are different from syncopated, synchronized group movements that are known as "stepping" that originated with historically Black Greek letter fraternities and sororities.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome
Here's an excerpt from a post about "Gousters" that offers a possibility about that word's etymology:
ReplyDeleteFrom http://languagehat.com/gouster/
"Listening to Chicago radio in the mid-1960s one could frequently hear ‘fox,’ ‘gouster,’ ‘feznecky,’ and ‘fern’ … Disc jockies, particularly Herb Kent, would invariably ask upon taking a call if the caller were a ‘gouster’ or an ‘ivy-leaguer’”).
I saw a snippet from Jamieson’s Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: “GOUSTER, s. A violent or unmanageable person, a swaggering fellow.”
I looked it up in the DSL and found “gouster II. n. 1. A wild, violent, blustering or swaggering person (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Sh., Ork. 1880 Ib.; Sh.10 rare, Ork., Kcb., Dmf. 1955); a stubborn, churlish person (w.Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 27; Kcb. 1929).”
So what are we to make of this? The words are formally identical and semantically very close indeed, but how might it have gotten from Scotland to the South Side of Chicago? Not impossible, certainly, but I’d like to see more steps of the journey before letting go of my usual presumption in favor of coincidence."
-snip-
I reformatted this quote to enhance its readability.