Here I am 46 years young and still reelin' and rockin' to sounds from way back. Those glorious years from 1940's through the 1950's when music was changin' and the white world accepted that rockin' black sound! Crazy man, real gone crazeeeee. I love to dance to live bands, all over the UK, but mostly in the midlands, South West and London areas
How things change. way back in the 70's (when Rock n Roll was in a real revival mode in the UK) I dressed in the American fashions of the late 40's and early 50's. The same styles that I wear today when I'm visiting rockin' and jivin' dance events. Back then I was called a "jitterbug dancer" and a "hep cat" and a "rockabilly rebel" and mainly called a "rock n roll" dancer. I mixed with my Teddy Boy friends (in their cool drapes) and with out and out wild rockers (in black leathers and oily jeans). The scene was rockin' and growing fast in my native Newcastle and Gateshead area.
Now many years later I still wear my oversized jackets and wild baggy pants, two tone shoes and loud ties...but suddenly I'm a swing dancer. I do like swing, particularily the big beat sound of small combos, but I really love the RnB of Louis Jordan, Joe Turner, Smiley Lewis and Bill Haley, the wild rockabilly from early Presley, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis, and more. In fact the whole early SUN sound. In my mind I'm still a rock n roll dancer, or a jitterbug dancer or a boogie woogie dancer. My view on the current scene is simple, I love the music, I love the differing dance styles, I love to put them both together, to dance to the crazee sounds and to try and interpret the music that plays thru' my body....crazee man crazeeeeee!
Man are we lucky today. We can listen to and see some great bands and sounds from the original eras, and we get to see current bands doing their own version of these great tracks. And the modern bands have also penned their own words and music too. It keeps me feeling young and happy. It's true, music and dance can keep us young at heart......and it's all "rock n roll" to me. The great great sounds from a truly rockin' era.
