Search - Various Artists :: Rough Guide to Boogaloo

One Of A Number Of Dance Crazes From the 1960s/1970s

Dr. Memory | 07/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The dance craze known as The Boogaloo (sometimes shown as Boogalu) is best described in the note that appears on the reverse of this 2005 release from World Music Network: "A fusion of Cuban salsa and American soul, boogaloo was the brightly burning dance craze fixating every young dancer in New York's barrios in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Boogaloo was born out of the creativity of the 1960s generation of USA-born Latinos, who musically grafted American culture on to their Latin roots, leading many established Latin bandleaders to adopt the dance to irresistible results."



I assume the author of that note is Susan Steward who also wrote the seven pages of excellent liner notes, including track-by-track comments, accompanied by a number of nice mini-photos of some of the artists. The sound reproduction is excellent.



Like all the dance crazes of the past (Twist, Mashed Potato, Madison, Jerk, Limbo, Freddie, Swim, Pony, Monkey, Hully Gully, Continental Walk, Pop-Eye, Watusi and Boomerang - to name the most memorable), hit singles soon ensued to capitalize, although in this particular volume, which concentrates more on the roots of the sound and beat, there is just one such hit: Oh Yeah! by The Joe Cuba Sextet which hit # 45 R&B/# 62 Hot 100 in early 1967 on the Tico label. Earlier in 1966 this group from Puerto Rico had also scored with El Pito (I'll Never Go Back To Georgia) and "Bang" "Bang," which reached, respectively, # 44 R&B/# 115 Hot 100 "bubble under" in August, and # 21 R&B/# 63 Hot 100 in November, both also on the Tico label.



But there were plenty of other "Boogaloo" hit singles, beginning in 1965 with Boo-Ga-Loo by Tom (Robert "Tommy Dark" Tharp) & Jerrio (Jerry Murray), which made it to # 11 R&B/# 47 Hot 100 that May for ABC-Paramount. Murray, changing the spelling to Jerryo, would then add Karate-Boo-Ga-Loo (# 16 R&B/# 51 Hot 100 in October 1967) and Funky Boo-Ga-Loo (# 40 R&B in February 1968) as a solo artist, both for Shout Records.



Also in 1966, The Flamingos, a renowned R&B vocal group that had been around since the mid-1950s, tried their hand at the beat/sound with The Boogaloo Party and saw it rise to # 22 R&B but just # 93 Hot 100 in April in a Phillips release, while in 1967, the biggest hit of them all came from The Fantastic Johnny C (Johnny Corley) whose Boogaloo Down Broadway topped out at # # 5 R&B and # 7 Hot 100 late that year for the Phil-LA label.



Then, in 1972, even ex-Beatle Ringo Starr got into the act when Back Off Boogaloo got as high as # 9 Hot 100 that spring. But by then the craze was on the wane, although it would make a re-appearance on the charts in 1984 when Electric Boogaloo, from the film Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo, got to # 45 R&B by Ollie (Ollie Brown) & Jerry (Jerry Knight) for Polydor.



If you lived through, and participated in, this particular dance craze, or perhaps are just curious about what all the fuss was about, you will love this offering."