In the 1920s through the 1940s, "social dancing" was de rigeur, --twinkletoed or gluefooted -- everyone danced. There was some sort of music at every venue, - from a small trio to a large band, and when the music started, folks would leave their tables and dance - NOT because they had to... but because dancing around the floor in the arms of a partner whom one admired was (is) so nice. It follows that all bands were dance bands. Some were 'Sweet' and some were 'Hot', but most bands leaned in both directions. In later years, Benny Goodman, though called the King of Swing, was, in essence, the leader of a dance band, -a dance band that leaned more toward the "Hot" then the "Sweet". Other bands, such as Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians, leaned heavily toward the "Sweet" music. In a sidelight, it is interesting to note that long after the "Hot" bands had disappeared, a great many of the "Sweet" bands were still performing, and their records continue to re-appear in new CDs.

The team of Maurice Mouvet and Florence Waltron were a very popular dance team that is very rarely recalled now. (He did have other partners including Leonora Hughes, and Madelein d'Harville, to name but two.) He had met Walton when impressario Florenz Ziegfeld partnered them in the 1911 Follies. (They were married that same year, and remained a very successful team until their divorce in 1920.) To a large degree, it was Mouvet who led the way for the many other dance performers that would follow. He began his career as an actor, but some dancing roles started him on the road to becoming a professional dancer. At first, he danced the usual Mazurkas, Jigs, Waltzes, and Cakewalks, but soon, he and Walton began presenting the infamous 'Apache', and all through the 1910s and '20s, this would become one of his most successful ballroom, theater, and Club exhibition acts. In 1907, Mouvet danced his version of 'L'Apache' at the Cafe de Paris in France, and in 1910 he did it, with partner Madeleine D'Harville, at New York's Cafe de L'Opera. Mouvet created many new dance steps, as well as completely new dances such as 1913's Brazilian themed 'Maxixe'. (Later danced to wide acclaim by the Castles.) His 'Junk Man Rag' (a one step) was also very popular. Many dance historians also feel that Mouvet is the innovator of the 'American' Tango, as it is still danced today, - both in America (and in Argentina too). Here's a photo of Mouvet dancing the Tango, from the book Dancing Till Dawn: A Century of Exhibition Ballroom Dance, by Julie Malnig. One tune, "The Tango Del Maurice", composed by Silvio Hein especially for Mouvet, went through several publications. Here are two of them, one showing Mouvet and Florence Walton on the cover, while the second copy shows a (rather dim) photo of Mouvet and Madeleine D'Harville, the very same lady with whom he danced the 'L'Apache' in Paris.

The Tango had gained great popularity after WW1. While Maurice was in Paris, he met a group of South Americans who were dancing their native Argentine Tango. He studied their dance steps, returned to the U. S. and began performing them in front of audiences, as well as teaching the dance to students at his own studio. It was only after WW1 that the Tango was standardized and simplified. Contra body movement, and the step now called the 'Tango Draw' or 'Tango Close' were introduced. His version is still referred to as the "American Tango" and is widely popular in the United States, Argentina, and the rest of the world. (But, it not the only Tango version. In Finland, for example, the so called "8-Step" version is used.) Interestingly, the Tango may have been the first of the "Latin" dances. Sadly, Mouvet died of Tuburculosis in Lausanne, Switzerland.

It was the Castles, Irene and Vernon, who changed the world's dancing habits. It is important to note that prior to the Castles, dances and galas were _private_ and held in uppper class homes. Dance Halls were NOT considered proper for polite society. But from about 1910 on, the world's dancing habits changed. The Castles began dancing in _public venues_ and the public became totally enraptured by their performances. Soon, every couple wanted to emulate the Castles, and were dancing - in public. From then onward, - it would be possible for musicians to earn a living, because the major venues found it necessary to hire orchestras so that their guests could dance.

