(Jazz Singer/Dancer) Mabel Lee - "Chicken Shack Shuffle" (1943) - (video & lyrics)

Steve, Nov 18, 2017

Mabel Lee (vo), acc. by unknown (p, g, b & dr)

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Edited  by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases Jazz singer and dancer Mabel Lee in the 1943 soundie "Chicken Shack Shuffle".

Some information about Mabel Lee is included in this post along with my unofficial transcription of the lyrics to "Chicken Shack Shuffle".

This post also includes some explanations of and/or information about certain words that are found in that song.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.  

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Mabel Lee for her cultural legacy. Thanks to all those who are also featured in this soundie and all those who were associated with that soundie, including the unknown composer/s of "Chicken Shake Shuffle". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.   

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INFORMATION ABOUT MABEL LEE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mable_Lee
"Mable Lee (August 2, 1921 – February 7, 2019), sometimes spelled Mabel Lee, was an American jazz tap dancer, singer, and entertainer. Lee appeared on Broadway, at the Apollo Theater, and was known as "Queen of the Soundies" due to her numerous performances in the films.

Biography

Born in Atlanta, Georgia to Rosella Moore and Alton Lee, Mable Lee was a child prodigy who began performing when she was 4 years old, at age 9 was performing in local clubs with a big band and as a 12-year-old was appearing at the Top Hat nightclub in Georgia. Neither of her parents were in show business, but they would sing and dance around the house. When she was in grade school, she asked her principal to use the assembly room to put on entertainment shows, putting up posters, and making programs. Lee also sang and danced for her teachers growing up—they were all aware of her talent from an early age.[2]

[...]

She moved to New York City with her mother in 1940 to pursue a career as a singer and dancer, and soon joined the chorus of the Apollo Theater in Harlem.”…

[...]

During World War II, she toured with the USO as a member of their first all-black unit. She traveled and did shows for the Navy, Air Force, and at different camps. She also performed for wounded veterans after the war in hospitals and did a show at Leavenworth.[2] She was known for her dancing in more than 100 soundies in the 1940s. Here she became known as “Queen of the Soundies.”[2]

Lee was featured on the cover of the March 1947 issue of Ebony.[4]

She came back from Europe in 1950 and moved back to Atlanta, where she met her husband (Tony Mansfield). She played theaters and nightclubs in Atlanta again, but this time she was doing her own act.[2] She also appeared on Broadway in multiple productions, including the 1952 revival of the musical Shuffle Along. She traveled to raise money for the show and was a part of raising between $500,000 and $600,000. The show only lasted three days, and all of that money went to nowhere.[2] She also danced in The Hoofers and Bubbling Brown Sugar.[5] She did choreography throughout her career including for the Soundies, though she did not receive credit for it.[2]"...

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LYRICS -CHICKEN SHACK SHUFFLE*

[as sung by Mabel Lee in her 1943 soundie with that title] 

Ah skipple and ah scufflin
Chicken Shack Shuffle
Up on Sugar Hill.
There’s a ripplin and ah rufflin
And a Chicken Shake Shuffle
You do it anyway you will.
 

You jump to the left
and you cross your legs
And you tip along
like you walkin on eggs

Do anything
But a pigeon wing
You can strut like a rooster
But you gotta swing

You gotta skipple and ah scuffle
Chicken Shack Shuffle
Up on Sugar Hill.
Chicken Shack Shuffle
Up on Sugar Hill
In Harlem
Up on Sugar Hill

Ah skipple and ah scufflin
Chicken Shack Shuffle
Chicken Shack Shuffle
Up on Sugar Hill

Ah ripple and a rufflin
Chicken Shack Shuffle
You can do it anyway you will

You jump to the left
And you cross your legs
Then you tip along
Like you walkin on eggs
You can do anything
but the Pigeon wing
You can strut like a rooster
But you gotta swing.

You can a ripple and ah rufflle
Chicken Shack shuffle
Up on Sugar Hill
In Harlem
Up on Sugar Hill
-snip-
Besides for YouTube videos of this soundie, I haven't found any linformation or iyrics for "Chicken Shack Shuffle" online. This is my speculative transcription of this song. The words that I'm not sure of are given in italics. Additions and corrections are very welcome. 

I'm intrigued by the similarities between some of the "Chicken Shack Shuffle" lyrics and some of the lyrics to the song "Ballin The Jack" which was first composed in 1913. Here's the portion of "Ballin The Jack" that I'm referring to: 

"First you put your two knees close up tight
Then, you sway it to the left and you sway it to the right
Step around the floor kind of nice and light
Then you twist around, you twist around with all of your might
Stretch your lovin' arms straight out in space
Then you do the Eagle Walk-a with-a style and grace
Swing your foot way 'round and bring it back
Now that's what I call Ballin' the Jack!"

Songwriters: Chris Smith / Luther Henderson / Henry James Burris
-end of quote-
It wouldn't be at all suprised if the unknown composer/s of "Chicken Shack Shuffle" based that song (and not the dance itself) on the Ballin The Jack" song.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/12/ballin-jack-jazz-dance-three-film-clips.html for a pancocojams post entitled ""Ballin' The Jack" Early 20th Century Jazz Dance (four film clips, information, & song lyrics)". (title change).

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EXPLANATIONS FOR SOME OF THE LYRICS IN THE SONG "CHICKEN SHACK SHUFFLE"

Chicken shack - [in the context of this song], an inexpensive establishment which sells fried chicken (as well as liquor and other items) and where people (primarily African Americans) go to dance and otherwise socialize.
  
**
Harlem
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem
"Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harlem area encompasses several other neighborhoods and extends west to the Hudson River, north to 155th Street, east to the East River, and south to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Central Park, and East 96th Street.

Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658,[4] it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem's history has been defined by a series of economic boom-and-bust cycles, with significant population shifts accompanying each cycle.[5] Harlem was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian Americans in the 19th century, but African-American residents began to arrive in large numbers during the Great Migration in the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, Central and West Harlem were the center of the Harlem Renaissance, a major African-American cultural movement."...

**
Pigeon WIng
from Lynne Fauley Emery's 1989 book Black Dance: From 1619 to Today (page 90) 
"The Pigeon Wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. References were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet, of Beaumont, Texas, remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4, a big dance would be held on their plantation. '...jus' a reg'lar old breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing de Corner, and some in de middle de floor cuttin' de chicken wing.

Fannie Henry described the Pigeon Wing as follows: "Dere was cuttin' de pigeon wings-dat was flippin' yo arms an' legs roun' an' holdin' ya' neck stiff like a bird do."

The Pigeon Wing and the Buck dance appear as authentic dances of the Negro on the plantation, much before they were picked up for the minstrel shows and billed as the "Buck and Wing"."...

**
Shuffle* 
From 
(dance) A dance move in which the foot is scuffed across the floor back and forth.
-snip-
*As I indicated earlier in this post, I'm not sure of my transcriptions of the words "skipple", shufflin, ripple, and ruffle. They may have been made up for this song. However,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_dance_technique#Steps_with_two_sounds  
includes the words "riffle, ripple, scuffle, and shuffle" as terms for certain types of movements in tap dancing.

**
Sugar Hill:
From https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/realestate/sugar-hill-rich-in-culture-and-affordable.html Sugar Hill, Rich in Culture, and Affordable

Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood, often considered part of Hamilton Heights, is almost entirely residential, and much of it falls within the rowhouse-laden historic districts. The neighborhood is on a bluff, here seen rising over Jackie Robinson Park.

 By Alison Gregor. April 8, 2015
"The section of Upper Manhattan known as Sugar Hill, poised on a bluff overlooking the Harlem Plain and distinguished by graceful rowhouses and elegant apartment buildings, achieved renown in the 1930s and 1940s, when it was home to prominent African-American professionals, political leaders, artists, musicians and writers. The song “Take the ‘A’ Train,” written by Billy Strayhorn and popularized by Duke Ellington, commemorated the neighborhood, where both lived. Nowadays, though, some newcomers say they had not heard the name Sugar Hill before they arrived..

[...]

Sugar Hill [was] likely named for the sweet life its affluent residents were thought to enjoy in its heyday.

[...] 

According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the rocky plateau that later became known as Sugar Hill was the setting for grand estates in the late 1700s and 1800s. By the mid-1890s, the area was home to white middle- and upper-middle-class residents, joined by immigrants from Italy, Ireland and Germany. In the early 1920s blacks began to move in, and Sugar Hill reached its prime as an African-American neighborhood in the 1940s. It began to decline in the 1950s, and many prominent black residents began moving to places like Riverside Drive or St. Albans, Queens.”…

**
Swing
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_music
"Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis of the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement. The danceable swing style of big bands and bandleaders such as Benny Goodman was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, known as the swing era. The verb "to swing" is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong groove or drive. Musicians of the swing era include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Harry James, Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and Django Reinhardt.

[…]

Hot swing music is strongly associated with the jitterbug dancing that became a national craze accompanying the swing craze. Swing dancing originated in the late 1920s as the "Lindy Hop," and would later incorporate other styles including The Suzie Q, Truckin', Peckin' Jive, The Big Apple, and The Shag in various combinations of moves. A subculture of jitterbuggers, sometimes growing quite competitive, congregated around ballrooms that featured hot swing music. A dance floor full of jitterbuggers had cinematic appeal; they were sometimes featured in newsreels and movies. Some of the top jitterbuggers gathered in professional dance troupes such as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (featured in A Day At the Races, Everybody Dance, and Hellzapoppin'). Swing dancing would outlive the swing era, becoming associated with R&B and early Rock&Roll."...
-snip-
Here's a definition for the word "soundies"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundies
"Soundies are three-minute American musical films, produced between 1940 and 1947, each displaying a song, dance, and/or band or orchestral number. Produced professionally on 35 mm black-and-white film, like theatrical motion pictures, they were printed on the more portable and economical 16 mm film.

