The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #110698 Message #2325221
Posted By: Azizi
25-Apr-08 - 08:15 AM
Thread Name: BS: Electric Folk Music
Subject: RE: BS: Electric Folk Music
It's Electric!!
Electric Slide
It's Electric!
You can't see it It's electric! You gotta feel it It's electric! Ooh, it's shakin' It's electric!
Jiggle-a-mesa-cara She's a pumpin' like a matic She's a movin' like electric She sure got the boogie
You gotta know it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie! Now you can't hold it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie! But you know it's there, Yeah here there everywhere
I've got to move, I'm going on a party ride I've got to groove, groove, groove, And from this music I just can't hide.
Are you comin' with me? Come let me take you on a party ride And I'll teach you, teach you, teach you I'll teach you the electric slide
Some say it's mystic It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie You can't resist it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie You can't do without it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie Jiggle-a-mesa-cara she's a pumpin' like a matic She's movin' like electric She sure got the boogie
Don't wanna lose it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie But you can't choose it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie But you know it's there, Yeah here there everywhere
I've got to move, Come let me take you on a party ride And I'll teach you, teach you, teach you I'll teach you the electric slide
Some say it's mystic It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie You can't resist it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie You can't do without it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie Jiggle-a-mesa-cara she's a pumpin' like a matic She's movin' like electric She sure got the boogie
Don't wanna lose it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie But you can't choose it It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie But you know it's there, Yeah here there everywhere
-snip-
Here's just a bit of informational grounding, for folks who don't know this song/dance:
Since the 1990s, "The Electric Slide" record by Marcia Griffith {though the title of her record is "The Electric Boogie"} is almost always played at African American wedding receptions, and other social events. When the first notes of this record are heard, many African American females of all ages, jump up, and hurry on to the dance floor to join in this line dance. Usually fewer numbers of Black men will also join in this line dance. Given its positive reception among African American females, this dance has colloquially and even affectionately been called the "Black women's national anthmn". In that sense, The Electric Slide has certainly reached the status of a "folk dance", if not a "folk song".
I think it's fitting that the Electric Slide is aline dance. The multiple, horizontal line dance can be done to other songs, but it's most often done to this particular song. Most people don't know the lyrics to the Electric Slide except for the refrain "It's electric! Boogie Oogie Oogie Oogie!" Note that it's the dance that is considered affectionately, and not the song itself. Perhaps because The Electric Slide record is so ubiquitously played at social functions, quite a few people-including me-are not that fond of the song as we are of the dance.
For those interested in information about this dance, here's a link to its wikipedia page:
And here's two links to Youtube videos of The Electric Slide. The first video is the commercial video featuring Marcia Griffith {who between 1974 and 1981 was a member of the I-Threes, a background group, which supported Bob Marley & the Wailers-talk about a folk music legend}. The second video demonstrates how The Electric Slide is usually performed at African American social functions:
** Fwiw, this "Black dance" was created by a White guy named Ron Silver. But we African Americans took that dance and ran with it, or at least boogied on down the line with it. And since electricity is found everywhere, it was only a matter of time that this "dance craze" would spread to non-African American communities. Here's a short video of The Electric Slide being performed in a slightly different way {the kick} by Asian dancers:
Well, they're certainly plugged into the circuit! I'm glad this easy to perform dance has gotten so much milage. But is this folk music? Maybe it depends on which folk you ask.