The 1880s and '90's, and early 'teen years saw a mix of theatre music; brass bands, Rags, spirituals, field hollers and such. The Theatre music came from the popular composers of the day, while the Rags were primarily from a group of gifted composers and performers, around the Sedalia, Missouri and New York City regions. The 'hey day' of the Rags was from the mid-1890 to, say, 1917, - the first world war, and most sheet music was for the piano. It should be noted that while "genteel" men and women did indeed play the Rags on home pianos, the real spawning ground for the Rags were the Bordellos, where Black musicians - usually barred from more legitimate occupations - did the piano playing. The very first 'true' rag, a delightful two-step dance, "Mississippi Rag", by composer William H. Krell, was published in 1897. Another Rag composer was Charles L. Johnson, and here's his 1909 song "Kissing Bug Rag". This was the same year that the first black composer, Tom Turpin (called 'The Metronome' by his fellow musicians), published his "Harlem Rag". But the 'Rags' are not the forerunner of our dance band music, for they were too complex for dancing. Never-the-less, their steady 2/4 and 4/4 rhythm was useful in the development of simpler dances, among which were the 'Turkey Trot'; 'Camel Walk'; 'Lame Duck'; 'Bunny Hop' and the 'Grizzly Bear', (a Fanny Brice specialty during her Burlesque days).

Readers wishing to perfect their dancing style may want to try their luch with a "Rag", a "Trot", and a "Walk".
   "Red Rose Rag", (527 kb): The American Quartet with Billy Murray singing way back in 1911

   "The French Trot", (488 kb): The All Star Trio playing in 1922

   "The Camel Walk", (609 kb): The Ted Lewis Orchestra in 1925

In 1912, 15 women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA, for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job! These dances simply required walking around the floor in the embrace of your partner, and did not involve the strenuous exercise of a polka, etc. At the time, many folks considered the new dances immoral. Here is one typical newspaper report:

       "On March 27, in 1913 it was reported that Ed Spence, floor manager
       of the dance held at Holland, Michigan the previous Saturday night
       "...is in serious condition from 11 knife wounds as a result of
       trying to enforce his taboo of the 'Bunny Hug', the 'Turkey Trot'
       and like terpsichorean confections." To settle the matter, Mr.
       Spence had "stepped outside" with a young man who persisted in
       dancing the ragtime steps. Spence's wounds were a result of an
       argument."

Prior to the 1890s, and into the early 1900s, sheet music, usually took the form of piano and vocal parts. But with the advent of the 1910's, music publishers started to include parts for dance band instruments.

Prior to ca. 1900s, the popular dances of the day were the spritely waltz; the schottische, and the polka. These energetic dances needed 15 minute rest breaks after each dance. Mostly, it was the younger folks who did the dancing, their elders just watched from the sidelines. However, with the advent of the "Rags" in 1897, the Two-step dances began their popularity.

The catalyst for this change was the invention, in 1912, of the "Foxtrot" dance (in embryonic form). Earlier dances of this variety were known under such names as the "horsetrot" and the "fishwalk". From a modern point of view, it is sometimes difficult to discern the "foxtrot" rhythm in these early recordings; especially so if the recording was made by one of the many "military" bands, then so very poipular. Listen to a very early Foxtrox "Ivanhoe", recorded in 1908 by the Arthur Pryor Military Band. Listen also to the 'Royal Military Band (Koninklijke Militaire Kapel (Netherlands) playing, in 1912, their version of Alexander's Ragtime Band, with English vocal, and at the very end, they also throw in a few bars of "Swanee River". Incidentally, the band, formed in 1829, is still active today, playing for Holland's Royal family, The Army, and in theaters too.   A non-military interesting example is this early 1915 recording of Original Fox Trot", played by the then popular Van Eps Trio. Here's what the Victor Label, looked like. (These tunes have been digitally re-engineered by Mr. Verne Buland.)

Over the years, the Foxtrot has undergone several changes, such as discarding the 'trot' in favor of a 'saunter', which is the basis of the Foxtrot as we know it today. By 1924, there were two main versions; the slow Foxtrot and the quick Foxtrot.

Just one very singular activity served to propel the dance into wide public acceptance, and that was the dance team of "Irene and Vernon Castle".
Nota Bene. One of the points made in this discussion, is that prior to the team of Irene and Vernon, - a pose such as this, in public, was considered to be obscene. But, after the success of the Castles, everyone wanted to dance in public... in each other's arms.