The films were shown in a coin-operated "movie jukebox" named the Panoram, manufactured by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago. Each Panoram housed a 16 mm RCA film projector, with eight Soundies films threaded in an endless-loop arrangement. A system of mirrors flashed the image from the lower half of the cabinet onto a front-facing screen in the top half. Each film cost 10 cents to play, with no choice of song; the patron saw whatever film was next in the queue. Panorams could be found in public amusement centers, nightclubs, taverns, restaurants, and factory lounges, and the films were changed weekly. The completed Soundies were generally made available within a few weeks of their filming, by the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America.

Several production companies filmed the Soundies shorts in New York City, Hollywood, and Chicago: James Roosevelt's Globe Productions (1940–41), Cinemasters (1940–41), Minoco Productions (owned by Mills Novelty, 1941–43),[1][2] RCM Productions (1941–46), LOL Productions (1943), Glamourettes (1943), Filmcraft Productions (1943–46), and Alexander Productions (1946) led by William D. Alexander).[3] The performers recorded the music in advance, and mimed to the soundtrack during filming."...

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Pancocojams Reprint: "The Breakdown" & "The Breakaway" (Information About Two 19th Century African American Originated Dances)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the 19th century & early 20th century African American "Breakdown" dances and the 1920s African American originated "Breakaway" dance moves.

This post also includes a YouTube film clip that alleges to be a performance of a "breakdown" or "pseudo-"breakdown". A film clip of an early "breakaway" dance moves is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these film clips and thanks to the publishers of those film clips on YouTube.
-snip-
This pancocojams post was originally published in 2017. There are no comments in that post's discussion thread.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/what-breakdowns-mean-in-context-of-19th.html for a 2017 pancocojams post & comments about the meanings of the term "breakdowns" in the context of 19th century and early 20th century Old Time Music/Fiddle Music American music. That 2017 pancocojams post has 11 comments.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-few-hip-hop-examples-of-what-break-it.html for a 2017 post entitled "What "Break It Down" & "Break It On Down" Mean In 20th & 21st Cultures (including Hip Hop cultures)". There are no comments in that post's discussion thread.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN (DANCE) IN THE UNITED STATES
Excerpt #1 [various quotes]
From Black Dance From 1619 to Today (2nd revised edition) by Lynne Fauley Emery (Princeton Book Company, 1988, originally published in 1972) [given without foot notes numbers or citations]

page 90 [quote added Feb.26. 2017]
"Pigeon wing

The pigeon wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. Reference were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet of Beaumont, Texas remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4 a big dance would be held on their plantation

".... Just a reg'lar breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing De Corner and some in de middle de floor cuttin de chicken wing."...

-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-pigeon-wing-buck-wing-and-buck.html. for a longer version of this quote, and for one pancocojams post on "The Pigeon Wing, The Buck & Wing, and Buck Dancing"

**
page 139
"While the Breakdowns, the Cake-Walk, fiddle playing, and patting Juba were taking place on the plantations there were Afro-American dances in other places as well."
-snip-
Notice the plural for the word "Breakdown", which indicates that there were different types of dances that were referred to as "Breakdowns".

**
pages 186, 188
"On July 1, 1848, the (Illustrated London) News stated that "The most brilliant assemblage of rank and fashion have honoured the Gardens to witness the unparalleled PERFORMANCES of JUBA, immortalised by Boz in his American Notes...

Boz's description" was, of course, that of Charles Dickens in his book, American Notes, written shortly after his visit to the United States in 1842. While Dickens did not name the young Negro dancer he saw at Five Points in New York city, his description closely resembles later observations of Juba's dancing and is therefore included here. Dickens advised his readers that the dance he saw was a regular Breakdown, which began with five or six couples moving onto the floor and

....marshalled by a lively young negro, who is the wit of the assembly, and the greatest dancer ever known.

But the dance commences. Every gentleman sets as long as he likes to the opposite lady, and the opposite lady to him, and all are so long about it that the sport begins to languish, when suddenly the lively hero dashes in to the rescue. Instantly the fiddler grins, and goes at it tooth and nail: there is new energy in the tambourine...Single shuffle, double shuffle, cut and crisscut: snapping his fingers, rolling his eyes, turning in his knees, presenting the backs of his legs in front, spinning about on his toes and heels like nothing but the man's fingers on the tambourines; dancing with two left legs, two right legs, two wooden legs, two wire legs, two spring legs-all sorts of legs and no legs-what is this to him? And in what walk of life, or dance of life, does man ever get such stimulating applause as thunders about him, when having danced his partner off her feet, and himself too, he finishes by leaping gloriously on the bar counter, and calling for something to drink."...

-snip-
Notice that this description indicates that the male dancer (probably the famous dancer called "Juba") was dancing with a female partner.

On page 188, the same critic writing in that London newspaper mentions the "Virginny Breakdown".

**
page 192, 193
"Part One in the traditional minstrel show always ended with a dance, called the Walk-Around, done by the entire cast. Sometimes this was repeated as the finale of Part Three also. Discussing the Walk-Around, Nathan said in 1943 that this dance was still well remembered-borrowed from and modelled after the dances of the present day."

The Walk-Around was mentioned usually in connection with the Breakdown or old fashioned Hoe-Down. The Walk Around was derived from the Ring-Shout and the Breakdown from the old challenge dances such as the Juba....

Charles Sherlock described the format of the Walk-Around and continued with a description of a Breakdown which sounds similar to that of the Juba.

The walk-around was always made the finale of the first part, and was usually repeated at the end of the show as a spectacle on which to drip the curtain. It was intended to be written in march-time, and to its spirited strains the whole company would circumnavigate the stage, in a dance-step that was little more than a jerky elevation of the legs below the knees, much like the "buck and wing" dances of the present day. It was as long ago as this-the walk-around being in highest state with the Bryant's Minstrels in the sixties- that the spatting of dance-time with the outspread palms on the knees was invented. To this manual accompaniment the breakdowns were often done. Cleverly executed, this tattoo will set the saltatorial nerves in motion as quickly as the catchiest tune."

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Excerpt #2:
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkdwn.htm
"The Breakdown
The Break-Down was an African-American Slave dance that was popular around the Reconstruction-era of the 1880-90's. There are different versions of the breakdown and variations from one era to the next such as the Birmingham and Cincinnati breakdowns. The Breakdown was later mixed with other dances such as tap, Jazz and Swing dances. The dance has its roots in the Hornpipes, jigs, Strathspeys, and reels, Hoe-downs, Clogs etc.

In the Notebook "Jig, Clog and Breakdown Made Easy" by Wm. F. Bacon he states the "Plantation breakdown" as thus:
1st Breakdown STEP: "Jump on both feet crossed, then throw right foot as high as possible, at the same time hop on the left foot, (2 motions). Repeat it, leaving the right foot up in front. Then hop on left foot, bring the right down, tap it and carry it behind. Hop on left foot, (3 motions). Then make five taps quick, commencing with the right foot, which is crossed behind the left. This is the first part of the Breakdown step, and is repeated on the other foot, reversed. Then done again same as first time. Then make a Cross and five taps quick, moving forward and commencing with the right foot.

2nd Breakdown STEP: Shuffle right foot, hop on left, carry right foot behind and tap it firm (3 motions). Then hop on right foot, lift up left high and bring it down solid, (2 motions). Repeat it. Then hop on both feet together, jump up and strike the ankles together, bringing down the left foot first, then the right solid. Tap left foot, then spring, bringing the right foot down first, then the left. Then repeat all, commencing on the other foot, and reversing everything.

3rd Breakdown STEP: Tap left foot. Tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot. Tap right, carrying it behind, hop on left foot, tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot (7 motions). Shuffle right, hop on left, tap right, carrying behind.

Hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right. Now repeat the whole, commencing on the other foot and reversing it. Then do it again same as first time, make a cross and three very firm taps, commencing with the right foot, with the feet wide apart.

The following Breakdown steps are to be done all together directly after the third step:-- Do the cross four times, reversing it each time, then bring the toes together with heels apart (1 motion). Then turn the left toe out, and at the same time carry the right far behind and across the left foot (2d motion). Then repeat it 3 or 7 times (reversing it each time), at the option of the performer. Tap left foot, shuffle right, tap right, tap left, slide back slightly on both feet (5 motions). Then repeat it a number of times, optional with the performer. Turn around on left foot, describing a circle with the right foot. Tap right, tap left, shuffle right.

Tap right foot, tap left. Then loop on left foot, at the same time slide the right in front and across the left foot. Then repeat it, commencing with the right foot, and reversing it all through. Then retire, jumping on both feet, with cap in hand, or any way that may suggest itself" (end notebook).

Basic Step for: The "Cincinnati Breakdown" (9/1927- Dance Magazine.) ...
Feet apart, Hop up and come down with one knee bent. Come up with short jerks. It is optional as to whether one or both knees are bent on coming down. This can be mixed with other movement to lengthen the dance.

Basic Step for: The "Down East Breakdown" (Music: Clog Dance.) ... Form as for Spanish Dance, except two couples face each other up and down the room. Eight hands round, all right and left--ladies chain--all forward and back, forward again and pass onto next couples (every other couple raise their hands while the others stoop and pass through then turn around at each end of the set."

