Song of the Week by Alain Wong
by Carl Nelson
This week we feature our very own Alain Wong from Montreal, QC, Canada. He has DJ’ed at such events as the Canadian Swing Championships, the Albany Chill (Lindy Hop exchange), the MTLX (Montreal Lindy Hop exchange), the Mike & Casey weekend in Toronto, the Steven & Virginie weekend in Rochester and most recently at the Quebec Swing Rendez-Vous. You can find him DJ’ing regularly in Montreal.
Song: Stomp, Stomp
Artist: The Cats and the Fiddle
Album: We Cats Will Swing For You
For my song of the week, I’m choosing an obvious song that has been stuck in my head and that of many other dancers this past year.
Since our team The Northern Lights performed a team routine to it, dancers occasionally run into me with a simple “Stomp Stomp” and then walk away. You can watch an inspiring performance by The Mop Squad to the same song. For those who are wondering, we had chosen our song without having seen this performance. To Manu Smith’s credit, he did a great job interpreting the music, and if we had seen this routine, we might not have chosen the same song. In any case, it’s nice to see how a song can be interpreted as a solo jazz routine and as a group choreography.
About the band
Who hasn’t heard “Gangbusters” or “Killing Jive” at a dance? The Cats and the Fiddle are easily recognizable because of their infectious rhythm and vocal harmonies. Originally composed of Austin Powell (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Henderson (tenor, tipple), Chuck Barksdale (bass vocals, upright bass), and Ernie Price (tenor, guitar, tipple), the group underwent many formation changes over the years.
The song Stomp Stomp is credited to tenor vocalist and guitarist Tiny Grimes, who had in 1940 replaced Herbie Miles, who himself had been a replacement for original quartet member Jimmy Henderson (who died of meningitis). It’s a swinging tune that reflected the popularity of vocal harmonies made popular by the Mills Brothers in the early 30’s.
If you don’t own any The Cats and The Fiddle songs, I highly recommend buying this album on Amazon
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