[Ads-l] Antedating of "Rocksteady"

Wed Mar 19 09:49:49 UTC 2025

Interesting topic. Rocksteady is a style of popular music. The OED
indicates that rocksteady is also a dance. The first OED citation for
the dance is from 1967.

[Begin excerpt from OED]
rocksteady NOUN
2. A dance performed to this music, typically involving the swaying of
the body and arms backwards and forwards.

1967 How to dance the rocksteady? It's easy!! Just relax the whole
body and allow the pulsating rocksteady rhythms to seep into your
system.
in L. Bradley, Bass Culture (2001) viii. 159
[End excerpt from OED]

Below is some slightly earlier evidence for the dance.

Date: December 25, 1966
Newspaper: Sunday Times Advertiser
Newspaper Location: Trenton, New Jersey
Article: East Side, West Side: All Around the Town
Author: Susan Trent
Description: Communication from travelers George and Marilyn Coleman
Section 5, Quote Page 2, Column 2
Database: GenealogyBank

[Begin excerpt]
"We've been all over the Caribbean," Marilyn says, "and Jamaica is the
real jewel. Besides, it's the very first tan I've ever had so even the
sun must like Jamaica the best."

They snorkeled, swam, golfed and learned the new island dance craze,
"Rock Steady." They also saw Noel Coward at Round Hill and entertained
Sir Stanley and Constance Blow of Kent, England, at the Montego Beach
Hotel.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 11:49 AM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> rocksteady (OED 1967 Mar 4)
>
> 1967 Sunday Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 19 Feb. 20 (NewspaperArchive)
>
> LEE ENTERPRISES presents "ROCK-STEADY '67".
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org