Swing Era

The Swing Era Years

The Swing Era years were from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. Though swing music had emerged before this point, it was not popular until the years of the Great Depression. Coming right after the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression was the longest and most severe economic depression ever experienced by the industrialized West.

Amid people's struggles, musicians became more competitive and creative in their attempts to make a new, unique style. With swing, bands adopted classical and popular music themes and performed them in dance tempo. This new music, along with the end of Prohibition in 1933, inspired the following Swing Era years.

The word "swing" first appeared in a Duke Ellington number from 1932 titled "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." In that same year, it would also make an appearance in Benny Moten's "Moten Swing."

Fig. 1 - Duke Ellington's orchestra

Swing Era Characteristics: Music and Jazz

In swing bands, there were three defined groups: brass, woodwinds, and rhythm. The wind basses and banjos from previous decades turned into string basses and guitars, and the overall rhythm of the music became “lighter,” moving from 2/2 meter to 4/4 meter.

Swing placed a greater emphasis on written-out composition. The music was smooth, easy to listen to, fun to dance to, and simple to play. The harmonies of swing were clear and simple, while the melodies were lyrical and memorable. The rhythms had solid beats that were easy to follow with dance, and of course, most importantly, it “swung.”

Swing bands would also feature a soloist, meaning there had to be a strong emphasis on showmanship for the group to be successful. However, despite many Black orchestras finding popularity during this time, there was discrimination in the music industry. Stars had to be commercially exploitable, and for that to happen, they had to be white.

Swing Era Dance

The two earliest forms of swing dance to emerge were called the "Lindy Hop" and the "Charleston". Just as with swing music, the African American community played a large role in the development of these dances.

Swing Era Dance: The Savoy Ballroom

When the Savoy Ballroom in New York was inaugurated and opened to the public in 1926, it was an instant success due to its modern architecture. As its popularity grew, more famous dancers flocked to the Ballroom to dance to the jazz music that was often performed. New steps began to develop, and new dance forms quickly hit the scene.

Fig. 2 - Dancers at the Savoy Ballroom circa 1936

One day at the Savoy, news reporters questioned a dance enthusiast about the name of the moves that were being performed. The man panicked and responded with the title of a newspaper article that lay next to him–"Lindy Hops the Atlantic.” The name "Lindy Hop" stuck and a new form of dance was born.

In the 1930s, a Savoy bouncer by the name of Herbert White formed the first ever dance group for the Lindy Hop. The group became known across the globe and was also featured in movies. Despite its success, the older generations viewed this form of swing dance as vulgar and sexual and referred to it as a degenerated form of Jazz. Even into the 1940s, professional dance schools refused to recognize it as a real dance form–they preferred to focus on teaching the Tango, Paso Doble, Samba, Mamba, Cha-cha, and Waltz.

Swing Era Dance: Into the Mainstream

Change would begin to appear in the later 1940s when Arthur Murray, a famous dancer, requested his studio dance teachers to teach the forms of dance that were being performed in the streets. Soon, different forms of swing were taught at his studios in different cities. By the 1950s, the dance forms for swing were officially established. Since that time, this form of dance has been taught in many different schools, creating inspiration for the birth of "Ballroom East Coast Swing" and "Ballroom West Coast Swing."

Swing Era Composers and Musicians

Below is a table reviewing of some important Swing Era composers and musicians: