Antedating of "Jitterbug"

[Shapiro, Fred]

OED and HDAS have as their first use of "jitterbug" a 1934 song by Cab Calloway.  ProQuest produces a slightly earlier citation:

1933 _New York Amsterdam News_ 6 Dec. 7 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)  Are you a "palsaddictinsominidipsomaniac"?  Columbia University members of Cab Calloway's radio "Jitter Bug Society" have written his hi-de-highness of ho-de-ho that this formidable word is the correct English term for "Jitter Bug," which in turn is Calloway vernacular for one who indulges in the cup that cheers.  During their recent tour of the country, Calloway and the members of the Cotton Club orchestra discovered that customs and habits varied in different sections, that home brew might be the popular beverage in one vicinity, while the bath-tub gin industry would be flourishing in another.  Local names for these various products also were confusing and the need was felt for a general term which would be applicable in all sections.  Thus the expression "jitter sauce" was originated among the musicians to indicate any fluid rating above 3.2 per cent, any anyone suspected of indulging an occasional !
 appetite for the sauce became a "jitter bug."  The quaint expressions were included in the lyric of a new song written by two of the boys in the band and they excited so much interest that scores of radio listeners are said to have written letters to ask the meaning of the phrases.  This inspired the organization of the "Jitter Bug Society," which includes many teetotallers, since the membership is made up of all fans who have grown curious enough about the expression to write letters of inquiry.

Fred Shapiro

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