[Ads-l] "vibe(s)" antedatings

[Ben Zimmer]

While "vibe(s)" for 'vibration(s)' can now be dated to 1930, that's in the
electro-mechanical sense, rather than the 'aura/feeling' sense popularized
in the late-'60s counterculture (as used in OED2's 1967 cite).

The Jan. 1965 issue of Artforum carried news of an exhibit by three San
Francisco artists titled "Vibe Abstractions":

https://www.artforum.com/print/196501/vibe-abstractions-by-three-san-francisco-artists-show-continuing-preoccupations-within-new-forms-36977

"Vibes" appeared in the underground newspaper The Berkeley Barb as early as
Sep. 1966 (notably a few weeks before The Beach Boys released "Good
Vibrations").

---
https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28033101
Berkeley Barb, Sep. 23, 1966, p. 4, col. 1
"The Folk Scene: Big City Blues" by ED Denson
For the three weeks that they [the Blues Project] were here they were
indisputably the best band in the city. [...] You can get the same feeling
from Butterfield's band, and sometimes from Muddy Waters. You never get it
from one of the local groups.
And certainly the Project should project these vibes.
---
https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28033108
Berkeley Barb, Dec. 2, 1966, p. 3, col. 4
"Bad Vibes From Softshoe Sicheneder"
A preview of Wednesday’s arrests for "trespassing" by non-students took
place in the Student Union a week ago.
The incident involved John Thomson, a notorious non-student, and James
Sicheneder, a notorious cop.
Thomson told BARB he was sitting in the SU lounge after 8 am with his eyes
closed. He was composing lyrics for a song, he said. [...]
Then he felt "bad vibrations," he said. There was Sicheneder.
---
https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.28033120
Berkeley Barb, Mar. 31, 1967, p. 3, col. 1
"To Vote Right, Tip Left" (editorial)
Another candidate for mayor is Big Bill Miller, as a write in. His vibes
are good, most good, and most in tune with BARB, But (sob) he cannot win --
he said so from the start.
---

An article in the New Yorker last year ("TikTok and the Vibes Revival,"
Apr. 26, 2021) claims that "vibes" appeared in The Barb starting in 1965:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/tiktok-and-the-vibes-revival

I checked with the author of the piece, Kyle Chayka, and he says his
initial draft referred to the 1965 Artforum example and later examples of
"vibes" in The Barb, but this got conflated in the editorial process.

--bgz


On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 6:48 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Also...
>
> * "vibist" = 'vibraphonist' (OED2 1955)
>
> ---
>
> https://archive.org/details/sim_down-beat_1944-10-01_11_19/mode/1up?q=vibist
> Down Beat, Oct. 1, 1944, p. 1, col. 1 (head & text)
> Woody Herman Inks Gal Vibist
> New York -- Woody Herman sets another musical precedent with the addition
> of gal "vibes" expert Marjorie Haymes to his band.
> [sic: Marjorie Hyams https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margie_Hyams ]
> ---
>
> On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 6:36 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> * "vibe(s)" = 'vibration(s)" (OED2 1967)
>>
>> ---
>> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113073155/no-vibes/
>> Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 14, 1930, p. 49, col. 3 (advt.)
>> STOP HUM and Vibration in your Radio Set with
>> NO VIBES
>> $1.00 per set
>> MONARCH ELECTRIC CO.
>> ---
>> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113073640/no-vibes/
>> Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 1, 1939, p. 32, col. 3
>> STOP vibration in your Refrigerator with No-Vibes, 25c set.
>> MONARCH ELECTRIC. 411 WOOD ST.
>> ---
>>
>> * "vibe(s)" = 'vibraphone' (OED2 1940)
>>
>> ---
>>
>> https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-02-08.pdf
>> Billboard, Feb. 8, 1936, p. 9, col. 1
>> Clarence Fuhrman turns in a swell job with his studio crew. Combo, reeds
>> and strings, handles itself melodiously, with Morris Spector rating a nod
>> for some fancy vibe work.
>> ---
>>
>> https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-12-26.pdf
>> Billboard, Dec. 26, 1936, p. 42, col. 3
>> Lionel Hampton, who whammed the suitcase for Louis Armstrong in the old
>> days and is responsible for the vibe hammering that embellishes the more
>> recent Benny Goodman trio waxings, holds forth at this Harlemesque hotspot.
>> ---
>>
>> https://archive.org/details/sim_down-beat_1937-03_4_3/page/32/mode/1up?q=vibes
>> Down Beat, Mar. 1937, p. 32, col. 5
>> Incidentally, the drummer, Raye Berger, beats out a fine original swing
>> chorus of Dinah on his new vibes.
>> --
>>
>> --bgz
>>
>

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