Via the NYPL
Swing dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York, 1947.
Explore Padmevader's 4991 photos on Flickr!
De los años 20 en Estados Unidos a la actualidad en España: el swing ha saltado en el tiempo y en el espacio para ocupar
The Savoy Ballroom, located in Harlem, New York City, was a medium sized ballroom for music and public dancing that was in operation from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. It was located between 140th and 141st Streets on Lenox Avenue. - The Savoy was a popular dance venue from the late 1920s to the 1950s and many dances such as Lindy Hop became famous here. It was known downtown as the "Home of Happy Feet" but uptown, in Harlem, as "the Track". Unlike the 'whites only' policy of the Cotton Club, the Savoy Ballroom was integrated where white and black Americans danced together. Virtuosic dancers, however, excluded others from the northeast corner of the dance floor, now referred to as the "Cat's Corner," a term not used at the time. A famous "Battle of the Bands" or "cutting contest" happened when the Benny Goodman Orchestra [Gene Krupa on the drums (addition mine)] challenged Chick Webb in 1937. Webb and his band were declared the winners of that contest. And in 1938 Count Basie Band did the same (earlier evening it had performed with Goodman at his famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert). While Webb was officially declared the winner, there was a lack of consensus on who actually won that night. The ballroom was on the second floor and a block long. It had a double bandstand that held one large and one medium sized band running against its east wall. Music was continuous as the alternative band was always in position and ready to pick up the beat when the previous one had completed its set. The Savoy was unique in having the constant presence of a skilled elite of the best Lindy Hoppers. Usually known as "Savoy Lindy Hoppers" occasionally they turned professional, such as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers and performed in Broadway and Hollywood productions. Chick Webb was the leader of the best known Savoy house band during the mid-1930s. A teenage Ella Fitzgerald, fresh from a talent show win at the Apollo Theater in 1934, became its vocalist. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Ballroom] "Stompin' at the Savoy", a 1934 Big Band classic song and jazz standard, was named after the ballroom. It was composed by Edgar Sampson. Although the song is credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, and Edgar Sampson, and the lyrics by Andy Razaf, in reality the music was written and arranged for Chick Webb's band by Sampson, who was the band's alto saxophonist. It was recorded as an instrumental by both Webb and Goodman, whose recording was the bigger hit. Lyrics were added by Andy Razaf, who wrote the lyrics to many popular songs. Goodman and Webb got their names added to the song when their bands recorded it. Here is a clip about the Savoy Ballroom from the new feature film: "THE SAVOY KING: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America" [www.SavoyKing.com]:
Swing dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York, 1947.
The opportunity to enhance LACMA’s permanent collection has often been a consideration when curators organize an exhibition, and the upcoming special exhibition Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015 inspired us to forge a strategy to fully develop the museum’s permanent collection of twentieth- and early twenty-first-century menswear. Five years ago, when we began planning for this 300-year survey of men’s fashion, an authentic zoot suit was at the top of our list.
Bandstand has the courage of its convictions.
L’ONU a décrété que le 20 mars serait la journée mondiale du bonheur, reconnaissant ainsi que « le bonheur et le bien-être sont des aspirations universelle
Explore Railroad Jack's 316 photos on Flickr!
Iowa has four nonconference football dates. It has chosen to fill two of them this year with games against teams …
Corey Cott, Laura Osnes and the cast of Bandstand.
Corey Cott, Laura Osnes and the cast of Bandstand.