The Castles did have some competition, of course, the most notable being "Joan Sawyer, a fine dancer who teamed with many different partners. Here's a photo of the Joan Sawyer and John Jarrot, dance team. During the 1910s, Sawyer was one of the most popular female dancers And, of course, we cannot overlook Rudolph (Valentino)". who was a show dancer before being 'discovered' by Hollywood, where he almost singlehandedly made the Tango an overnight sensation in the USA. (Before Hollywood, Valentino had partnered with Joan Sawyer on the Vaudeville circuits.) The Tango was one of the dances that the Castles performed so well. The Castles are often credited with bringing the Tango to America, but most dance historians now believe that Maurice Mouvet, (shown here with his favorite partner Florence Walton) actually introduced the dance. (see above.) Maurice, an excellent dancer, had many partners but Florence Walton was his wife (for 11 years) and one of his favorites. The Castles - Vernon and Irene, started dancing in 1914, sponsored by Ely Marbury, a prominent member of the Democratic Party. As their career progressed, the Castles, developed still other dances, such as the 'One Step' and the 'Maxixe'. (The Maxixe -pronounced 'machich'- was still another dance introduced by Maurice Mouvet, but he called it the "Machich".) Their dance exhibitions caught the public's fancy, and soon everybody wanted to go to a Dance Hall or Restaurant and do the same "Ballroom" dances. Dances no longer took place just in private homes. One could "go out" dancing. And, the only thing needed was -- a Dance Band.

Still another dancer at this time was George Raft. He was dancing long before becoming an actor. Actually, he was not so much a dancer as he was a Gigolo. Well, he began as a "Taxi-Dancer" working at a New York restaurant-dance palace called the 'El Fey Club' dancing with the ladies. While at the El Fey, he worked with the well known Joan Sawyer, and the then unknown Rudolph Valentino. Raft went on to become a famous Hollywood actor, where film insiders referred to him as "Hollywood's Gigolo". Curiously, Hollywood never did cast him as a dancer. He was the prototypical "tough guy" in gangster movies. (In the very few films in which he did dance the Rumba and the Bolero, the dance team of Veloz and Yolanda, did most of the dancing for him.)

The period of 1914 to 1918 saw the dance craze peak. Everyone was dancing. Dance tunes were literally pouring out of the Tin Pan Alley, among which were:
One Steps, and Two Steps, and then came
The Chicken Reel, and here's a photo of the Sheet Music, for this Jos. Daly tune.
The Turkey Trot dances (and variations). In 1913, the Turkey Trot appeared in Vernon and Irene Castle's Broadway show "Sunshine Girl" Here's a sheet music Cover, -another one by composer Joe. Daly.
Next came the Walk dances
(In 1909, Sophie Tucker did the Cubanola Glide, on the Burlesque stage. It is played here by the 'American Saxophone Band' in 1911. This snippet was extracted from a Medley that included "Chicken"; "The Cubanola Glide"; "When The Moon Plays Peek-a-Boo" and "The Bullfrog and The Coon".  Viewers who would like to hear the entire record may go to our Jazz Age Songs Page 2, -then scroll down the page and 'click' on "Medley").
"The Gaby Glide", by Louis A. Hirsch, (written for vaudeville star Gaby Deslys)
In 1912, Harry Fox performed a dance he called the Fox Trot.
"The Castle Walk", and here's the elegantly attired Castles Walking
"The Castle Waltz", By James Reece Europe
"The Fish Walk"
"The Syncopated Walk", by Irving Berlin (written for the Castles.)
The 'Walks' were succeeded by the Tangos
"Tango Dreams", by J. Rosamond Johnson

Then there were:

In addition to the "Turkey Trot"', there were various other "animal dances" such as the "Buzzard Lope", "'Possum Trot" and "Grizzly Bear"

   "The Grizzly Bear", (466 kb): Arthur Collins singing in 1912 (words by Irving Berlin, music by George Botsford (although Botsford later said that Berlin also helped with the music)