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Excerpt #3
From http://www.dictionary.com/browse/break-dancing

[Added Feb. 26, 2017; italics added to highlight that sentence]

"Word Origin and History for break dancing
n.
1982, but the style itself evolved late 1970s in South Bronx. The reference is to the rhythmic break in a pop-dance song (see break (n.)), which the DJs isolated and the dancers performed to. Breakdown "a riotous dance, in the style of the negroes" is recorded from 1864".

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Vintage Breakdown / Buck dance (Pickaninnys Edison 1903)



Sonny Watson Uploaded on Feb 22, 2013

an old Edison video short of three dancers doing a kinda pseudo Breakdown / Buck dance.
-snip-
The term "pickaninnys" is a referent for Black children and - in the case of this YouTube video-a referent for Black people in general. In both cases, I consider that word to be offensive whether intentionally or not.

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BREAKAWAY DANCE STEP
From https://prezi.com/3sjohe1aepzz/history-of-dance/ History of Dance by Mary Caldarella on 21 December 2012 1
"The Breakaway dance originated in the mid to late 1920s in Harlem by primarily African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz and developed from the Texas Tommy and the Charleston. This style of dance got its name because while dancing you literally must break away from your partner and improvise your own dance moves."
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-texas-tommy-early-20th-century.html for a pancocojams post on the Texas Tommy.

****
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkawy.htm
"The Break-A-Way ... (a Swing Dance) was originally a syncopated Two-step. The dancing couple would split or "breakaway" from each other still holding hands (open position) and perform a solo impromptu of the same rhythm/beat of the music and come back together again (closed position). The Break-Away was the name of swing before being named the Lindy Hop by Shorty George in 1927. The Breakaway was a cross between the "Texas Tommy, Two-step, Apache Dance, Turkey Trot, Cakewalk and Grizzly Bear.

Prior dances, with the exception of the Apache and Texas Tommy did not have sections that you "Broke-away" from your partner (or Danced in open position), they mainly danced in closed position...

The Break-Away was only danced by African-Americans at the time. Whites were just starting to find entertainment in Harlem and were not very fond of "Race Music" (the blues), they just were not quite ready to dance those "Negro Dances" of those (unfortunate) racially segregated times. It was mainly danced to slow to medium Ragtime music and Blues. Shorty George Snowden was the "King" of the Break-A-Way in the mid 1920's.

When the Charleston became popular in the 1920's, the Breakaway and Charleston merged, as Harlem grew, it to grew. The "Break-A-Way" was now ready to be called the "Lindy Hop" but would take a Newspaper, a Dance Contest (marathon dance actually,) a man named "Shorty George" Snowden and the "Savoy Ballroom" to do so in 1927/28.The Breakaway quickly lost a lot of the Turkey Trot and Grizzly bear, however the Texas Tommy, Charleston, Cakewalk and Apache remain in the Lindy Hop to this day!. The breakaway as a dance is no longer done today however. The Landler Dance of the 1720's also used a breakaway/ freestyle basic as a variation to the dance, it was almost described as a "solo Jam", done by the man.

Spellings used are Breakaway (most common), Break-away, Break-A-Way"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Legend Shorty George Snowden dances the Charleston & Breakaway in After Seben (1929)



JazzMAD London, Published on Jan 20, 2016

Learn to dance like this with JazzMAD, the authentic swing and jazz dance academy in North London. Sign up for workshops and courses at:
www.jazzmad.co.uk

In this clip: George Snowden aka Shorty George, and his dancers from the Savoy Ballroom (Harlem, New York), dance in a faux contest to music by Chick Webb And His Orchestra, in the 1929 film "After Seben." The announcer, James Barton, also dances in an eccentric style.

George Snowden is the third leader to dance, the couple is announced as "Shorty Stumps & Liza Underdunk". No resources seem to list the real name of his partner. I'm always troubled by the way swing dance history remembers leaders and forgets followers. From my research, I believe this is Mattie Purnell, Shorty's partner during this period. There are references to George & Mattie being "the smallest pair on the floor", and Liza Underdunk certainly matches that description in this clip. Please comment if you have information otherwise!

This clip represents a transitional moment in the history of partnered jazz dancing. You can see each couple dancing the Charleston on its way in evolution to the Lindy Hop, with what we call the "Breakaway" in between (being the moment the dancers begin to break away from closed position, to Lindy Hop's signature open position). These are early "swingouts".

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"The Breakdown" & "The Breakaway" (Information About Two 19th Century African American Originated Dances)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the 19th century & early 20th century African American "Breakdown" dances and the 1920s African American originated "Breakaway" dance moves.

This post also includes a YouTube film clip that alleges to be a performance of a "breakdown" or "pseudo-"breakdown". A film clip of an early "breakaway" dance moves is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these film clips and thanks to the publishers of those film clips on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/what-breakdowns-mean-in-context-of-19th.html for a 2017 pancocojams post & comments about the meanings of the term "breakdowns" in the context of 19th century and early 20th century Old Time Music/Fiddle Music American music.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/02/a-few-hip-hop-examples-of-what-break-it.html for a 2017 post entitled "What "Break It Down" & "Break It On Down" Mean In 20th & 21st Cultures (including Hip Hop cultures)"

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN (DANCE) IN THE UNITED STATES
Excerpt #1
From Black Dance From 1619 to Today (2nd revised edition) by Lynne Fauley Emery (Princeton Book Company, 1988, originally published in 1972) [given without foot notes numbers or citations]

page 90 [quote added Feb.26. 2017]
"Pigeon wing

The pigeon wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. Reference were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet of Beaumont, Texas remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4 a big dance would be held on their plantation

".... Just a reg'lar breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing De Corner and some in de middle de floor cuttin de chicken wing."...

"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-pigeon-wing-buck-wing-and-buck.html. for a longer version of this quote, and for one pancocojams post on "The Pigeon Wing, The Buck & Wing, and Buck Dancing"

**
page 139
"While the Breakdowns, the Cake-Walk, fiddle playing, and patting Juba were taking place on the plantations there were Afro-American dances in other places as well."
-snip-
Notice the plural for the word "Breakdown", which indicates that there were different types of dances that were referred to as "Breakdowns".

**
pages 186, 188
"On July 1, 1848, the (Illustrated London) News stated that "The most brilliant assemblage of rank and fashion have honoured the Gardens to witness the unparalleled PERFORMANCES of JUBA, immortalised by Boz in his American Notes...

Boz's description" was, of course, that of Charles Dickens in his book, American Notes, written shortly after his visit to the United States in 1842. While Dickens did not name the young Negro dancer he saw at Five Points in New York city, his description closely resembles later observations of Juba's dancing and is therefore included here. Dickens advised his readers that the dance he saw was a regular Breakdown, which began with five or six couples moving onto the floor and

....marshalled by a lively young negro, who is the wit of the assembly, and the greatest dancer ever known.

But the dance commences. Every gentleman sets as long as he likes to the opposite lady, and the opposite lady to him, and all are so long about it that the sport begins to languish, when suddenly the lively hero dashes in to the rescue. Instantly the fiddler grins, and goes at it tooth and nail: there is new energy in the tambourine...Single shuffle, double shuffle, cut and crisscut: snapping his fingers, rolling his eyes, turning in his knees, presenting the backs of his legs in front, spinning about on his toes and heels like nothing but the man's fingers on the tambourines; dancing with two left legs, two right legs, two wooden legs, two wire legs, two spring legs-all sorts of legs and no legs-what is this to him? And in what walk of life, or dance of life, does man ever get such stimulating applause as thunders about him, when having danced his partner off her feet, and himself too, he finishes by leaping gloriously on the bar counter, and calling for something to drink."...

-snip-
Notice that this description indicates that the male dancer (probably the famous dancer called "Juba") was dancing with a female partner.

On page 188, the same critic writing in that London newspaper mentions the "Virginny Breakdown".

**
page 192, 193
"Part One in the traditional minstrel show always ended with a dance, called the Walk-Around, done by the entire cast. Sometimes this was repeated as the finale of Part Three also. Discussing the Walk=Around, Nathan said in 1943 that this dance was still well remembered-borrowed from and modelled after the dances of the present day."

The Walk-Around was mentioned usually in connection with the Breakdown or old fashioned Hoe-Down. The Walk Around was derived from the Ring-Shout and the Breakdown from the old challenge dances such as the Juba....

Charles Sherlock described the format of the Walk-Around and continued with a description of a Breakdown which sounds similar to that of the Juba.

The walk-around was always made the finale of the first part, and was usually repeated at the end of the show as a spectacle on which to drip the curtain. It was intended to be written in march-time, and to its spirited strains the whole company would circumnavigate the stage, in a dance-step that was little more than a jerky elevation of the legs below the knees, much like the "buck and wing" dances of the present day. It was as long ago as this-the walk-around being in highest state with the Bryant's Minstrels in the sixties- that the spatting of dance-time with the outspread palms on the knees was invented. To this manual accompaniment the breakdowns were often done. Cleverly executed, this tattoo will set the saltatorial nerves in motion as quickly as the catchiest tune."

****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkdwn.htm
"The Breakdown
The Break-Down was an African-American Slave dance that was popular around the Reconstruction-era of the 1880-90's. There are different versions of the breakdown and variations from one era to the next such as the Birmingham and Cincinnati breakdowns. The Breakdown was later mixed with other dances such as tap, Jazz and Swing dances. The dance has its roots in the Hornpipes, jigs, Strathspeys, and reels, Hoe-downs, Clogs etc.

