Ignore the racist stereotypes and see true athleticism, artistry and energy. The incomparable Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, and the poem follows. Watch the video first; I dare you not to be amazed. Band is Slim Galliard and Slam Stewart; Slam spent his last years in my hometown, Binghamton, NY. A gentle, sweet man who never lost his soulful voice and way with a bass.
Lindy Hoppers
Back when jazz was hot
When the drums meant dancin
jitterbuggin, Lindy Hoppin
shimmyin, shakin your sugar…
Lil, Grace, and Fancy
flounced and flirted in the finer clubs
Gracie, she was fine on the dance floor
Lil had more meat on her bones,
made lifting for the Lindy doubtful
Still, she clapped and hooted off on the side
beer in one hand, the other tucked in Slim’s front pocket
Now, Fancy was a flimsy-thin frail
made for stompin at the Savoy
When the band commenced to wailin
she’d be flyin over Jimmy’s head,
flung between his legs and back up again
She shined like a new penny,
bronze and easy rollin
Her real name was Flo
but once they saw her dance
hellzapoppin on that floor
they renamed her Fancy
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
For Three Word Wednesday: Thin, Jitter, Grace, blog
Sharp Little Pencil 
Debbie
Wow! I love what inspires you and the history behind this. Oh to be that talented! Thanks Amy, for the lessons and the poem!
vivinfrance
Oh what fun! This made me breathless and my feet twitchy! You’ve caught the idiom of the age beautifully.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Viv, although I doubt you remember it… your mum must have told you, right?
My mom raised me on stories about singing with the bands and the dancers just going wild. I found the archival footage on YouTube, bless their hearts! Thanks, Amy
Roger Green
I LOVED Slam Stewart! My father knew him, and I met him at least once. Slam did that talking bass thing. I have an LP of his somewhere. Last time I saw him play was at the Sartatoga Performing Arts Center some years back.
Sharp Little Pencil
And he was proud to be living in Binghamton in his last years, too!
Paul Andrew Russell
Oh my, Amy. I remember seeing this film years and years ago. (I used to go down to my grandparents on a Sunday, spend some time on the allotment with my grandfather and then watch a movie on TV in the afternoon with them. Great memories.)
Great music and amazing dancers. I have NEVER been able to move like that. At my age I couldn’t even if I wanted to. lol
Some things, like great music and dance, seem to be from a bygone age now. It’s a shame. The kids just aren’t seeing or hearing true artistry at work. Oh my, that makes me sound soooooooooooo old. lol
Lovely poem.
Paul
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, Paul. Glad it brought back good memories. Funny, every time I see the new crop of Roller Derby girls, I think of my great-aunt Ruthie, because that’s what we’d watch together, sipping my dad’s homemade Saki and reading the funny papers during commercials.
The music, the movement… thank God my friend Ann encouraged me to add that clip, because it’s heaven on celluloid! Amy
Old Egg
This piece had a great beat to it. I really like the way you constructed the poem too; the build up, the freneticism, then the wind down. Great work.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Robin. It almost wrote itself… all I had to do was edit. Felt the whole scene, then researched YouTube for Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. Amy
Ren
I totally, totally enjoyed this. First thing I looked at this morning.
Even without the clip, I could visualize the dance.
My grandparents were part of the whole scene and I can just see them doing the same thing 🙂 Its too bad that this sort of dance went out of favour years ago. Great Job!
If you ever get a chance to look at footage of the Nicolas Brothers (in Stormy Weather), please do so. Their footwork is amazing.
Sharp Little Pencil
Ren, sent you an email, but I hope others will click on this clip, because the Nicholas Brothers were like tap royalty. They were coming up during the same years as the young Nat “King” Cole, back when he was the pianist for his trio. HOT AS HELL!!! Thanks so much, Amy
Susannah
Wonderful. Your words bought it to life. 🙂
Kim Nelson
hellzapoppin… shined like a new penny,bronze and easy rollin… Lil had more meat on her bones,
made lifting for the Lindy doubtful… It is the ability to weave words and scenes such as these throug a series of stanzas that elevates your writing to art. You took me to that club. I think I tasted gin.
