There are a number of bands who’ve played for and produced albums for swing dancers. These albums tend to be a greatest hits of what’s cool with dancers at that particular moment.
Right now I’m listening to Sol’s Swingmatism, which has the following track listing:
1. For Dancers Only
2. Johnny Come Lately
3. “Big Apple Contestâ€
4. Black and Tan Fantasy
5. Shiny Stockings
6. Indiana
7. Good Bait
8. Swingmatism
9. Cherokee
10. Moonglow
11. Cherry Point
12. Alfie’s Theme
13. Stolen Moments
14. There Will Never Be Another You
15. Funky Blues
There are a number of others, including the Campus Five albums, the Peter Davis albums, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a few others.
The best bit of all, is that all these bands are, essentially ‘cover bands’ – tribute bands in many cases. And all these albums are made up of songs penned anywhere between the 1900s and the 1950s. And all of these songs have reached dancers today (and over the last twenty years) through DJs and live bands. No help from mainstream telly or radio. No video clips. No guest programmers on rage. Some help from bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in the early 90s, but nothing significant since the flash-in-the-pan moment of neo swing. There’s been the odd jump start from people like Robbie Williams and Jamie McCullam – but we can count these guys on one hand.
While the States has had big name artists like Barbara Morrison and Junior Mance (both of whom have been promoted by swing dancers to swing dancers in a way that simply hasn’t happened in Australia), but Australia hasn’t seen their bands take on that sort of popularity.
I need to write something about this, but I don’t have the brain right now (lamb shanks cooking in the oven, too tired, new fabric on the table begging me to start sewing, DVD to watch, horrible allergies itches driving me NUTS and making it IMPOSSIBLE to concentrate).