In the Notebook "Jig, Clog and Breakdown Made Easy" by Wm. F. Bacon he states the "Plantation breakdown" as thus:
1st Breakdown STEP: "Jump on both feet crossed, then throw right foot as high as possible, at the same time hop on the left foot, (2 motions). Repeat it, leaving the right foot up in front. Then hop on left foot, bring the right down, tap it and carry it behind. Hop on left foot, (3 motions). Then make five taps quick, commencing with the right foot, which is crossed behind the left. This is the first part of the Breakdown step, and is repeated on the other foot, reversed. Then done again same as first time. Then make a Cross and five taps quick, moving forward and commencing with the right foot.

2nd Breakdown STEP: Shuffle right foot, hop on left, carry right foot behind and tap it firm (3 motions). Then hop on right foot, lift up left high and bring it down solid, (2 motions). Repeat it. Then hop on both feet together, jump up and strike the ankles together, bringing down the left foot first, then the right solid. Tap left foot, then spring, bringing the right foot down first, then the left. Then repeat all, commencing on the other foot, and reversing everything.

3rd Breakdown STEP: Tap left foot. Tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot. Tap right, carrying it behind, hop on left foot, tap right, carrying it high in front, hop on left foot (7 motions). Shuffle right, hop on left, tap right, carrying behind.

Hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right, hop on left, tap right. Now repeat the whole, commencing on the other foot and reversing it. Then do it again same as first time, make a cross and three very firm taps, commencing with the right foot, with the feet wide apart.

The following Breakdown steps are to be done all together directly after the third step:-- Do the cross four times, reversing it each time, then bring the toes together with heels apart (1 motion). Then turn the left toe out, and at the same time carry the right far behind and across the left foot (2d motion). Then repeat it 3 or 7 times (reversing it each time), at the option of the performer. Tap left foot, shuffle right, tap right, tap left, slide back slightly on both feet (5 motions). Then repeat it a number of times, optional with the performer. Turn around on left foot, describing a circle with the right foot. Tap right, tap left, shuffle right.

Tap right foot, tap left. Then loop on left foot, at the same time slide the right in front and across the left foot. Then repeat it, commencing with the right foot, and reversing it all through. Then retire, jumping on both feet, with cap in hand, or any way that may suggest itself" (end notebook).

Basic Step for: The "Cincinnati Breakdown" (9/1927- Dance Magazine.) ...
Feet apart, Hop up and come down with one knee bent. Come up with short jerks. It is optional as to whether one or both knees are bent on coming down. This can be mixed with other movement to lengthen the dance.

Basic Step for: The "Down East Breakdown" (Music: Clog Dance.) ... Form as for Spanish Dance, except two couples face each other up and down the room. Eight hands round, all right and left--ladies chain--all forward and back, forward again and pass onto next couples (every other couple raise their hands while the others stoop and pass through then turn around at each end of the set."

****
Excerpt #3
From http://www.dictionary.com/browse/break-dancing

[Added Feb. 26, 2017; italics added to highlight that sentence]

"Word Origin and History for break dancing
n.
1982, but the style itself evolved late 1970s in South Bronx. The reference is to the rhythmic break in a pop-dance song (see break (n.)), which the DJs isolated and the dancers performed to. Breakdown "a riotous dance, in the style of the negroes" is recorded from 1864".

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Vintage Breakdown / Buck dance (Pickaninnys Edison 1903)



Sonny Watson Uploaded on Feb 22, 2013

an old Edison video short of three dancers doing a kinda pseudo Breakdown / Buck dance.
-snip-
The term "pickaninnys" is a referent for Black children and - in the case of this YouTube video-a referent for Black people in general. In both cases, I consider that word to be offensive whether intentionally or not.

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BREAKAWAY DANCE STEP
From https://prezi.com/3sjohe1aepzz/history-of-dance/ History of Dance by Mary Caldarella on 21 December 2012 1
"The Breakaway dance originated in the mid to late 1920s in Harlem by primarily African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz and developed from the Texas Tommy and the Charleston. This style of dance got its name because while dancing you literally must break away from your partner and improvise your own dance moves."
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-texas-tommy-early-20th-century.html for a pancocojams post on the Texas Tommy.

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From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3brkawy.htm
"The Break-A-Way ... (a Swing Dance) was originally a syncopated Two-step. The dancing couple would split or "breakaway" from each other still holding hands (open position) and perform a solo impromptu of the same rhythm/beat of the music and come back together again (closed position). The Break-Away was the name of swing before being named the Lindy Hop by Shorty George in 1927. The Breakaway was a cross between the "Texas Tommy, Two-step, Apache Dance, Turkey Trot, Cakewalk and Grizzly Bear.

Prior dances, with the exception of the Apache and Texas Tommy did not have sections that you "Broke-away" from your partner (or Danced in open position), they mainly danced in closed position...

The Break-Away was only danced by African-Americans at the time. Whites were just starting to find entertainment in Harlem and were not very fond of "Race Music" (the blues), they just were not quite ready to dance those "Negro Dances" of those (unfortunate) racially segregated times. It was mainly danced to slow to medium Ragtime music and Blues. Shorty George Snowden was the "King" of the Break-A-Way in the mid 1920's.

When the Charleston became popular in the 1920's, the Breakaway and Charleston merged, as Harlem grew, it to grew. The "Break-A-Way" was now ready to be called the "Lindy Hop" but would take a Newspaper, a Dance Contest (marathon dance actually,) a man named "Shorty George" Snowden and the "Savoy Ballroom" to do so in 1927/28.The Breakaway quickly lost a lot of the Turkey Trot and Grizzly bear, however the Texas Tommy, Charleston, Cakewalk and Apache remain in the Lindy Hop to this day!. The breakaway as a dance is no longer done today however. The Landler Dance of the 1720's also used a breakaway/ freestyle basic as a variation to the dance, it was almost described as a "solo Jam", done by the man.

Spellings used are Breakaway (most common), Break-away, Break-A-Way"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Legend Shorty George Snowden dances the Charleston & Breakaway in After Seben (1929)



JazzMAD London, Published on Jan 20, 2016

Learn to dance like this with JazzMAD, the authentic swing and jazz dance academy in North London. Sign up for workshops and courses at:
www.jazzmad.co.uk

In this clip: George Snowden aka Shorty George, and his dancers from the Savoy Ballroom (Harlem, New York), dance in a faux contest to music by Chick Webb And His Orchestra, in the 1929 film "After Seben." The announcer, James Barton, also dances in an eccentric style.

George Snowden is the third leader to dance, the couple is announced as "Shorty Stumps & Liza Underdunk". No resources seem to list the real name of his partner. I'm always troubled by the way swing dance history remembers leaders and forgets followers. From my research, I believe this is Mattie Purnell, Shorty's partner during this period. There are references to George & Mattie being "the smallest pair on the floor", and Liza Underdunk certainly matches that description in this clip. Please comment if you have information otherwise!

This clip represents a transitional moment in the history of partnered jazz dancing. You can see each couple dancing the Charleston on its way in evolution to the Lindy Hop, with what we call the "Breakaway" in between (being the moment the dancers begin to break away from closed position, to Lindy Hop's signature open position). These are early "swingouts".

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"Strut Miss Lizzie" (information, lyrics, & sound files)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision -April 25, 2023

This pancocojams post provides lyrics and two sound files of the 1920* Ragtime song "Strut Miss Lizzie".

Information about the composer and lyricist of this song are also included in this post, along with information about the vocalist for the first rendition of that song that is presented in this post.

This post also includes definitions for the words "strut", "swagger", and "prance".
[Added 4/7/2015] My explanations of certain other words and phrases in this song are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Henry Creamer and Turner Layton for their musicial legacy. Thanks also to all the vocalists and musicians who are featured in these examples. And thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube and all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
* https://secondhandsongs.com/work/141064/all provides this information along with a list of other recordings of "Strut Miss Lizzie":
"Original Dixieland Jazz Band

First recording [of "Strut Miss Lizzie" was] by Original Dixieland Jazz Band (December 30, 1920)"
-snip-
This post serves as a companion to the following pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/04/soulful-struts-definition-examples-of.html "Soulful Struts (Definition & Examples Of Strutting)"

The African American playground singing game "Strut Miss Lucy" (also known as "Strut Miss Suzie" and "This a Way Valerie") was undoubtedly inspired by the Ragtime song "Strut Miss Lizzie". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/04/this-way-valerie-strut-miss-lucy-strut.html for a pancocojams post on those playground games.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE LYRICIST & THE COMPOSER OF "STRUT MISS LUCY"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Creamer
"Henry Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborating with Turner Layton, with whom he also appeared in vaudeville.

Henry Creamer was a singer, dancer, songwriter and stage producer/director.[1][2] He first performed on the vaudeville circuit in the U.S. and in Europe as a duo with pianist Turner Layton, with whom he also co-wrote songs...

Also in 1926, Creamer and James P. Johnson wrote Alabama Stomp. In 1930 they achieved another hit with If I Could Be with You which was recorded by Ruth Etting. The song also became the theme song for McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and was also a hit for Louis Armstrong (Okeh 41448).[6]
Creamer was a co-founder with James Reese Europe of the Clef Club, an important early African American musicians and entertainers organization in New York City."...