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, Kim, I love having you along for these rides, just as much as I like riding shotgun on yours! Yeah, I just got that jazz itch and one thing led to another. Writing a good poem is like throwing a party and inviting your whole imagination along! Amy
christine
hellzapoppin on the floor, fantastic line, I wish I could do that, probably break a hip at this point.
Sharp Little Pencil
You and me both, kiddo. But we can dream…!
earlybird
Great! That’s a pretty energetic dance and you capture it really well.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks. There are a lot of “soundies” on YouTube. They were in vogue in the 30s and 40s, but a lot of them have very stereotypical racial “mugging” demanded by the white directors, which takes dignity away from the performers… sad, that.
Altonian
WOW! Amy, WOW! What a video. What a reminder of what Hoppin’, Poppin’, Boppin’ was all about – AND how it should be done. A great tribute to the people and the times. I remember when I first heard Slam Stewart and his ‘humming and strumming’ style. 1953 Newport Jazz Festival; Maynard Ferguson; Hank Jones; Slam Stewart; Shelley Manne (my favourite drummer); Willie Smith, and Oh so many more. Not always together at the same time, but always there somewhere. Lee Konitz; Richie Kamuca; the entire Stan Kenton orchestra; Got away from Slam Stewart now, but who cares, so many great names from that era: Frank Rossellino; Vido Musso; Kai Winding, et al. You’ve got me going now – I love ’em all! Thanks for the memories, except they are not really memories, I’ve got ’em all on records.
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, you would love this – I used to know Jai Winding, Kai’s son, back in my California days. Nice guy, helluva pianist, too!
I have too many drummers I love to claim a fave (except my daughter, ha!), but I think when it’s all said and done, I’m a Chick Webb fan. But Shelley is very high up on the list. Also Peter Erskine, who at 15 was the drummer for Kenton. He’s a friend of mine from way back, still in touch. 1953 in Newport… man, you know how to live. I was but a gleam in my daddy’s eye back then, hee hee. Thanks for the memories here, Leigh, much appreciated! Amy
beespoetry
Hot damn. Great video, great poem.
Wish I could dance like that! Wow. That’s crazy timing, such skill with the leaps and throws and wow!
Sharp Little Pencil
I wish I had that dexterity, rhythm, and especially those legs! Even in bobby sox, how gorgeous!
The Rusty Pen
What an excellent video and poem! Truly amazing dancing. My Mom was a dancer back in those days and she did a lot of this and taught some to us as kids however, I never got the hang of the over the head and through the legs thing. It was thin and chicken!
Thanks for sharing this; it was amazing and very much enjoyed.
Sharp Little Pencil
There’s a great line in the Little Jimmy Rushing song, “Mr. Five by Five” that goes,
That man/can really Chicken for a fat man…
Just thought of the tune and now I cannot let go! I’ll bet it’s on YouTube somewhere. “Five foot tall and five foot wide…” Cool that your mom danced back then. Mine would have been on the bandstand singing! Amy
Mr. Walker
Amy, you swing, baby. That was a great video. Hot music and dancing to match. You capture it well in your poem. I like how you focused on the three women dancers, especially Fancy. You pay tribute to the people and the music.
Richard
Sharp Little Pencil
I didn’t start out with the video in mind – I was discussing the poem with my friend Ann, who is away editing her book. We talked about those old “soundies” and I got the idea from her to marry the video with the poem, which had already been completed. Just love Slam Stewart, and the Lindy music, the livin’ end! Thanks so much, Richard! A
pmwanken
Very fun post, Amy…thanks for linkin’ me here from your comment over on my blog.