Here's the Sheet Music Cover of the "Grizzly Bear", music by Irving Berlin. And, here's another Cover. Look closely at the cover and one can see the couples hugging each other, - with both arms. The dance was basically a one step, with the couple taking a step and swaying heavily to that side, Then taking another step, and swaying deeply to that side. It was simple.. and fun. (Invented in San Francisco, CA. along with the 'Texas Tommy', and 'Bunny Hug". (The dance used a kick and a hop three times on each foot. That was followed by a 'slide' ending in in a "break-away" where the separated partners could solo, or "shine", prior to regaining the 'closed' position.) The Castle's didn't approve, and were greatly instrumental in the demise, of these three dances. In 1911, the "Texas Tommy" (also known as the "Break-away" and sometimes as "Mooch and Sugar") was seen in the Ziefeld Follies, and ih 1913, it was again heard on Broadway in the "Darktown Follies".musical.

A now defunct website on California music history had this to say about the "Texas Tommy":

       "..the first known use of the word swing relating to dance was
       here on the "Barbary Coast" (San Francisco) making it the true
       location of this form of dance's birthplace which was 1910. This
       dance was actually the combination of different Steps put together
       which created the "Texas Tommy Swing". One of the Dance Halls on
       the Barbary Coast was called "The So Different" owned by Purcells
       and featured these dances. Al Jolson would come to the Barbary
       Coast after doing his shows downtown to watch the Texas Tommy
       Dancers, he contracted to take a Team on the road back east
       which finally introduced the dance to New York."
  "Texas Tommy Swing", (288 kb): The year is 1912, and the American Quartet is singing this big hit song that was composed in 1911 by Sid Brown and Val Harris, for the Ziegfeld Follies, 1911 edition. The American Quartet singers were Billy Murray (lead tenor), John Beiling (high tenor), Steve Porter (baritone), and William F. Hooley (bass).

As we have seen, all during the 1920s, Dancing was indeed the main entertainment. Dancing was a major part of every party. Schools taught dancing to small children, while churches used Dances to attract young people. Tangos, Foxtrots, Camel Walks, even Square dances were popular. Flappers simply lived to dance. So, by 1923, people were ready for something new, and it arrived in the form of a dance called the "Charleston", composed by James Price Johnson, and lyricist Andy Razaf. The song was featured in the 1923 Afro-American Broadway musical "Running Wild", and was sung by Elizabeth Welch, but did not catch on with the public until the all-Black cast of "Running Wild" appeared in "Florenz Ziefeld's Follies of 1923". No other dance epitomizes the spirit and joyous exhuberance of the 1920's more than the "Charleston". The dance became so widely popular that even to this day, it is still the main symbol of the 1920s Jazz Age. "Tin Pan Alley" turned out hundreds of "Charleston" variations, and Charleston contests, were a regular part of Dance halls and hotels everywhere. Hospitals began receiving patients complaining of "Charleston knee." Interestingly, the Stodgier ballrooms tried to discourage the frenetic "Charleston" by posting signs that read simply, "PCQ" ("Please Charleston Quietly"). Today, in our mind's eye, we visualize Flappers with their knock knees, crossing hands, and flying beads dancing the Charleston. One of the more successful variants, a dance called the "Black Bottom", was first introduced in the 1926 Broadway edition of George White's "Scandals Listen now to a 1926 version of the "Black Bottom", as played by Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders. (Victor Orthophonic 20102-B). Within that one year, the dance swept not only America, but the entire world. Eventually, all the early dances lost popularity and the Foxtrot became the preferred dance. Here's an early Strut variation (Although not credited on the cover, the artwork is very obviously that of John Held, the quintessential caracaturist of the Roaring '20s Jazz Age.)

Not all Americans were enamored of the new music though. In the 1901 the American Federation of Musicians held their annual Convention in Denver, Colorado. The Aug. 7 'Denver Star' newspaper ran an article in which the Federation's president was quoted saying '. . . the musicians know what is good, and if the people don't, we will have to teach them." (He was talking about Scott Joplin's "Ragtime" music.)

Writer H.E. Krehbiel, in The Literary Digest of 1920, associated Jazz with "the Negro brothels of the South" and feared that ever more music and dance would emanate from these mysterious haunts".

