Hi Steve,
we could get into an even-further off-topic discussion about
quote-unquote swing music ("swing is a verb, not a noun. there is no
such thing as swing music" -Paul Whiteman). It would sound exactly like
a spat about competing tango orchestra styling in the Golden Era.
Those of us who are similarly deeply steeped, but in popular American
dance music from the 20's to the 50's, would quibble with your post.
Prima was a huge influence on the big band era and wrote standards for
Benny Goodman like "Sing, Sing, Sing," but "Jump, Jive and Wail" is not
that era or kind of tune. The call-and-response format, instrumentation
and off color insinuations are hallmarks of JUMP blues. (Some do not
apply "jump blues" to anything produced by white musicians but that is
even further off-off-topic.)
Here's the allmusic.com definition of jump blues: "Jump Blues refers to
an uptempo, jazz-tinged style of blues that first came to prominence in
the mid- to late '40s. Usually featuring a vocalist in front of a large,
horn-driven orchestra or medium sized combo with multiple horns, the
style is earmarked by a driving rhythm, intensely shouted vocals, and
honking tenor saxophone solos...a precursor to rock & roll." The Gap
commercial music was not Setzer, it was the original recording by
Prima's band in 1957.
I love allmusic.com and they have excellent depth on all American
popular music going back to the dawn of recordings. Their tango music
history and genre information is worse than awful. Some of the music
experts on this list would be doing a huge service in correcting and
expanding their tango entry to reflect the rich diversity of tango music.
Anyone into taking on that? Do the world a service!
steve pastor wrote:
"And they cringe when they see the guys on 'Dancing With The Stars' wearing
spandex and gliding around...no matter how masterful and powerful the
dancing might be."
And rightly so. But maybe not for the same reasons as I do, which is an
almost
complete lack of musicality, and absolutely atrocious music. "So You
Think You
Can Dance" is a better show if you understand musicality in the least,
and there
is much, much less posturing.
The song used in the Gap commercial was swing, not blues.
Music for The Gap Khaki Swing comes from Louis Prima
<http://www.louisprima.com/>’s swing number,
“Jump, Jive an’ Wail�, performed by Brian Setzer and Orchestra
<http://www.briansetzer.com/>.
http://www.duncans.tv/2005/gap-khakis
They also did a commecial with line dancers using Dwight Yoakum's
verison of
"Crazy Little Thing".
I have a few other minor quibbles with your post, (If women want men to
dance,
they should not laugh at them or get frustrated with them when they
don't get
it. One young woman was telling me recently that she though it was OK to
laugh at her boyfriend's mistakes. I advised he to think otherwise. He shook
his head in agreement.), but I agree with most of what you have written.
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