~Paula
Sharp Little Pencil
Same here, Paula. I enjoy the give and take between all of us. I was hoping you’d get a kick out of this one!
Jae Rose
Fancy-Flo! A breathmint indeed..Jae 😉
Sharp Little Pencil
Thought you deserved one, ha ha. Too much serious stuff coming out of me these days…
Peter Dudley
Love the hopping language in this and the freewheeling fun it embodies.
Sharp Little Pencil
I really enjoyed writing this one, too, Peter. Thanks for visiting! I’ll head over and see what you are up to. Peace, Amy
booguloo
I’m thinking coffee may have played a roll in their performance!! lol
Sharp Little Pencil
Yeah, a whole pot each! And none of that Sanka crap, either!
Madeleine Begun Kane
Wow! Good poem. Loved that video! That’s seriously hard to do!
Sharp Little Pencil
I hurt just from watching their gymnastics. My face also hurts from smiling = sheer joy!
Berowne
You were right, Amy. Thanks for alerting me to this fascinating bit of history.
Sharp Little Pencil
Knew you would dig it, history buff that you are, plus your love of music makes it a perfect fit. Thanks! Amy
Sheilagh Lee
wonderful not only the video but the poem .Lovely
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you, Sheilagh. Aren’t those dancers aMAZing? A
pandamoniumcat
Wonderful fun story with a great energy just like the dance.
Sharp Little Pencil
That’s what I was hoping for! Thanks for visiting, Panda; I’ll get over to your blog now! Amy
brian
ha i could only wish to move like that..fancy was her name indeed….hellzapoppin on the dance floor…nice!!!
dustus
Creative poetry. Love what you did with the video as inspiration. Watching the clip I was struck by how incredible the dancers were, and how their moves seemed spontaneous and supercharged!
Sharp Little Pencil
You’ve gotta love ’em. Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, and what an inspiration. If I hadn’t been writing to a prompt (“fancy” being one of the three words and becoming one woman’s name), I might well have used the Nicholas Brothers, as someone put in here! Thanks, Adam! Amy
Carrie Burtt
What a wonderful dance back in time Amy! Love this!! 🙂
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Carrie! A
leah
as a person I found this delightful and entertaining and nothing wrong with it thank you for celebrating this style of dance and music.
Sharp Little Pencil
My only apology was for the stereotypes of the dancers: waitstaff, maids and butlers, etc. That was the depiction of Black Americans during that perios – and then they were chased back to work after the dance… but I’m glad you liked this. I suppose it’s a matter of history, the stereotypes, which I find sad. Thanks, Leah, Amy
Isabel Bush
makes me want to put on my dancing shoes this weekend. great poem. loved the video as well.
Sharp Little Pencil
The video really sparked the poem… or was it the poem, sparking the YouTube search? Yes, that’s it, LOL. Amy
Kerry O'Connor
What a wonderful jazzy poem. It reminds me of the Harlem poets – same sense of movement and characterization.
Excellent work.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Kerry. This little white girl holds so much identification with the Harlem Renaissance… 30 years and counting, singing and play jazz! Amy
Jingle
you make Flo come alive.
well done.
check out short story slam and make a submission today.
Sharp Little Pencil
I’ll try, Jingle, but I’ll tell you – it was Lex’s weekend of church “installation” as their Senior Pastor, so I’m way behind on replying to comments and haven’t visited any other sites, so… hope to see you soon! Love, Amy
swapna
Hi Amy- like you rightly said, i just waltzed at this party. loved the way you put it. its definitely a party ride, stringing those memories in words!Kudos.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks for stopping by, Swapnap, and for your kind words. Gonna come over and check yours out, now! Amy
uponthewingsofnight
This poem really reminds me of the Harlem Renaissance poets. Just a bit of trivia…Slam Stewart recorded an album with Major Holley in 1981, and I remember playing some stuff off of it when I was a dj in college. My favorite track was called Undecided.