Rock 'n' Roll Summer School: Dance Craze!

Every Wednesday this summer, we're offering a quick course in early rock 'n' roll. Your professor will be Tom Moon, NPR contributor and author of the book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. These overviews, mostly of music from the 1950s, are not intended to be comprehensive, but to help curious listeners dive in and explore some of the genre's often-overlooked building blocks. Whether you're a novice or a rock snob, join the conversation below.

THIS WEEK: DANCE CRAZE!

by Tom Moon

You could chart the early history of rock 'n' roll based just on dance crazes -- those electric but silly-looking fads that popped up seemingly weekly, and often disappeared just as quickly.

Some crazes endure because the performance of a song is so strong. That's the case with Chubby Checker's version of Hank Ballard's "The Twist," a massive hit in 1960. Even if you never saw the dance on YouTube (or its 1950s corollary, American Bandstand), you know how to do it after you hear the song once.

"The Twist" inspired countless variations, including The Beatles' "Twist and Shout." And its distinctive elements -- that urgent hook, and lyrics that outline the dance's easy-to-master steps -- established a basic formula for other dance crazes. Here's another of the all-time classics that follow this framework, Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time." Dig the supporting cast:

REQUIRED LISTENING
Danny and the Juniors: "At the Hop"
Bill Haley and His Comets: "Rock Around the Clock"
Chubby Checker: "The Twist"
Dee Dee Sharp: "Mashed Potato Time"

EXTRA CREDIT
Little Eva: "The Loco-Motion"
Swinging Blue Jeans: "Hippy Hippy Shake"

DISCUSS
Listen to the rhythm section on the live version of "Rock Around the Clock" (linked above). Unlike the super-famous recording we all know, these guys are playing loose. Do you think that energy helped propel the dance craze of rock 'n' roll?

How important was American Bandstand to the success of these dance tunes?

What's the all-time best?

11:54 AM ET | 07-29-2009 | permalink

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