"Some folks say That Swing's Not Here To Stay
And That It's Dying Out
But I Can Prove It's In The Groove
And They Don't Know What They're Talking About."

--Marion Hutton 1939 vocal with the Glenn Miller band.

From before World War 1 and well into the 1920's, the more common forms of music performance included both Dixieland, and Hotel Room and Concert bands. The style of all these groups was distinguished by 'ensemble' playing. During the 1930's, that which we now call 'Swing' developed out of this earlier ensemble style. Swing was a dense, rhythm driven sound almost always using a hard driving 'Riff' against which the melody could be played. The Swing style reached it's peak of popularity during the 1940's, - and remains popular to this day.

Two forms of Swing evolved simultaneously; Swing Recordings and Swing Bands on Radio. The arrangements used on the then still new media of Records consisted of tightly written 3-minute arrangements. That was the time limit allowed on the old 78 RPM records, - after 3 minutes, the stylus hit the spindle. The Swing heard on live performances at Dances and on the Radio allowed open-ended arrangements for longer improvisations by the sidemen.

Additionally, the band instrumentation also defined the Swing 'sound'. The older tenor reed-based sounds, of the 1920's dance bands and smaller 'hot jazz' ensembles, slowly changed into larger bands - often 16 pieces or more where the Brass, -trumpets and trombones, added their brighter. louder sound. The Brass was counter-balanced by a bank of reeds, -Saxes and Clarinets. The rhythm was carried by piano, expanded drum set, and guitar while a string bass replaced the older Tuba bass.

Due to their records and radio shows, the new bandleaders became heros to a loyal following of admirers. Audiences would follow the adventures of their favorite band in newspapers and magazines. Some bands took up residences in the larger hotel lounges and ballrooms; broadcasting from those locations on national network Radio. Other bands would constantly tour on a round of performances at country clubs; restaurants, concerts, and college campuses.

With the advent of 'swing', the role of the bandleader also changed. Some of the older conductors, - men such as Paul Whiteman and Paul Ash who stood in front of a band and waved a baton, were slowly replaced by bandleaders who were great instrumentalist in their own right. Men such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, would alternate between leading and soloing on each tune played. Other leaders led by playing piano full time on each song. Among these were Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Concurrent with that, the sidemen were given more opportunities to solo during the song. That caused a 'cult' following to begin for the better sidemen in each band. Such musicians as Gene Krupa, "Cootie" Williams, and many others gained their initial fame in this manner, often going on to become bandleaders in their own right. All of the bandsmen were becoming more visible. Often the entire band would sing or 'scat' an entire chorus (such as Johnny Long's "Shanty in Old Shanty Town"). This was in keeping with the old Southern (American) tradition of "call and response".

The music varied also. The Ballads became much slower, more sentimental, while the faster music, -such tunes as "Opus One" and others- became almost frantic. The two types were often played alternately in the ballrooms and dance halls. A fast 'jump' tune would be followed by a slow ballad giving the dancers a respite from doing the 'Lindy Hop'. During WW2, the slow ballads were extremely popular. The recording industry became aware of what band leader Kay Kaiser dubbed "G.I. Nostalgia", that special longing for home and the girl he left behind.

Various piano styles were also popular during the swing period including Boodie Woogie, Stride, and Fast Western also called Barrelhouse. The tunes were usually played by the smaller ensembles, and soloists.

It is very fair to say that Swing truly dominated the Social milieu. Swing music became a corollary to every event from New York's swankiest night clubs to school proms, 'Juke Joints' and even to Young Communist League parties. Every portion of society found found some form of swing suitable for their dancing or listening. Country Club couples fox-trotted to "Moonlight Serenade"; College students did "The Big Apple" as a circle dance; and Harlem ballrooms exploded to the aerial acrobatics of 'the Savoy Swingers' and the Audobon (Ballroom) Lindy-Hoppers.

Unfortunately, racism and segregation was also present. Just a few bands, the first of which was Benny Goodman, and then followed by some of the men who became famous working with Benny, such as Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson, were mixed groups. But due to the racism found in many U.S. states, admission and seating in theaters and clubs throughout the country was often restricted, and ensembles and audiences often segregated.

Hollywood also handled 'Swing' bands in interesting ways. By interpolating Swing ensembles into country club or night club settings, the interpolated sequences could then be lifted out and presented separately as independent short subject features. Also, performances by Black groups such as Duke Ellington, Louis Jordan and CHick Webb, could easily be edited out of the feature film for distribution in the Southern states.

