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A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it, not to be confused with "ho-down", a crack user slang phrase for group sex.
In the 19th century, the hoedown was mainly associated with black people, and was a dance in quick movement most likely related to the jig, reel or clog dance; however by the early 20th century the term was mainly associated with white Americans, particularly in rural or western parts of the country.
According to the website "Streetswing", a hoe down was a virtuoso display of footwork, where a succession of dancers each tried to outdo the previous dancers. This meant that the last dancer was the best one.
The 1941 film "Babes on Broadway" included a musical number called "Hoe down" (two words) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland performing. The implied meaning of "improvised jam" has found its way into other contexts. For example a rollerblading hoedown is a similar competitive display.
Possibly the earliest use of the word "hoe-down" in print was the book "The War in Kansas" (1856) by George Douglas Bewerton (1820 - 1901). Referring to the negroes in Lexington, he writes "they were at it from morning till night; the fiddle and the banjo made constant music in the quarters, dancing was the rage, and a 'hoe-down' just the thing."
The most famous hoedown in classical music is the section entitled Hoedown from the Rodeo ballet by Aaron Copland (1942). The most frequently heard version is from the Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo, which Copland extracted from the ballet shortly after its premiere; the dance episodes were first performed in 1943 by the Boston Pops conducted by Arthur Fiedler.
Copland's Hoedown became even more famous through television advertisements by America's Beef Producers with the slogan "Beef, It's What's for Dinner".
Hoedown has been covered by Emerson, Lake and Palmer on their album Trilogy and by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones on their albums Outbound and Live at the Quick. Additionally, the jazz musician, Oliver Nelson, performed a jazz-infused variation written by himself entitled, "Hoe-Down," on his stellar album, The Blues and the Abstract Truth.
The television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? frequently has a game called Hoedown, in which the contestants would perform a spontaneous song in this style. The four people take turns singing a verse each, whose rhyme scheme is AABB, and is widely considered a fan-favorite on the show.
Recent advertisements for the animated series Xiaolin Showdown have capitalized on the "hoedown/showdown" similarity pun.
See also: Hootenanny
References
* "Hoedown", "Aaron Copland", in Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed August 7, 2005)
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A hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it, not to be confused with "ho-down", a crack user slang phrase for group sex.
In the 19th century, the hoedown was mainly associated with black people, and was a dance in quick movement most likely related to the jig, reel or clog dance; however by the early 20th century the term was mainly associated with white Americans, particularly in rural or western parts of the country.
According to the website "Streetswing", a hoe down was a virtuoso display of footwork, where a succession of dancers each tried to outdo the previous dancers. This meant that the last dancer was the best one.
The 1941 film "Babes on Broadway" included a musical number called "Hoe down" (two words) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland performing. The implied meaning of "improvised jam" has found its way into other contexts. For example a rollerblading hoedown is a similar competitive display.
Possibly the earliest use of the word "hoe-down" in print was the book "The War in Kansas" (1856) by George Douglas Bewerton (1820 - 1901). Referring to the negroes in Lexington, he writes "they were at it from morning till night; the fiddle and the banjo made constant music in the quarters, dancing was the rage, and a 'hoe-down' just the thing."
The most famous hoedown in classical music is the section entitled Hoedown from the Rodeo ballet by Aaron Copland (1942). The most frequently heard version is from the Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo, which Copland extracted from the ballet shortly after its premiere; the dance episodes were first performed in 1943 by the Boston Pops conducted by Arthur Fiedler.
Copland's Hoedown became even more famous through television advertisements by America's Beef Producers with the slogan "Beef, It's What's for Dinner".
Hoedown has been covered by Emerson, Lake and Palmer on their album Trilogy and by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones on their albums Outbound and Live at the Quick. Additionally, the jazz musician, Oliver Nelson, performed a jazz-infused variation written by himself entitled, "Hoe-Down," on his stellar album, The Blues and the Abstract Truth.
The television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? frequently has a game called Hoedown, in which the contestants would perform a spontaneous song in this style. The four people take turns singing a verse each, whose rhyme scheme is AABB, and is widely considered a fan-favorite on the show.
Recent advertisements for the animated series Xiaolin Showdown have capitalized on the "hoedown/showdown" similarity pun.
See also: Hootenanny
References
* "Hoedown", "Aaron Copland", in Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed August 7, 2005)
Tempted to contrive some story, I saw a ho down by the 7-11, and she was light on her feet... you know. It's late and I'm tired.
ReplyDeleteAll hope abandoned.
ReplyDeleteMe, too.
ReplyDeleteUh, were we speaking of Judy Garland?
ReplyDeleteJudy's in there, briefly. (In the text)
ReplyDelete