In a 1921 'The Ladies' Home Journal' magazine article titled "The Jazz Path Of Degradation", one Mr. John R. McMahon (a dance instructor) wrote:

       "Our Middle West is supposed to be a citadel of Americanism
        and righteousness. Yet a survey of its length and breadth
       shows that it is badly spotted with the moral smallpox
       known as jazz. Those moaning saxophones and the rest of the
       instruments with their broken jerky rhythm make a purely
       sensual appeal. They call out to the low and rowdy instinct.

       All of us dancing teachers know this to be a fact. We have
       seen the effect of jazz music on our youth. The American
       people will never be the same as they were before they
       learned the disgraceful art of the shimmy and toddle. It is
       likely that the birth rate will be affected. The next
       generation will show certain physical consequences. There
       will be more weaklings and fewer stalwarts. The crop of
       human weeds will increase. Instead of real men and women,
       we may reasonably expect an augmented stock of lounge lizards
       and second-quality vamps.

       Jazz dancing is a worse evil than the saloon and scarlet vice.
       Abolish jazz music. Abolish the fox trot, one step, toddle,
       tango stock of lounge lizards and second-quality vamps or
       any form of dancing that permits the gentleman to walk
       directly in front of his partner. The road to hell is
       paved with Jazz steps!"

In another 1921 'The Ladies' Home Journal' magazine article, titled "Back To Pre-War Morals", the same Mr. John R. McMahon wrote:

       ". . . if Beethoven should return to earth and witness the
       doings of a jazz orchestra, he would thank heaven for his
       deafness.... All this music has a droning, jerky incoherence
       interrupted with a spasmodic blah! blah! blah!' that reminded
       me of the way that live sheep are turned into mutton."

In still another 1921 issue of The Ladies' Home Journal, author Anne Shaw Faulkner asked " Does Jazz Put The Sin In Syncopation ?", and then answered herself by quoting the opinion of Dr. Henry Van Dyke, a Presbyterian clergyman and professor at Princeton University, that Jazz "is not music at all." She went on to state that ". . . jazz originally was the accompaniment of the voodoo dancer, stimulating the half-crazed barbarian to the vilest deeds."

Other Dance Instructors also held strong views of Jazz dance. In 1921, Fenton T. Bott, then the head of the National Association of Masters of Dancing, proclaimed:

       "those moaning saxophones and the rest of the instruments
       with their broken, jerky rhythm make a purely sensual appeal.
       They call out the low and rowdy instincts.... Jazz is the
       very foundation and essence of salacious dancing."

A Brief word on Band Instrumentation
In the early 1900's, the typical dance orchestra might have consisted of only Violin (the lead instrument), piano, drums, and Banjo (American's only musical instrument invention). Oftentimes, the "band" consisted only of a Violin and a Banjo. (After about 1910, the banjo was replaced by a guitar.) The musicians were usually quite casually assembled. It would be known around the 'neighborhood' that a Mr. So and So could assemble a band for some evening or Sunday exhibition. From time to time, that leader would have a variety of different musicians coming and going, -whomever he knew that could play some -any- instrument, and was free and willing to work on the desired day/evening. There were very few pros. So, one sees that band instrumentation prior to ca.1910 was indeed a very tenuous thing. Sometimes, a "band" could be just 3 or 4 men, sometimes more. The "front line" might sometimes consist of a violin, cornet and flute, and at other times, perhaps just a cornet, Trombone, and clarinet. The "backline" could be almost anything available, - a drum and banjo, or drum and Tuba, or banjo and guitar, or any combination of the above.

As we have mentioned, prior to circa 1910, "professional" musicians were extremely rare. Professional bands were even rarer. This was because there were very few venues that hired musicians and orchestras on a full time basis; perhaps a few theatres, riverboats, traveling Minstrel Shows, - that sort or activity.. Only AFTER dancing in public became acceptable to society, and venues began hiring dance bands, did music truly become a full time career option.

By ca. 1912, the times were changing. Along with the changing patterns of dance music, audiences were creating new venues in the better class hotels and dance halls. And, these venues became a source of employment for more sophisticated dance bands. Now, for the first time, it became possible for musicians to earn a steady living by working in a band.