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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Layton
"Turner Layton (July 2, 1894 – February 6, 1978), born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an African American songwriter, singer and pianist. Born in Washington, D.C., in 1894, he was the son of John Turner Layton, "a bass singer, music educator and hymn composer."[1] After receiving a musical education from his father, he attended the Howard University Dental School, later coming to New York City in the early 1900s, where he met future songwriting partner, lyricist Henry Creamer. He is best known for his many compositions with Creamer, the best known of which is the standard "After You've Gone", which was written in 1918 and first popularized by Sophie Tucker. The two contributed music and lyrics to many Broadway shows, including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917, 1921 and 1922, Three Showers (1920), Some Party (1922) and Creamer's own Strut Miss Lizzie (1922).[1]"...

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LYRICS - STRUT MISS LIZZIE
(Henry Creamer, Turner Layton)

At the barber's ball in the barber's hall
All the dusky belles were there
Such a glancing, prancing, strutting and dancing
They were doing for fair
All the belles and beaus prancing on their toes
Tried to do the cake walk swell
When a midnight blonde came prancing on
They were heard to yell

Won't you strut miss Lizzie
Get busy, I want to see you walk
For the folks all state the way you syncopate
Is the whole town talk
When you move so pretty it's a pity
The other girlies frown, but the men you meet
Like the way you shake your feet
Oh you knock 'em dizzy
Strut miss Lizzie Brown

They were stepping sweet they were stepping neat
They were stepping super fine
To the singing, swinging, fancy pigeon winging
They were falling in line
Every dame and dude struck at attitude
For to win that cake they tried
But when Lizzie Brown came prancing round
Everybody cried

Won't you strut miss Lizzie
Get busy, I want to see you walk
For the folks all state the way you syncopate
Is the whole town talk
When you move so pretty it's a pity
The other girlies frown, but the men you meet
Like the way you shake your feet
Oh you knock 'em dizzy
Strut miss Lizzie Brown

(I'll bet you've got the cutest little strut in town)

Source: http://www.lyricsvault.net/php/artist.php?s=44430#axzz3WYaNc1hB
-snip-
These are the lyrics that are found on the sheet music for this song that is displayed on the "In Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana [University] website.

Additional lyrics for an adapted form of that song that was recorded by Irving Mills & his Hotsy Totsy Gang from June of 1930 are the chorus as given above nd these words:
Go down the street, by the school,
Pack your feet you struttin' fool!
Strut your stuff by the kirk.
Trot your tootsies by the church!

Through the alley, dodge the cans,
Shake Miss Ellie's pots and pans.
Cool your dog, we're comin' through,
Except for Lennox Avenue!

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WHAT "STRUT" MEANS
From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strut+one's+stuff
..."Strut implies swelling pride or pompousness; to strut is to walk with a stiff, pompous, seemingly affected or self-conscious gait: A turkey struts about the barnyard."

From https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/strut_1

to walk in an especially confident and proud way

strut around: Phyllis struts around like she owns the place.

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WHAT "SWAGGER" MEANS
From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Swagger
"to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air."

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WHAT "PRANCE" MEANS
From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/prance
"3. To step in a lively and showy manner"...

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MY EXPLANATIONS OF CERTAIN OTHER WORDS & PHRASES IN THIS SONG [Added April 7, 2015]
"ball" = dance

hall = building

"dusky belles" = Black beautiful ladies [beautiful women of any African descent]

"They were doing for fair" = probably a common African American saying for "They were pretty good" [in this context] at dancing. [Note that this is my guess. I've never heard this phrase or read it outside of this song.]

"Tried to do the cake walk swell" = tried to do the cake walk very well - The cakewalk is a 19th century African American originated dance in which couples strut in imitation of formal European dances. The couple who is judged to be the best calk walkers wins a cake as their prize.

"When a midnight blonde" - a light skinned black beauty (formerly known as "yellow", and/or "high yellow". [Note that this is my guess. I've never heard "midnight blonde" used before and never read that phrase outside of this song. Also note that "yellow" and "high yellow" haven't been used as referents for African Americans since at least the 1950s.]

"syncopate" - dance to the music's rhythm and beat

"knock 'em dizzy" - make them lightheaded and excited with admiration

"struck an attitude" -held their body and had facial expressions that conveyed poise, self-confidence, pridefulness, insolence, and more.

"strut your stuff" = strut your body

"by the kirk" = by the church

Trot your tootsies by the church! = basically means the same thing as "strut your stuff by the church, except "tootsies" mean "toes" [feet]

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
Example #1: STRUT MISS LIZZIE - MARY STAFFORD & HER JAZZ BAND



lindyhoppers Published on May 24, 2012

STRUT MISS LIZZIE
Composed by Harry Creamer & J. Turner Layton
-snip-
[The text about Mary Stafford in the beginning of this sound file is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Stafford_(singer)
"Mary Stafford (ca. 1895 – ca. 1938) was an American cabaret singer in the classic blues style. In January, 1921, she became the first African American woman to record for Columbia Records. She toured widely throughout the mid-Atlantic in the 1920s and into the 1930s. She performed at the Lafayette Theater in New York City, where she appeared in Rocking Chair Revue in 1931 and in Dear Old Southland in 1932.[1] After 1932 she worked outside the music industry in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where she is thought to have died ca. 1938.[1]"

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Example #2: Victor Credenza Victrola, plays Hot Jazz from 1930, "Strut Miss Lizzie" The Hotsy Totsy Gang"

.

Bruce Victrolaman Young, Uploaded on Jan 19, 2009

Here is Irving Mills & his Hotsy Totsy Gang from June of 1930. The Composition is "Strut Miss Lizzie" by Cramer & Layton. This is considered one of the greatest "White" jazz bands of this era, and at times included such notables as Bix on Cornet, Hoagy on piano, Celeste and Vocals, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Joe Venuti on Jazz Violin, and Miff Mole among others. The Record is 10" Brunswick #4983....

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Versions Of "Shortnin' Bread" Song (1900-1950)

DarbyCrashIsDead, Uploaded on Apr 8, 2008
-snip-
Here's a comment from this cartoon's discussion thread:
Barry I. Grauman, 2008
[This cartoon was] "Originally released as a Paramount "Screen Song" in March 1950. The song heard at 1:00 is similar to the one featured two months later in the Little Audrey "Noveltoon", "Tarts and Flowers" (with similar characters featured in 'Cakeland')."
-snip-
The song "Shortnin' Bread" begins at 3:23 in this cartoon. This portion of the cartoon is in a "follow the bouncing ball "audience sing-along format. The song is introduced as an "old Southern favorite". A drawing shown during the song is of a white or light skinned woman wearing old clothes and a bandana (scarf) worn over her hair and tied in the front, in the manner of African American "Aunt Jemimas". However, in another drawing that is shown during the song, the two boys lying in bed appear to be White.

The lyrics to this song are given as Example #5 below.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - March 2, 2022

This pancocojams post showcases seven examples of the song "Shortnin' Bread" from 1900 to 1950. Information about the "shortnin' bread" dish is also included in this post.

This post is part of a pancocojams series on African American songs that include lines about "calling the doctor" because of hunger.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to those unknown people who composed these versions of this song. Thanks also to the collectors of this song, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. In addition, thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.

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WHAT IS SHORTNIN BREAD?
As referred to in the song with that title, "shortnin bread" is probably homemade bread that is mixed with bacon bits or bacon gravy. "Shortnin bread" was sometimes called 'cracklin' bread.

The Wikipedia article on the song "Shortnin Bread" describes it as "a fried batter bread, the ingredients of which include corn meal, flour, hot water, eggs, baking powder, milk and shortening." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortnin'_Bread

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INFORMATION ABOUT SHORTNIN' BREAD
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortnin'_Bread
"Shortnin' Bread" is often thought of as a traditional plantation song. However the first version was written by white poet James Whitcomb Riley in 1900. His song was named "A Short'nin' Bread Song—Pieced Out", the chorus of which is:
Fotch dat dough fum the kitchin-shed—Rake de coals out hot an' red—Putt on de oven an' putt on de led,—Mammy's gwineter cook som short'nin' bread.[1]

Titled "Shortened Bread", E.C. Perrow published the first folk version of this song in 1915, which he collected from East Tennessee in 1912.[2] The folk version of the song—as with Riley's— does not have any distinct theme, but consists of various floating lyrics, some relating to "shortnin' bread", some not. The traditional chorus associated with the folk song goes:

Mammy's little baby loves short'nin', short'nin',Mammy's little baby loves short'nin' bread.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES #1
Although "Shortnin Bread" is now considered a light hearted children's folk song, its beginning verses reflect the fact that Black Americans often lack/ed adequate food.

In contemporary versions of this song, the first verse is given as "two little boys/laying in bed/one was sick/and the other almost dead". The reason why the boys were in those conditions was because they were suffering from malnutrition because of the inadequate food rations that enslaved families were given.

In this song, the doctor was called to examine the children. His prescription was that the children be given some food. However, in actuality, enslaved Black people rarely saw any doctors. Also, shortnin bread and coffee were rare treats for enslaved Black people.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES #2 [ Aded March 2, 2022]
I've read a number of online comments that opine about whether "Shortnin' Bread" is racist in large part because of its lyrics contain what is commonly called "the n word" and also because it includes the word "mammy". 

My response to the question is Shortnin' Bread racist is no and yes.

I believe that publically singing "Shortnin Bread" in the 20th century and in the 21st century can reveal racist attitudes against Black people. 