Swing music's popularity was very high throughout the late 1930's and the 1940's. America maintained Swing's popularity throughout the WW2 years when both large and small ensembles toured Army and Navy camps both at home and abroad under the aegis of the U.S.O. and the War Manpower Commission Program. Especially on the warfronts, the Servicemen's nostalgia for normality and home, and the effects of wartime stress, were eased by the live performances of the touring bands as well as the special radio shows broadcast to the armed forces. At home, Swing was heard at bond sale rallies and community concerts. The new sub-culture of women workers also adapted boogie-woogie and other novelty and jive styles.

© Copyright 1994-1997
Murray L. Pfeffer.
All Rights Reserved

We have taken these definitions from the New Harvard Dictionary of Music, not only to impress you with our erudition but also to start right at the source: the music. When all is said and done, Lindy Hop is nothing more than interpreting Swing music with your body.

SWING:
A popular, dance-oriented big band jazz style that flourished in the 1930s. Featured are combinations such as five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, and often a vocalist. Piano, guitar, string bass and bass drum smoothly accentuate each beat in 4/4; a "swinging" rhythmic pattern is played on the ride cymbal. Compositions are based on popular songs (especially 32 bar AABA forms) and 12 bar blues. The repertory ranges from complex, entirely written arrangements to impromptu versions in which simple riffs provide thematic material and accompaniement to improvisations.

BOOGIE-WOOGIE:
A piano blues style featuring percussive ostinato accompaniements. These steadily repeated bass patterns, one or two bars long, delineate the 12 bar blues progression. Melodies range from repeated figures, reinforcing the explicit beat (including tremolos, riffs, rapid triplets) to polyrhythmic improvisations. In other words, the Left hand keeps the rhythm, (or bass line, or ostinato), while the right hand sends the message. Boogie Woogie originated in "Turpentine Camps", in which low-paid workers would live together in a remote location gathering the sap from pine trees; often, a pianist would be hired to entertain the men at night --- the style permits one person to be both rhythm and harmony. Our favorite Boogie is "Pine Top's Boogie" by the legendary Pine Top Perkins.

LINDY:
A social dance of the U.S., originating in the late 1920s in New York City and at first associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. It was danced to music (principally swing) in fast duple meter and was characterized especially by "breakaways," in which the partners in a couple separated and improvised steps individually. It incorporated movements in which partners swung one another around, and it sometimes took on an acrobatic character. Known from the 1930s also as jitterbug, it was widely danced until well in the 1950s and the advent of Rock'n'roll. The generic swing definition of 4/4 time refers to four quarter notes per bar. "Duple Meter" means that you speed this up by putting eight eighth notes per bar. Hence, the famous song "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", an exhortation to put some heat into the music.

Here is a good Mnemonic, or memory device:
If you say this phrase: "Step, Step, Triple-step, Step, Step, Triple Step", you will get a good feel for this "swinging" rhythm. One of our very favorite swing songs is "Flat Foot Floogie" --- in Brooklynese, the verse sounds like "Flat foot flee-oo-gee Wit De Floy-oy floy"; this leads us to "Step, Step, triple step,step, step,triple step."

LINDY or JITTERBUG:
The correct name for the dance is "Lindy Hop". "Jitterbug" has an etymology similar to words like "Egghead", Beatnik", "Hippie", and "Punk". In each case, the dominant culture applied a pejorative term to a developing youth trend; by virtue of the social momentum generated by the trend, the word lost its negative connotation and was adopted by the participants in the trend. In Harlem slang, a "Jitterbug" is an alcoholic who experiences Delirium Tremens (violent shaking and hallucinations.) Those who did not care for the lively antics of the early Lindy Hoppers derided them as "Jitterbugs."

As time passed, the media called the dance "Lindy" and the people who danced it "Jitterbugs". Finally, with passage of time, Lindy became the "Jitterbug's Dance" or just "Jitterbug."

Lindy Hop passed from the American scene when the music stopped having eight beats per measure (about 1957). Several variants evolved to permit partner dance to newer musical forms. In 1988 people began to reconstruct the dance from interviews with "Originals" like Frankie Manning and archival motion picture footage.
Alas: you can only do Lindy Hop to eight count Music.

Source:

JitterBuzz.com
A very good website and it also has dance instructions for the Lindy.