Subject: RE: Origin: The Chicken Dance
From:
Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 04:16 PM
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Dance.
The "Chicken Dance" is an oom-pah song composed by Swiss accordion (Handharmonika) player Werner Thomas from Davos, Switzerland in the 1950s and the corresponding fad dance.
This is not the same dance as "The Chicken" popular in American rhythm and blues in the 1950s, in which the dancers flapped their arms and kicked back their feet in an imitation of a chicken.
History
The name of the original Swiss song was "Der Vogerltanz" (The Bird Dance). Since 1963 Werner Thomas had played it in restaurants and hotels. During one of Thomas' performances, Belgian producer Louis van Rijmenant heard the song. Van Rijmenant had some lyrics created and in 1970 released it to the public, without much success. In 1980, Dutch local band "De Electronica's" released an instrumental version, which became a hit, and started the international success of the song. On some recorded releases of the music Werner Thomas is listed as the composer, while on others other authors are listed, e.g., as "Thomas/Rendall/Hose", probably including the authors of the particular arrangement. Since then the song has become known under numerous other "birdie" names, including "Vogerltanz" (Bird Dance), "Danse des Canards", "Chicken Dance" and "Dance Little Bird". Over 140 versions of it are recorded worldwide, including Walt Disney Records, together making over 40,000,000 records.
The dance was introduced in the United States in 1981 during the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oktoberfest by the Heilbronn Band from Germany. They wanted to demonstrate the dance in costume, but there were no duck costumes available anywhere near Tulsa. At a local television station, however, a chicken costume was available which was donated for use at the festival, giving the "Chicken Dance" its name.[citation needed]
In 1981 a version of the "Chicken Dance" was released in Britain as an instrumental novelty tune "The Birdie Song" by The Tweets. Adapted (per some accounts) by Mike Rae, an Aberdeen-based bass player, it reached number two in the singles chart in October 1981.[1][2] In 2000, this version was voted as "the most annoying song of all time" in a poll commissioned for the website dotmusic.[2]
In 1982 it was introduced to the USA on Nationwide TV's PM Magazine Show (produced by Group W Productions of San Francisco) by Wisconsin Orchestra leader Norm Edlebeck as the "Chicken Dance". Despite other claims as to the name "Chicken Dance", the name had come about because an Austrian tour guide translated "Bird Dance / Dance Little Bird" and other similar names, from German to English by calling it "The Chicken Dance" when Norm Edlebeck's Band appeared in Austria in the fall of 1981[citation needed]. Edlebeck recorded it on the "End of The Trail" record label and used his nickname "Whoopee" as the artist. Group W Productions repeated it again nationwide on August 9th, 1983 and included Edlebeck's picture in their weekly ad slick sent to every station in their network for publication in TV Guide. Group W titled the segment the "World's Stupidest Dance".[citation needed]
The most popular version[citation needed] was recorded by the Emeralds and released on K-Tel records in 1981. The LP "Bird Dance" sold millions of copies in the first year. It has become a standard request at weddings and family gatherings.
Contrary to some misconceptions, it is not an Austrian folk dance, although it was presented as one in the Austrian film Das Fest des Huhnes.
In the United States, the publishing rights for the song were acquired by a New York publisher Stanley Mills.[citation needed]
In Denmark, a version of this song is used by the brewery Tuborg in their commercials for their "Easter Brew" ("Påskebryg" in Danish).[citation needed]
In 1970 Willie Henderson and The Soul Explosions released an LP called Funky Chicken in which Willie is seen doing the chicken dance on the psychedelic cover.[citation needed]
In 1995 the Brave Combo recorded a rock/ska version.
Dance steps
The "Chicken Dance" song is accompanied by a dance requiring a group of people, and it goes as follows: - At the start of the music, shape a chicken beak with your hands. Open and close it four times, during the first four beats of the music.
- Make chicken wings with your arms. Flap your wings four times, during the next four beats of the music.
- Make a chicken's tail feathers with your arms and hands. Wiggle downwards during the next four beats of the music.
- Clap four times during the next four beats of the music.
- Repeat this process four times.
- At the bridge, hold your arms straight, in imitation of an aeroplane. All dancers spin around the room in "flight" until the bridge ends.
- (Alternately: At the bridge, link arms with the nearest person, turn right eight steps, switch arms and turn left eight steps, then repeat until the bridge ends)
- The dance repeats, progressively getting faster and faster, until the music stops.
This song in other languages - Bulgarian: Патешкият танц
- Czech: Ptačí tanec (kuřátka)
- Dutch: De Vogeltjesdans
- Estonian: Tibutants
- Finnish: Tiputanssi
- French: La danse des canards
- German: Vogerltanz, Ententanz
- Gestern Abend im Verein, (Last night at the club,)
- Gestern Abend im Verein, (Last night at the club,)
- Trank ich zuviel roten Wein... (I drank too much red wine.)
- Greek: Ta papakya stee seera (Gr. Τα παπάκια στη σειρά - the little ducks are in a row)
- Hebrew: ריקוד הציפורים (Rikud Ha'Tsiporim) - The Bird Dance
- Hungarian: Kacsatánc (Release after the Spanish version)
- Icelandic: Fugladansinn
- Italian: Il ballo del qua qua
- Japanese: Okashi Tori (The Crazy Bird)
- Korean: 모두가 천사라면 (Moduga cheonsaramyeon - If Everybody Were Angels)
- Lithuanian: Ančiukų šokis (Duckling Dance)
- Norwegian: Fugledansen
- Portuguese: Passarinho quer dançar
- Polish: Kaczuszki (Duckies)
- Romanian: Gaina (The hen)
- Russian: Танец маленьких утят
- Slovene: Račke (Ducks)
- Spanish: Pajaritos a bailar / El baile de los pajaritos / Pajaritos a volar
- Y el mundo a bailar. (And the whole world dancing.)
- Swedish: Fågeldansen ("The Bird Dance", although sometimes called "Kycklingdansen" - "The Chicken Dance". The English title "Chicken Dance" is also sometimes used.)
- In 1981 in the UK, known as "The Birdie Dance", performed to a song called "The Birdie Song", performed by "The Tweets".
- The tune for the birdie song can be heard as the first theme in the third movement of William Alwyn's Concerto Grosso No.1 in B flat major of 1943.
Notable performances
At the Cincinnati Oktoberfest on September 20, 2004, rock musician Vince Neil served as the Grand Marshall of the World's Largest Chicken Dance. The U.S. cable television channel VH1, in its compilation of the 40 Least Metal Moments panned this performance as the single least metal moment in Heavy Metal history.[3]
The Chicken Dance is featured in Judson Laipply's Evolution of Dance.
Parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic played the accordion at the world's largest Chicken Dance in history. He later used the Chicken Dance to begin his 2006 polka medley, "Polkarama!" from his album Straight Outta Lynwood, and uses the song as the concert opener on the tour promoting Lynwood. Also, the choreography is seen in the video for "Smells Like Nirvana", performed by the cheerleaders.
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