I'm African American and I really abhor what is now commonly called "the n word". However, if "Shortnin' Bread" was composed by Black Southerns and not by blackfaced White minstrels (or by White people for blackfaced White minstrels), the word "ni&&er" was a  colloquial term for Black people that some (but definitely not all) Black people in the 18th and 19th century used as a self-referent and as a referent for other Black people. As such, For those Black people who used that referent, the n word didn't necessarily have any negative connotation. However, as is still the case in the 21st century, the word ni&&er wasn't considered to be a polite, formal referent for Black people. Judging from its multiple inclusion in the 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes that was edited by (African American university professor) Thomas W. Talley, the referent ni&&er was the informal term for Black people that was used by some Black people, and "Negro" was the accepted formal term. For example, in Talley's collection, the title for the song (rhyme) that is now mostly known as "Shortnin' Bread" has the title "Two Sick Negroes". But the song/rhyme itself includes the word "ni&&ers". 

It appears to me from reading Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes as well as reading some other 19th and 20th century sources, that the n word was a referent for poor and working class Black people and not for the Black middle class.

I really dislike the word "mammy" because of that word's negative connotations about Black women. (And yes, I know that "mammy" was also used as a relatively neutral referent for White people in 19th century Europe. However, the word "mammy" usually automatically confers images of fat Black women who may or may not be someone's mother and not images of White women who are mothers.)

But if "Shortnin' Bread" was composed by Black Southerns and not by blackfaced White minstrels (or by White people for blackfaced White minstrels), the word "mammy" was probably just a colloquial term for "mama" and probably didn't have any negative connotation.

That said, besides the word "mammy" being loaded with negative connotations, that word is very outdated. So why use the very problematic word "mammay" when you could substitute it for the word "mama". And why not just sing "two little boys" without adding a racial descriptor?

As I've alluded to earlier in this post, I dislike the "Shortnin' Bread" song because some might use it to minimize the horrid conditions of chattal slavery in the United States and the malnutrition that was a part of slavery. As such, I'd use this song as a teaching tool and not as a song to be song for pleasure.  

*****

ADDITIONAL EARLY EXAMPLES OF THE SONG "SHORTNIN BREAD"
Read the Information section above for examples of this song from 1900 and 1915.

These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publication dates.
Note: For the most part, I've retained the dialectic English that was used in these examples, although I strongly believe that this song shouldn't be sung that way now. However, I've substituted "the n word" for the referent for Black people that was fully spelled out in these examples.

Example #1: TWO SICK NEGRO BOYS

Two liddle [the n word] sick in bed,
One jumped up an' bumped his head.
W'en de Doctah come he simpully said:
"Jes feed dat boy on shorten' bread."

T'other liddle [the n word] sick in bed,
W'en he hear tell o' shorten' bread,
Popped up all well. He dance an' sing!
He almos' cut dat Pigeon's Wing!

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, originally published in 1922 (p. 173)
-snip-
"cut the Pigeon's Wing" = performed the dance step with that name

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Example #2:
One liddle [the n word] a-lyin' in de bed;
His eyes shet an' still, lak he been dead.
Two liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
A-snorin' an' a-dreamin' of a table spread.

Three liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
Deir heels cracked open lak shorten' bread.
Four liddle [the n word plural] a-lyin' in de bed;
Dey'd better hop out, if dey wants to git fed!

Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, originally published in 1922 (p. 187)

****
Example #3:
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread

Put on de skillet
Put on de led
Mammy's gwine to make
A li'l short'nin’ bread
Dat ain't all
That she's gwine to do.
She's gwine to make
A li'l coffee too.

Chorus [2x]

Three lil [the n word plural]
lyin in bed
Two wus sick
An t'other 'most dead
Sent fo' de doctor
An' de doctor said
"Give dem [the n word plural
Some short'nin' bread!"...

Source: Dorothy Scarborough, editor, On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs, originally published in 1925

****
Example #4:
Put on the skillet, put on the lid
Mama's gonna cook some shortnin bread

Oh Mammy loves shortnin bread.

[guitar]

Two little boys layin in the bed
One turned over and the other one said
My mama cookin shortnin bread

[guitar]

Two live chickens ?] off that lid.
Pour the [?]

[guitar playing]

Oh, mammy loves shortnin bread.

[guitar]

Two little boys layin in the bed
One turned over and the other one said
My mom's ???
My mama cookin shortnin bread
-Source: record by Mississippi John Hurt, 1928

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/mississippi-john-hurt-shortnin-bread.html for a pancocojams post on this record.

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Example #5

Two little ni&&ers
Lyin' in bed
One of 'em sick
An' de odder mos' dead.
Call for de doctor
An' de doctor said,
"Feed dem darkies on shortenin' bread"

cho: Mammy's little baby loves
Shortenin', shortenin',
Mammy's little baby love shortenin' bread.

Or: Shortenin' bread, shortenin' bread,
How I love shortenin' bread!

Or: Shortenin' shortenin' bread,
Don' my baby like shortenin' bread!

Stole de skillet, Stole de lead
Stole dat gal makin' shortenin' bread.
Got six months fo' de skillet, got six months fo' de led;
Got six months fo' de gal makin' shortenin' bread.

Went to de kitchen an' kicked off de led,
An' filled my pockets full o' shortenin' bread.
Shortenin' bread an' it baked thin,
Dat what it take to make 'em grin.

Put on de skillet, put on de led,
My lil baby wants shortenin' braad.
Two little ni&&ers upstairs in bed,
One turned over an' to de odder said,

"How about dat shortenin' bread,
How about dat shortenin' bread,"
One lil ni&&er a-layin' in de bed,
His eyes shet an' still, like he been dead.

Two lil ni&&ers a-layin' in de bed,
A-snorin' an' a-dreamin' of a table spread.
W'en de doctor come he simpully said,
"Feed dat boy some shortenin' braad."

T'other lil ni&&er sick in de bed,
W'en he hear tell o' shortenin' bread,
Popped up well, he dance an' sing,
He almos' cut de pigeon wing.

I do love liquor, an' I will take a dram,
I'd ruther be a ni&&er dan' a po' white man.
-From American Ballads & Folk Songs, 1934, by John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax.
quoted in http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Shortenin_Bread.htm
-snip- 
“The pigeon wing” is an antebellum Black Southern United States dance. “To cut [dance name]” means to do that dance. 

****
Example #6:
[Chorus]
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Mama’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Shortnin bread.
Mama’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

[Verse #1]
Get that wood out out of the shed.
Oh mercy! Lookee there.
Boys, mother’s gonna make some shortnin bread.

[Verse #2]
Two Senegambians* layin in bed.
One turned over to the op** and said
“Fine, fine, fine fine bread”
Spoken “Serve it. Serve it mama. Serve it!”

[Verse #3]
Hey delivery man, where have you been?
Oh mercy, it sure is a sin.
Mama mama don’t be fast.
Do not show your big fine……shortnin bread.

[Chorus]

[Instrumental portion]

[Yelled over instruments playing]
Come on mama!
Open it up!
Open it!

[Spoken at the end of the recording]
What kind of bread is that?
It must be good bread.

-Source: record by Fats Waller, 1941
*"Senegambians" = although "Senegambians" refers to people from a specific part of West Africa, in this song, it is used as a general referent for "Black people"

** "turn over to the op" = [a vernacular way of saying "turned over to the other", with "op" [pronounced "ohp" meaning the word "other"]

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/fats-waller-shortnin-bread-sound-file.html for a pancocojams post about this version of "Shortnin Bread"

****
Example #7
Chorus:
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
Mammy’s little baby loves short’-nin’, short’-nin’
Mammy little baby loves short’-nin bread
feed dem chillum some shortnin

Two lit-tle chil-lun lyin’ in bed
One of ‘em sick an’ de odder mos’ dead
Call for de docter an’ de doc-torr said
“Feed dem chillun on short’-nin’ bread

Goin to da kitchen an’ put on da led
Put on da skillet for short ‘nin bread
Short ‘nin bread an’ bake it thin
Al-ways make dem chil-lun grin

Chorus [2x]

Mossin ‘round da kitchen lak a bus-y bee
Da busi-est mammy you ever did see
Gotta hurry up wid da short ‘nin bread
Gotta git dem chillun right out-ta bed

Chorus [2x]

“How ‘bout dat short-nin bread
When I gonna git that short’-nin’ bread”
Cried a lit-tle baby a-lyin’ in bed
His eyes were shut like he ben dead

Chorus [2x]

De odder little fel-la sick in de bed
When he hear tell of short’-nin’ bread
Popped up well, he dance and sing
He al-most cut da pi-geon wing

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KOmfX4gSc [1950 cartoon]

****
Example #8
Two little ni&&ers lyin in bed,
One of 'em sick an' de odder mos' dead.
Call for de doctor, an' de doctor said,
"Feed dem darkies on short'nin bread."

Source: Southern Cook Book Of Fine Old Recipes, compiled & edited by Lillie S. Lnstig, S. Claire Sondheii, Sarah Rensel [with] decorations [illustrations] by H. Charles Kellui; published by Culinary Arts Press, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1935) ; republished on https://ia802607.us.archive.org/25/items/southerncookbook00lustrich/southerncookbook00lustrich.pdf
-snip-
This example was added December 30, 2017.

The "n word" is fully spelled out in this song fragment and in other song fragments in that book.

Thanks to Anonymous December 30, 2017 at 1:11 AM on the somewhat related pancocojams post entitled "The Racist Roots Of The "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" for alerting me to this archived 1935 Southern Cookbook. Most of the pages of this cookbook include Southern Black American or minstrel song fragments and drawings of Black people from the 19th century United States South.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors' comments are welcome.

