Greaseology

Cassie Newsom

A hopelessly devoted fan deep dives the movie "Grease" 5 minutes at a time.

  1. Jul 21

    Episode 15 - Born to Hand Jive

    We are discussing minutes 1:10-1:15 of Grease so get ready for the countdown!  In a matter of seconds National Bandstand will go live and all of Rydell High will be on television screens across the country.  Ms. McGee and Coach Calhoun must first deliver the remaining two rules for the night, but then Vince Fontaine takes the mic and preps the kids for live TV in rhyming verse and then they are LIVE!  Vince Fontaine introduces Johnny Casino and the Gamblers who go right into the first song, “Hound Dog”.  The students all start dancing The Madison, America’s first line dance from the 1950s.  During the song we see that the Frosty Palace waitresses are watching the show live in the restaurant on a black and white vintage 50s television.  After “Hound Dog” Vince Fontaine addresses the audience and says that the dance off is about to begin, and reminds everyone that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s what you do with your dancin’ shoes!  Then the music kicks in and the band announces it’s time to do The Hand Jive! For the remainder of our segment, Vince Fontaine moves throughout the crowd tapping shoulders to eliminate students while Marty tags along.  Frenchie and Doody are eliminated followed by Rizzo and Craterface.  As the song progresses, the dancing gets racier and the moves go way beyond the original Hand Jive dance.  Our segment ends just as Kenicke had the wild idea to pull up Patty Simcox’s dress revealing her underwear on live television. We will also discuss the history of the song “Hound Dog” and how its roots began before Elvis ever even heard it.  We will also talk about the real hand jive song, “Willie and the Hand Jive” and how it influenced the version Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey wrote for Grease AND the famous Bo Diddley beat that can be heard in the song as well as in many other popular songs throughout music history. Okay cats, put your mittens around your kittens and away we go! Check out the Bo Diddley beat playlist on Spotify!

    Episode 15 - Born to Hand Jive

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

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A hopelessly devoted fan deep dives the movie "Grease" 5 minutes at a time.