[Ads-l] Antedating of "Boogie" (Style of Playing Blues)

Rich Lowenthal 000018596069864c-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Sat Aug 30 01:18:42 UTC 2025


The New York Times used "boogie woogie" in 1939.

"This town offers a catholic variety of night club performers, ranging 
from boogie woogie pianists and Fifty-second Street gagmen to Broadway's 
opulent honky-tonk or the occasionally small risqué singers on the East 
Side, but it is seldom that one encounters a talent as honest and 
exhilarating as that of Vincente Gomez, the Spanish guitarist."

NY Times July 16, 1939. Section 9, page 8.

Rich Lowenthal

------ Original Message ------
>From "James Landau" <00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 8/29/2025 20:22:33
Subject Re: Antedating of "Boogie" (Style of Playing Blues)

>On Thu, 28 Aug 2025 at 11:36:51 Zone + 0000 the musically literate  "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>>boogie (OED, n.3, 2., 1940 [17 Apr.])>>1940 San Jose Mercury Herald 18 Mar. 11/1 (Genealogy Bank)
>>>Joe Turner sings boogie blues.
>
>
>what about the related term "boogie-woogie"?  This term was in use by 1941 in the song "The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy." sung by the Andrews Sisters.
>See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogie_Woogie_Bugle_Boy which says the Andrews Sisters recorded the song January 2, 1941.  Unfortunately WIkipedia does not give the date of composition of the song, but it has to have been later than the Selective Service Act, signed into law September 16, 1940, since the song presupposes the draft.
>
>James Landau
>jjjrlandau at netscape.com
>
>

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