The Pigeon Wing, The Buck & Wing, And Buck Dancing, Part I (information & videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - September 5, 2026

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the 19th century dance known as the "buck & wing", and the "buck jumping" dances that may be derived from them or whose terms are sometimes mistaken for them.

Part I provides information about & video demonstrations of buck & wing, buck jumping, and several wing movements in tap dancing.

Part II of this series presents information of and several videos of New Orleans "buck jumping" (also referred to as "second lining" and "footwork" (although the  term "footwork" may refer to very similar but also different types of dancing and/or competitive dance activities).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/new-orleans-buck-jumping-information.html for Part II.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owner.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who were associated with the videos that are included in this post.

Disclaimer: I'm not a dancer or a dance historian. My comments are shared in the interest of eliciting more information & opinions about this subject.

Update: October 12, 2014
"Buck dancing" ("buck jumping") as described in this post isn't the same as the contemporary African American dance movement called "bucking". "Bucking" is probably a new name for the very old African originated dance move that consist of pelvic pops.

It appears that the Houston, Texas group X-Treme Motion was the first to popularize "bucking" on television. That group competed on the 2010 television show "America's Best Dance Crew. Here's a link to a January 4, 2010 video of X-Treme motion and the publisher's Trecia KneCole Fan Page's summary statement:
"X-Treme Motion Dance Crew is a Houston Based Crew from "The Motion of the Ocean" Majorettes at Texas Southern University.. They specialize in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Funky Jazz, and Modern. But, Showcasing and bring their own dance style called "Bucking" to the forefront."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apu78i3-K1s.

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INFORMATION ABOUT BUCK & WING AND BUCK DANCING
These comments are posted in no particular order & are given numbers for referral purposes only.

Notice the different descriptions in these quotes about what a "wing" was. My take on these descriptions is  that the wing started out as flapping the arms and minstrelsy & vaudeville changed it to flapping a leg.
Comment #1: Tap roots: The Early History Of Tap Dancing
by Mark Knowles (McFarland & Company Jefferson, North Carolina May 2002)
Page 44
"Old style buck dancing consisted mainly of stamps and chugs, sometimes embellished with toe bounces. The origins of buck dancing are unclear, but sources indicate that it has many elements in common with the Cherokee stomp dance. There is conjecture that it is also related to the ceremonial dances in which Indians braves would put on the antlers and skin of a male deer...

One of the most popular buck dances among African American slaves was the pigeon wing (also called the chicken wing), When performing the pigeon wing, dancers strutted like a bird and scrapped their feet, while their arms bent at the sides, were flapped like wings. When interviewed for the Virginia’s Writers Project, ex-slave Fannie Berry described the pigeon wing thus:
"Dere was cuttin’ de pigeon wings-dat was flippin’ you arms an legs roun’ an’ holdin ya neck stiff like a bird do.” "

****
Comment #2: Lynne Fauley Emery's 1989 book Black Dance: From 1619 to Today (page 90) 
"The Pigeon Wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. References were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet, of Beaumont, Texas, remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4, a big dance would be held on their plantation. '...jus' a reg'lar old breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing de Corner, and some in de middle de floor cuttin' de chicken wing.

Fannie Henry described the Pigeon Wing as follows: "Dere was cuttin' de pigeon wings-dat was flippin' yo arms an' legs roun' an' holdin' ya' neck stiff like a bird do."

The Pigeon Wing and the Buck dance appear as authentic dances of the Negro on the plantation, much before they were picked up for the minstrel shows and billed as the "Buck and Wing"."

****
Comment #3: From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buckw1.htm
"Buck dancing is a pre-tap dance routine that was done by Minstrels and Vaudeville performers in the mid nineteenth century portraying the African American males known as “bucks.” Originally, the pigeon wing step (foot shaking in the air) was a big part of this early folk dance but later separated when variations began such as the shooting out of one leg making a “Wing”....

The legendary dancer “Master Juba”* did a buck and a wing in the 1840s. It was said that the first buck & wing routine was performed on the New York stage in 1880 by James McIntrye as well as inventing the “Syncopated Buck & Wing”…

The Buck and Wing was adapted to the Minstrel stage from the recreational clogs and shuffles of African Americans...

Buck: Rhythm and Percussive. Originally just a stamping of the feet to interpret the music which later became much more refined when mixed with the Jig and Clog. Buck dancers danced alone and in a small area of space...

Flatfoot is mostly Buck dancing... but much more laid back in which the soles of the feet stay very close to the floor and without the soles of the dancers’ shoes making much noise, nor stomping. The flatfoot dancer seems relaxed and carefree while he or she dances, even though the feet are constantly moving. If you can imagine a “soft shoe” Buck dance. This dance is a spot dance (done in place) with the arms moving only slightly to flow with the dancer’s balance giving them a fluid look. If more than one person wants to dance at the same time, they each dance individually, i.e. “freestyle”, but still adhere to the rhythm of the music being played...

Pigeon wing (1830s) was originally just shaking one foot in the air...
-snip-
*”Master Juba” was Black. My assumption is that James McIntrye was also Black.

****
Comment #4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clogging
"Solo dancing (outside the context of the big circle dance) is known in various places as buck dance, flatfooting, hoedown, jigging, sure-footing, and stepping…One source states that buck dancing was the earliest combination of the basic shuffle and tap steps performed to syncopated rhythms in which accents are placed not on the straight beat, as with the jigs, clogs, and other dances of European origin, but on the downbeat or offbeat, a style derived primarily from the rhythms of African tribal music.[16]

Buck dancing was popularized in America by minstrel performers in the late 19th century. Many folk festivals and fairs utilize dancing clubs or teams to perform both Buck and regular clogging for entertainment.

Traditional Appalachian clogging is characterized by loose, often bent knees and a "drag-slide" motion of the foot across the floor, and is usually performed to old-time music."
-snip-
That Wikipedia page also includes theories about the source of the word “buck”.

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Video #1:Thomas F. DeFrantz: Buck, Wing and Jig



Duke University,Published on Mar 26, 2012

How did dances on slave plantations develop into the Charleston and the Kid n' Play? DeFrantz demonstrates three traditional African American social dances.

Learn more. Thomas F. DeFrantz discusses dance, technology and African American culture.
http://today.duke.edu/2012/03/thomasdefrantz
-snip-
This demonstration video focuses on three social dances that emerged in the 19th century and became very important.

Here are excerpts of Thomas F. DeFrantz's comments:
Buck, wing, and jig are dances were developed by African Americans outside of the eyes of the clergy and the White slave owners who were only interested in dances that could be tied to Christian movements...

Buck dances were forms that were very very percussive, and weighted down into the foot.
All these dances are about rhythm and percussion.

Wing dances are very important and have a lot more visibility in the 20th century and on into the 21st century. Wing dances are dances were you literally flap parts of your body like ..as if they were wings. (shown flapping; spreading wide] his arms and his legs]...So you can see how 150 years later in the 21st century the wing dances could become popping.

Jig dances are dances that have lots and lots of energy and lots of velocity. So if you put jigs and wings together we get something that we might recognize as footwork or something we might recognize as the Charleston or the Kid n Play. Or if we go back to the wing, we’d get something that we might have known or heard of called The Butterfly."
-snip-
Here’s a portion of the comment that I posted on this video's viewer comment thread:
“Prior to viewing this video, I hadn't connected historically Black Greek letter fraternity & sorority steppin' to 19th century Buck dances. Buck dancing seems also to be a source of foot stomping routines that once were informal recreational activities for (mostly) Black girls & now are being incorporated into some pre-university mainstream cheerleading routines. Those 2 movement arts also may incorporate body patting (pattin Juba).”

****
Video #2: Buck Dancing at Mabry Mill



slockamy2, Uploaded on Jul 14, 2011

Jay Bland & Thomas Maupin buck dancing at Mabry Mill July 4th weekend. They are both champion dancers, (state & national) & we were fortunate to be there the same time as they were.

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Video #3: Over the Top Be-Bop: Honi Coles & Cholly Atkins.



crackedoreo,Uploaded on Sep 12, 2011

A discussion of the history of tap dance with Marshall Stearns. Charles (Honi) Coles and Charlie Atkins demonstrate various dance steps such as: "over the top," "bebop, " "buck and wing, " and "slow drag."
-snip-
The demonstration of several “wings” steps starts at 8:59.

One of the observers who introduces this segment said “There are apparently as many wings as there are time steps”.,

****
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/various-late-19th-century-early-20th.html "Various Late 19th Century & Early 20th Century African American Bird Dances"

****
This concludes Part I of this series.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Various 19th Century & Early 20th Century African American Dances (Buck, Wing, Pigeon Wing, & Eagle Rock)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision: September 10, 2018

This pancocojams post was originally titled "Various 19th Century & Early 20th Century African American Bird Dances". I changed that title since some of the dances covered in this post are documented as being performed in the early and mid 19th century United States. I also changed the title since all of the dances showcased in this post aren't "bird dances".

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This post provides information about various 19th century & early 20th century African American bird dances. The dances described in this post are "The Buzzard Lope", [Cutting] The Pigeon Wing, the "Buck & Wing", and "The Eagle Rock".

The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and aesthetic purposes.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT VARIOUS 19th & early 20th CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN BIRD DANCES
(The information about these dances are posted in what I believe is their relative chronological order with the oldest dances given first.)