Big band historians have, over the years, speculated as to who was the very first leader to form a dance band. Often mentioned is the Wilbur C. Sweatman Orch., (that once had 21 year old Duke Ellington on piano). At least one other historian has pointed to The Black and Tan Orchestra that, in 1914, was playing in Los Angeles, California. But what is even more probable, is that there was no "one" orchestra, but rather a number of dance bands, in many widely different areas, coming into being quite naturally, as a result of evolutionary trends toward a more standard presentation of syncopated music and instrumentation.

Circa 1910, many leaders were starting their careers. Men such as: Earl Dabney; Charley Straight; Charles Elgar; Meyer Davis, and Ted Lewis, were forming their bands. But there are three bands that deserve special attention: the Art Hickman Orch., in San Francisco and the Isham Jones Orchestra, in Chicago, and the Eddie Elkins band in L.A..

Eddie Elkins Orch.
==================
Playing in such places as the L.A. Ambassador and Alexandra Hotels, the Eddie Elkins Orchestra was a pioneer of dance bands, that is now little remembered. Al Jolson, the great vaudevillian and later motion picture star, spotted Eddie and brought him to New York. In New York, Elkins appeared (in 1922) at the Knickerbocker Grill and the Pavillion Royal Hotel (Valley Stream, Long Island, NY). Here's a photo (source unknown) of Eddie's 10 piece band, (taken outside the Pavillon Royal, in 1922), showing (L-R) Loren McMurray, George Vaughn, Charles Strickfadden, W.E. "Jack" Frost, Thomas Swift (piano and baritone horn), George Marsh, Eddie Elkins, Matt E. Grogan, Joseph Colling, George Crozier.

Later, between 1928 and 1930, he worked as a music director for two Hollywood film companies. Elkins was still working the Radio Stations and Hotel Rooms in the late 1930's.

  VIDEO: "Eddie Elkins Orchestra"   with Thelma White dancing and singing. 1930 (film clip: GoodOldDays )

Eddie has told others that he was one of the creators of modern day dance music.

Art Hickman Orch.
=================
Art Hickman, loved to hang out at the local baseball club. One day he suggested to the team's manager, that it would be nice to have a band playing dance music in the evening. So, in 1913, Art formed his first band. Many of the newspaper reporters who followed the team, heard his band, and due to their publicity, Art's band was able to land a job at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, performing in the hotel's Rose Room. The front line was a trumpet and trombone, with a rhythm section of piano, two banjos and drum. Not too much later, violin, string bass (instead of the more common 'brass bass' - tuba) and two saxes (Doerr and Ralton), were added. The bands success was furthered by Art's composing two hit songs, - "Rose Room" and "Tears".

In 1919, Flo Ziegfeld heard him in SF and broght the band east to play in the Follies. After which, Art returned to SF.
In 1920, Ziegfeld again brought the band to NYC to appear in the 1920 edition of the Follies.
In 1921, The Hickman band was chosen to open the new Cocoanut Grove room at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A.
Not too long after, Hickman wearied of music and retired. The band continued under the leadership of Frank Ellis and also Earl Burtnett. Art Hickman died in San Francisco in 1930.

Isham Jones Orch.
=================
In the 1920's through the 1930's, Isham Jones led orchestras, and wrote many of his own arrangements. Earlier, ca 1910, he had learned to play the string bass, and eventually led a small ensemble in his hometown of Coaltown, OH. He was leading his own dance band playing in Saginaw, and in Bay City, Michigan, by the time he was 20 years old - playing both piano and saxophone. He moved to Chicago in 1915 to continue his study of the sax.

After a few jobs, he organized his first full dance band for a job at the Green Mill, and later took them into the College Inn and the Rainbow Gardens. He toured as far east as New York City, but Chicago remained his home.

Undoubtedly, there were other bands - now unremembered - that helped, but these three men, Isham Jones in Chicago; Art Hickman in San Francisco and Eddie Elkins in L.A., deserve special attention for their role in shaping the basic character of dance music as we know it today. It was their balance of the Ryhthm and Melody, and their instrumental voicings that became the model for later bands. One can trace the ascent of Dance Bands from these early orchestras up to the later day bands of Benny Goodman, the Dorseys, Miller, Thornhill, Barnet, Ellington, et al.