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The "Shim Sham" or "Sham" was originally a pre Tap dance routine done by Vaudeville performers in the early 1900's and consisted of a mixture of standard steps but done in no particular order. The Shim Sham-Shimmy is said to be the creation of Willie Bryant and Leonard Reed and was changed to accommodate a larger group in the theatres they were working at the time, some say around 1927. The "Three Little Words" saw it and performed it in 1931 at Connie's Inn when they got everyone involved in doing it at the end of the show, which is how they got the credit for it says Leonard. Vin and Roberto based a whole act upon the Shim-Sham and were known as one of the best dance teams around at the time (1935).
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The Shim Sham was changed somewhat by Bryant and Reed over the years into the Shim Sham Shimmy for swing dancers and is done by lindy dancers today, similar to a type of Line Dance today ... Originally the Shim Sham > <Shimmy could be done as a solo, couple or group dance (2 or 3 couples up to the whole room), and as a group each person's arms were around the next (see above photo) but today is done apart. The Sham was done at one time at the Savoy ballroom to the song entitled "The Song of the Freaks," written by Luis Russell. The music usually builds in intensity as do the dancers making a sort of Crescendo and Diminuendo.
The Sham's basic is the "Time Step" that is done by Tap dancers, except the dancers use a more shuffled rhythm
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than lifting of the feet then add a double shuffle, the cross-over step, the Tack Annie, Shorty George and Falling off the log . The Sham also incorporates the "break" (or stop-time) which can be as short as 3 beats and as long as a minute. Usually the dancers would sing along with the music, such as "Oh, Shim-Sham ---> <Shimshamshimmy! > <shim > <sham ---> <ShimShamShimmy!" When the dance would end everyone would "truck" back to their tables etc. Around the early 1930's the Shim Sham Shimmy became a favorite Finale on the Vaudeville stage. This is just a basic idea as there are many variations of this dance done from town to town, state to state.
Cab Calloway's "Jittering-Jitterbugs" musical short has the original group form of the shim sham shimmy routine and is led by Calloway. Dean Collins can be seen doing it on the Marv Griffin Show as well. |
Swing Posters, Lobby Cards etc. |
Sheet Music Covers |
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Music Titles |
| Black Thunder Swing |
Sugar Hill Shim Sham |
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1933 > <Shim Sham Shimmy Dance (Wiliams Jug Band) |
| Cabin in the Sky (Swing Movie) |
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1937 > <Shim Sham Shimmie At The Cricket's Ball (Osborne) |
| Chick Webb and Ella Savoy (Swing) |
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1954 > <Shim Sham Shimmy (Champion Jack Dupree) |
| Daddy-O (Swing Movie) |
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1999 Shim Sham Shimmy ( Dupree & Zwingenberger) |
| Groovie Movie (Swing Movie) |
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1966 > <Shim Sham Shuffle (Lyons) |
| Hellzapoppin'(Swing Movie Poster) 2 |
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David's Dance (Shim-Sham) |
| HI-DE-HO (Cab Calloway) |
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Doin the Shim-Sham |
| Hot Mikado (Swing Play) |
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Shim Sham Shimmy (The Big 6) |
| Juke Girl (Swing Movie) |
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Shim Sham Shimmy (Dorsey Brothers) |
| Keep Punchin' (Swing Movie) |
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Shim Sham Shimmy (Ronnie Dawson) |
| Micheux Swing (Swing Art Print) |
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Sugar Hill Shim Sham (Ellington) |
| Prisoner Of Swing (Swing Movie) |
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The Song of the Freaks (Russell) |
| Private Buckeroo (Swing Movie) |
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Shim Sham Shimmy Dance [MP3] |
| Rock, Rock, Rock (ECS Swing Movie) |
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Sugarhill Shim Sham (Rex Stewart) |
| Shag The Movie (Shag Dance) |
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Up in Harlem every Sat. Night |
| Stormy Weather (Bojangles, Horne) |
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| The Girl Can't Help It (Swing Movie) |
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Films |
Ballets / Stage |
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Al Minns and Leon James: Shim Sham Shimmy |
1928 > <Blackbirds (Doin' the shim-sham) |
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Calloway's "Jittering Jitterbugs" |
1930s> <Rhythm Bound |
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Dean Collins / Bart Bartalo: Shim Sham |
1935 > <Hot Cha Review (Vin and Roberto) |
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Follow the Fleet ? (Lindy, Taxi and Shim dancers were hired) |
Shim-Sham Follies (Burlesque) |
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History of the World pt.1 (Ethiopian Shim Sham > <Gregory Hines aka Sand Dance) |
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Instructional Videos |
Publications |
| Shim Sham-Shimmy [DVD] (by Leonard Reed) |
7/1/1920 > <Syracuse Hearld (The Shim) |
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12/22/1933 > <Hammond Times (Kitty O'Dare is said Sham inventor) |
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7/31/1935 > <Daily Gleaner (Carol McKay Shim Sham) |
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12/11/1935 > <Daily Gleanor (Vin and Roberto) |
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2/1939 > <Esquire Magazine |
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Ballrooms