THE BUZZARD LOPE
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buzzardlope1.htm
"The Buzzard Lope was similar to the more modern Eagle Rock Dance and was very popular in the South and most likely related to the W. African Buzzard dance. Sunbury Georgia was the first discovery of this dance but may not have originated there.

The Buzzard Lope used outstretched arms like a bird and consisted of a shuffle step and a little buzzard like hop. The dance is said to be similar to the West African Buzzard Dance. It's [sic] original form is representing a Turkey Buzzard getting ready to eat a dead Mule (some report a Cow). Many people in the sidelines watching the dance would do a 'Patting', or make a rhythm by slapping (patting) their thighs, etc. while someone would call out the cues...

The Eagle Rock replaced the Buzzard Lope in popularity as the buzzard lope was considered to risque as well as [too connected to] Plantation life by city folk."
-snip-
[This site gives 1890 as the first documented date for "The Buzzard Lope"].

Here's a video of a depiction of "The Buzzard Lope":

Throw Me Anywhere Lord



Uploaded by mediageneration on Dec 12, 2009

Georgia Sea Island Singers from the DVD- The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes- available from http://www.media-generation.com

Comment:
"The dance is called the Buzzard Lope, and John Davis is the buzzard circling the carrion and picking it up at the end of the song".
-mediageneration; 20104
-snip-
The producer of this video indicated that the man dancing said that if he had worn his jacket, you could have seen the arm flapping movements better.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/throw-me-anywhere-lord-buzzard-lope.html for the lyrics to the song "Throw Me Anywhere Lord" and an explanation of the song's meaning.

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CUTTING THE PIGEON WING & THE BUCK & WING
Excerpt #1:
From Tap roots: The Early History Of Tap Dancing
by Mark Knowles (McFarland & Company Jefferson, North Carolina May 2002)
Page 44
"Old style buck dancing consisted mainly of stamps and chugs, sometimes embellished with toe bounces. The origins of buck dancing are unclear, but sources indicate that it has many elements in common with the Cherokee stomp dance. There is conjecture that it is also related to the ceremonial dances in which Indians braves would put on the antlers and skin of a male deer.

Most authorities believe that the buck dance was the forerunner of the time-step. The connection with the term “wing” as in “buck and wing” generally suggest that wild footwork was accompanied by a flapping of the arms, and that the steps were syncopated. At the turn of the 19th century buck and wing was used as a sort of catch-all phrase for many forms of percussive dance.

One of the most popular buck dances among African American slaves was the pigeon wing (also called the chicken wing), When performing the pigeon wing, dancers strutted like a bird and scrapped their feet, while their arms bent at the sides, were flapped like wings. When interviewed for the Virginia’s Writers Project, ex-slave Fannie Berry described the pigeon wing thus:
"Dere was cuttin’ de pigeon wings-dat was flippin’ you arms an legs roun’ an’ holdin ya neck stiff like a bird do.”

...the pigeon wing imitated the courting of birds. The movements, scrapping the feet and fluttering the arms had been part of the juba and survived on their own to be one of the most popular steps among African Americans. Early minstrels used the dance often and expanded it with more elaborate foot shaking."

**
Pancocojams Editor's Note and Excerpt #2
There are a number of references to the "buck & wing" and "[cutting] the pigeon's wing in folk songs. In his 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes Thomas W. Talley writes that 'cuttin the Pigeon's wing' and 'skinnin' the cat' in the song "Juba" refer to dance steps. [end of quote].

Too often these words are taken literally.

Here's a quote about cutting the pigeon's wing & the buck and wing dances from Lynne Fauley Emery's 1989 book Black Dance: From 1619 to Today(page 90):
"The Pigeon Wing appears to have been performed over a large geographical area. References were made to the Pigeon Wing from South Carolina to Texas, and from Indiana to Mississippi. Horace Overstreet, of Beaumont, Texas, remembered the dance by another name. Overstreet stated that on Christmas and July 4, a big dance would be held on their plantation. '...jus' a reg'lar old breakdown dance. Some was dancin' Swing de Corner, and some in de middle de floor cuttin' de chicken wing.' ...

The Pigeon Wing and the Buck dance appear as authentic dances of the Negro on the plantation, much before they were picked up for the minstrel shows and billed as the "Buck and Wing"."

****
Excerpt #3
THE EAGLE ROCK
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3eaglerock1.htm
"The Eagle rock is basically a dance movement, extending their arms in the “eagle wing”.... The head tilts back while the body sways back and forth...

The Eagle rock originally had a hop to it but as it spread north and south it was discarded in favor of a shuffle. The Eagle rock started to wane in popularity in the 1920s."
-snip-
This site also provides several theories about the source of the dance name "The Eagle Rock". However, I'm not convinced about the credibility of those theories.
-snip-
This site provides the date of the 1900s for the first documentation of this dance.

An additional comment about "The Eagle Rock" is included in the section above on "The Buzzard Lope".

****
Excerpt #4:
From http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3buckw1.htm Buck Dance and Pigeon Wing
"This page deals with all things Buck or Wing. The history of the Buck dance, Flat Footing, Pigeon Wing, and Wings. Buck dancing is a pre-tap dance routine and was done by Minstrel and Vaudeville performers in the mid nineteenth century portraying the African-American males, known as "Bucks." Originally the Pigeon Wing steps (foot shaking in the air) were a big part of this early folk dance but later separated when variations began such as the shooting out of one leg making a "Wing."

[...]

Buck: (Buck dance)
Rhythm and Percussive, originally just a stamping of the feet to interpret the music which later became more refined when mixed with the Jig and Clog. Buck dancers usually dance alone and in a small area of space. In Tap Dance it is known as the earliest version of the "Shuffle and Tap Steps." The basic Chug or Buck step is done by pushing the ball of the foot across the floor, at the same time dropping the heel, with or without weight. Buck dancing was the first known American Tap form performed to syncopated rhythms. These rhythms were performed on the "Offbeat or Downbeat" which came from Tribal rhythms in Africa. Buck dance was a type of countrified Clog or Tap dance. Usually associated with Barn Dancing or Country Dance. The Indians (Mainly Ute), also had a dance, participants would dress in Deer Skins (Buck) and do a ceremonial dance called Buck Dancing.

Originally the music used was 2/4 time and was of the Syncopated March type. The Mobile Buck was an ancestor of the common Buck Dance that later evolved into the Time Step.

Flatfoot:
Flatfoot dancing is mostly Buck dancing in nature, but much more laid back in which the feet stay very close to the floor and without the soles of the dancers shoes making much noise, nor stomping. The flatfoot dancer seems relaxed and carefree while he or she dances, even though the feet are constantly moving. If you could imagine a "soft-shoe" Buck dance. This dance is a spot dance (done in place) with the arms moving only slightly to flow with the dancers balance which gives them a fluid look. If more than one person wants to dance at the same time, they each dance individually i.e. freestyle, but still adhering to the rhythm of the music being played.

Pigeon Wing:
Originally (1830's) just the shaking of one leg in the air. Was also known as the "Ailes De Pigeon" in Ballet. For a time it was commonly referred to as ">Pistolets" by the French and just plain ole "Pigeon Wing" by the Folk dancers, later being taken over by the Minstrel dancers. In the Can-Can the "Pigeon Wing" was bringing the bust into play by leaping forward, kicking high and throwing the shoulders back while "carrying on the arm" (or holding one leg up against the cheek, while hopping lightly on the other leg). Basically it's just the lifting of the leg (demi-Plie') and move the leg too beat the back calf of the other foot. Can be done in front of other leg or as in the variation of Michael Jackson's modern version of his front lifting leg swing. When Minstrel dancing came en vogue, many variations came about, namely a small hop on one leg while shooting out the other leg to form a "Wing."

Wings:
Wings Evolved into a waving of the body with arms and legs flapping to appear like wings on a bird ... which makes the Buck, Tap, Hip-Hopper, Charleston, Jig dancer more animated. The more modern "Wings" started to become a basic stable to tap dancing around 1900. "Wings" are basically derived from the much older minstrel variations of the Pigeon Wing but no real air step. Eventually becoming what they'd call "air steps" (not adagio), and even later "Flash/Shine steps" that have the dancer springing up from one leg off the floor, and using the correct timing to do a certain amount of taps with the same foot before landing back down while the other "winging leg" usually remains motionless. There are variations such as the pump (winging leg goes up and down), double back, pendulum, Three-tap wing (one tap on the way up and two on the way down), Five-tap wings, etc. Today Wings are part of the Tap dance family.

Don't be surprised if you see a Buck or Flatfoot dancer bring a $mall portable dance floor or plywood, lay it down on the ground and start dancin' away. Music is often times a string band. A great DVD on this subject is "(2007) by Smithsonian Folkways dvd $ Talking Feet: Solo Southern Dance - Flatfoot, Buck and Tap" (2007) by Smithsonian Folkways."
-snip-
Videos of these dance movements are included on that page.

I added italics to highlight these sentences.

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RELATED LINKS
Here are links to other pancocojams posts in this series:

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/african-roots-of-wing-flapping-dances.html "African Roots Of African American Arm Flapping Dances"

**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-turkey-trot-dance-descriptions.html

**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/rufus-thomas-crowd-control-at-wattstax.html "Rufus Thomas & Crowd Control At Wattstax (The Funky Chicken Dance)"

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to the creators of these dances, to those whose comments are quoted in this post, and those who are showcased in these featured videos. Thanks also to the uploaders of these videos.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.