United States Supreme Court
Justice Potter Stewart, in 1964, said, “I’ll know it when I see it.” That quote referred to an obscenity threshold
test and is where we begin today. This
made me speculate if the same test could be applied to the Boogie.
I’ve heard the titles and songs
for ages: Boogie Fever, Get Your Boogie Down, Boogie Nights, Boogie Wonderland,
Jungle Boogie, Blame It on the Boogie, and Boogie.
All this boogying made me wonder where it began.
Firstly, boogie is described as a repetitive shuffle rhythm originally played on a piano. It started circa 1916, but was used in earnest in the 1930’s with Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, and Tommy Dorsey.
Nearly 100 years later, we are still referring to the boogie.
In the 1970’s, people were
shaking their boogie thing perhaps with their Boogie Shoes. Boot Scootin’ Boogie cannot be done in
regular Boogie Shoes. And, a Boogie Man
is not a grown-up Boogie Child.
Brian Setzer enjoys boogying on practically all his albums. Kool and the Gang do a lot of boogying, too.
Country and western artists also Boogie. Hank Williams was Born to Boogie, and Charlie
Daniels once did the Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues.
Hank Williams, Jr., was Born to
Boogie, while Kid Rock has done the 3 CATT Boogie.
It appears as though nearly
everyone is doing the boogie of some sort and by all styles of music, including
something called “rap.” Rap is poetry
spoken by someone with little talent beating a five-gallon bucket, in case you
didn’t know.
Women also got in on this boogie
train. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and a
freak called Ru Paul did a song called Jealous of My Boogie. Uh-huh.
In any case, the boogie and/or
boogie woogie is music to which you feel obligated to tap your foot, slap your
knee, or sway to the beat.
I’m not quite sure if an Oogie
Boogie is similar a Boogie Woogie but, here’s a list of boogiers you may
contact to ask: KC and the Sunshine Band; Al Jarreau; Earth, Wind and Fire; The
Jacksons; Bette Middler; Brooks & Dunn; Heatwave; The Andrews Sisters;
Stevie Wonder; and Insane Clown Posse.
Those of you who wager on this
website won if you said Barry Manilow was in on this boogie business, as well.
It doesn’t appear as though The
Boogie or any related Boogie activities can be considered dangerous to your
health. Please keep something in mind,
though. According to the Centers for
Disease Control, Boogie Fever may, or may not, be related to the Rocking
Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu.
Boogie at your own risk.
