Ballin' the Jack

"Ballin' the Jack" (or sometimes "Balling the Jack") is a popular song from 1913, written by Jim Burris with music by Chris Smith. It introduced a popular dance of the same name with "Folks in Georgia's 'bout to go insane." It became a ragtime, pop, and trad jazz standard, and has been recorded hundreds of times by many prominent artists.[1]

"Ballin' the Jack"
Sheet music cover, 1913
Song
Published1913
Composer(s)Chris Smith
Lyricist(s)Jim Burris

Origin

The origins of the term are obscure. Around the same time the song came out, the expression "ballin' the jack" was used by railroad workers to mean "going at full speed." 'The 'Jack' was the slang name for a railroad locomotive, and balling meant going at high speed, itself derived from the ball type of railroad signal in which a high ball meant a clear line.[2]

The composer and entertainer Perry Bradford claimed to have seen the dance steps performed around 1909[3] [4] and they are similar to the shimmy which has black African origins.[5][6]

The dance moves were standardized in the Savoy Ballroom, and put to music by Smith and Burris in 1913. The tune became popular in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913.[3]

Film usage

The song and dance were performed in For Me and My Gal, the 1942 movie starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly.[7] It was also performed by Danny Kaye in the 1951 movie On the Riviera, and Dean Martin and Polly Bergen in the 1951 movie That's My Boy. It also featured as the After Dinner song sung in the mock-horror 1986 movie Haunted Honeymoon performed by Gilda Radner and Dom DeLuise. Jimmy Jewel playing Cannonball Lee performed the song in the 1990 film The Krays. Bob Hope and Ginger Rogers performed it in a TV appearance in 1960.[8]

gollark: Honestly, I'd prefer the time travel thing.
gollark: Apioduohazards, which there are two of?
gollark: Nontemporal?
gollark: Apiokleptohazards could be neat too; they would steal things.
gollark: Just implement time travel.

See also

References
  1. Dodd, David G. (2014-12-16). The Complete Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. Simon and Schuster. p. 95. ISBN 9781439103340.
  2. "In Railroading, A 'Highball' Means You're Good To Go". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  3. Gammond, Peter (1991). The Oxford Companion to Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 36-37. ISBN 0-19-311323-6.
  4. Watson, Sonny. "BALLIN' THE JACK | Sensual Gyration Dance | features Eagle Rock". www.streetswing.com. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. Gaunt, Kyra D. (2006-02-06). The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-dutch to Hip-hop. NYU Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780814731192.
  6. Johnson, James Weldon (2009-05-06). The Book of American Negro Poetry. ReadHowYouWant.com. pp. iii. ISBN 9781442928947.
  7. Judy Garland and Gene Kelly singing "Ballin' the Jack" in film For Me and My Gal (1942) on YouTube
  8. Ginger Rogers and Bob Hope singing "Ballin' the Jack" (1960) in a video compilation on YouTube (time count 29:27)

Bibliography
  • Burris, Jim (w.); Smith, Chris (m.). "Ballin' the Jack" (Sheet Music). New York: Jos. W. Stern & Co. (1913).
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