Brendan Eggers,June 26, 2015
By Brendan Eggers, Kevin Doyle, Victor Davidson, Stefanie Ewing
This is Part I of a three part 2022 pancocojams series about the line dance that is known as The Electric Slide, and some other names.
This post presents information about "The Electric Slide" line dance (also known as "The Candy dance" and other names.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/04/black-people-arent-werent-only-ones-who.html for Part II of this 2022 pancocojams series. Part II presents a compilation of selected YouTube discussion thread comments about people throughout the world dancing The Electric Slide.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/04/youtube-videos-of-electric-slide.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post showcases various YouTube videos of people throughout the world dancing The Electric Slide to Cameo's song "Candy".
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/selected-videos-of-electric-slide.html for Part II of this pancocojam seies entitled "Selected Videos Of The Electric Slide".
" 'The Electric (better known as The Electric Slide)' is a four wall line dance set to Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer's song "Electric Boogie".[1]
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Excerpt #2:
From https://www.essence.com/entertainment/the-best-man-changed-black-weddings-forever-thanks-to-one-song/ How the Electric Slide became the Black Lives Matter protest dance
This is a moment of movement: as people gather to push for
change, collective dancing has become activism in motion
"The protests sparked by the killing of George
Floyd have spread across the world and as many have said: this is not a moment,
it’s a movement. But it is also a moment of movement, as the protests have been
accompanied by outbreaks of dancing. A common sight on social media and light
news spots are the Electric Slide and the Cupid Shuffle, but you can also see
the Cha-cha Slide, Macarena, krumping and the haka dance
[…]
Right now, the people’s movement of
choice looks to be the Electric Slide. Why? Like the Cupid Shuffle and Cha-cha
Slide, it’s a four-wall line dance with a 90-degree turn between each repeat,
so you can keep it going for as long as it takes. The basic sequence –
sidesteps and step-touches – are simple, though the Cupid Shuffle is even
simpler. Once you have the steps, you can style the rest how you like.
The dance has a long pedigree, with black roots and widespread branches. The step sequence was first devised by Broadway dancer Ric Silver in 1976 to an upbeat reggae song by Bunny Wailer, Electric Boogie, a hit in Jamaica that went on to become a more mainstream US success for his compatriot Marcia Griffiths, in 1982 and 1989.
Interestingly, Silver tried very hard to authorise his original 22-step sequence (his birthday being 22 January, he was very attached to the number), but despite takedown notices and copyright claims, it’s an unauthorised 18-step version that took hold. You can see why the people’s version won out. After a regular 16 counts, those extra 2 to swivel are like a cute little touch, sending you a notch round the phrase; add in another 4 and you’ve lost the tickle.
In the 1990s, the sequence was styled for American line-dancing and became a genre staple. It got another big boost through the 1999 black romcom The Best Man, here danced to Cameo’s 1986 hit single Candy. It has become massively popular at parties and weddings, and is often called the Candy Dance.
And that’s the Electric Slide. Rooted in black culture, very widely known, accessible, adaptable, inclusive. Why not learn it? It could be fun, you can make it funky, but it won’t just be frivolous.”
****A VIDEO OF BLACK PEOPLE DOING THE ELECTRIC SLIDE TO MARCIA GRIFFIN'S RECORD "ELECTRIC BOOGIE"
Electric Slide At A Black Wedding Newport News, Rhode Island, USA
INFORMATION ABOUT CAMEO'S RECORD "CANDY"
In the US, "Candy" reached number twenty-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B charts in 1987 in the U.S.[1] "Candy" also made the Top 10 on the US Dance charts. It also reached the top 40 in the UK, peaking at number 27 on 30 November 1986."...
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE USE OF CAMEO'S SONG CANDY FOR THE ELECTRIC SLIDE LINE DANCE
From https://www.essence.com/entertainment/the-best-man-changed-black-weddings-forever-thanks-to-one-song/ ‘The Best Man’ Changed Black Weddings Forever Thanks To One
Song *
If You've Ever Been To A Black Wedding, Then You Understand The Sheer Hysteria That Occurs When The DJ Plays "Candy" By Cameo
"
But ever since The Best Man came out nearly 20 years
ago, the concept of the electric slide has changed forever. In case you’ve been
living under a rock, the film centers on a college clique, who reunite when two
of the friends — Mia and Lance, played by Monica Calhoun and Morris Chestnut
— decide to get married. History was
made on that fateful day at Mia and Lance’s wedding, which almost didn’t happen
thanks to the couple’s messy best man, played by Taye Diggs. In the film’s
final scene, one man knew what he was doing when he said, “I’m going to get it
going on, y’all.” And the rest was history! The entire wedding party was on the
floor electric sliding through the credits. But they weren’t two-stepping to
Marcia Griffiths’ and Bunny Wailer’s “Electric Boogie.” Instead, the iconic
dance was brought to life by Cameo’s “Candy.”
Though the original song will always remain in our hearts,
it’s safe to say that “Candy” is now the unofficial Black wedding jam for the
next generation. Because ever since that film, we’ve been electric sliding to
“Candy” on every dance floor from Harlem to Hollywood. But let’s give respect
where respect is due. The Electric Slide started with the song “Electric Boogie.”
Written and recorded by Wailer (of Bob Marley’s reggae group The Wailers) in
1976, the song first garnered attention when Griffiths, a member of Marley’s
famous backing group the I-Threes, covered it in 1982 and sent it to the top of
the Jamaican charts.
To this day, it remains the biggest selling record for a
female reggae singer ever. …. Thank you to The Best Man for giving us another
spin to a dance that will forever be ingrained in our culture. We salute you!”
-snip-
*This article includes photographs that aren't given in this reprint.
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This concludes Part I of this 2022 pancocojams series on The Electric Slide.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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