Sooner or later it had to happen!
The Stroll 50's dance craze went from a simple line dance to becoming one of the most recognized and most social dances, giving both the talented dancers and novices a way to enjoy the music and movement together.
Some might think that this dance started with the song by the same name as performed in the 1950s by the doo-wop group the Diamonds. However, the roots of the Stroll go back much further - in fact, it's probably impossible to say where the style of dance was first created. You can see elements of the moves in traditional English Country dance, in the "jive" dance that originated in the south, and many other iconic cultural dances, including several modern ones. The Bus Stop, as danced in the movie American Graffiti, is a version of the Stroll 50's dance-style, whereas the popular TV show from the 60's and 70's Soul Train also featured a version.
However for the purposes of this "Stroll" , I will concentrate on the one we most often think of when we hear "they were dancing the stroll". What some of us didn't know was that the dance came before the song.
The Stroll was both a slow rock 'n' roll dance and a song. The dance called the Stroll began in black communities to the songs "C. C. Rider" and "Betty and Dupree" by Chuck Willis. Willis was known as "The King of the Stroll" prior to the release of the song of that name. Billboard first reported that "The Stroll" may herald a new dance craze similar to the "Big Apple" in December 1957. Based on a suggestion by Dick Clark, who felt that there was no specific song for the dance,"The Stroll" was written by Clyde Otis and Nancy Lee and was recorded by the Canadian group The Diamonds.
In the dance, two lines of dancers, men on one side and women on the other, face each other, moving in place to the music. Each paired couple then steps out and does a more elaborate dance up and down between the rows of dancers. Dick Clark noted the similarity of the dance to the Virginia reel. (I never thought about that one!) It was first performed to "C. C. Rider" by Chuck Willis on American Bandstand. Link Wray's "Rumble" was also a popular tune for doing the Stroll.
There are still some 50's dance clubs where you can go get your "stroll" on.
Some choreographers even feel that the Macarena falls into the Stroll category, along with the wedding dance favorite the Electric Slide. I also happen to thing that Country Western Line Dancing could trace it's roots back to the stroll.
So our stroll on The Stroll comes to an end...
