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{{Short description|Type of dance}}
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{{Other uses|Frug (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses|Frug (disambiguation)}}
'''The Frug''' (pronounced "froog") was a [[dance craze]] from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to [[pop music]].<ref name="StevensonWaite2011">{{cite book|author1=Angus Stevenson|author2=Maurice Waite|title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA572|date=18 August 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-960110-3|pages=572–}}</ref> It evolved from another dance of the era, [[The Chicken (dance)|the Chicken]]. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing [[Twist (dance)|the Twist]]. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, [[Monkey (dance)|the Monkey]], the Dog, [[the Watusi]], [[Mashed Potato (dance)|the Mashed Potato]], and [[The Jerk (dance)|the Jerk]]. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.<ref name="Kassing2007">{{cite book|author=Gayle Kassing|title=History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_lLoTsT2X5EC&pg=PA236|year=2007|publisher=Human Kinetics|isbn=978-0-7360-6035-6|pages=236}}</ref><ref name="Smith2010">{{cite book|author=Karen Lynn Smith|title=Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip-hop|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2inCRlYF-iAC&pg=PA137|year=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-3476-5|pages=137–}}</ref>
The '''Frug''' ({{IPAc-en|f|r|ʌ|ɡ}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170220092836/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/frug Oxford dictionary]</ref> or /frug/<ref>[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/frug Dictionary.com]</ref>) was a [[dance craze]] from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to [[pop music]].<ref name="StevensonWaite2011">{{cite book |last1=Stevenson |first1=Angus |last2=Waite |first2=Maurice |date=18 August 2011 |title=Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-960110-3 |pages=572– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4XycAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA572 }}</ref> It evolved from another dance of the era, [[The Chicken (dance)|the Chicken]]. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing [[Twist (dance)|the Twist]]. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, [[Monkey (dance)|the Monkey]], the Dog, [[the Watusi]], [[Mashed Potato (dance)|the Mashed Potato]], and [[The Jerk (dance)|the Jerk]]. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.<ref name="Kassing2007">{{cite book |last=Kassing |first=Gayle |year=2007 |title=History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach |publisher=Human Kinetics |isbn=978-0-7360-6035-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofdancein00kass/page/236 236] |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofdancein00kass |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="Smith2010">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Karen Lynn |year=2010 |title=Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip-hop |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-3476-5 |pages=137– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2inCRlYF-iAC&pg=PA137}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
⚫
A perfect example of a Frug is found in the movie ''[[Sweet Charity (film)|Sweet Charity]]'' (1969), which contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director [[Bob Fosse]]'s distinctive [[choreography]] style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements. The evolution of Frug also signified maturation of theatricality in Fosse's choreography, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.<ref name="Stiehl2008">{{cite book|author=Pamyla Alayne Stiehl|title=The "Dansical": American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choreographer's Expression and Domain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1pvgGaHqBIC&pg=PA177|year=2008|publisher=ProQuest|isbn=978-0-549-50848-9|pages=177–}}</ref><ref name="Gottfried2003">{{cite book|author=Martin Gottfried|title=All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv4AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|year=2003|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81284-2|pages=181–}}</ref>
In ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' episode "The Senior Play" (Season 7, Episode 9) the principal of the high school is appalled by a demonstration of the Frug dance and insists it must not be included in the senior play. But with the help of Helen Crump (who demonstrates the [[Jitterbug]] from her generation) and the kids demonstrating [[the Charleston]] from the principal's generation, he sees that the then contemporary dancing of young people is not much different from previous generations.


⚫
The movie ''[[Sweet Charity (film)|Sweet Charity]]'' (1969) contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director [[Bob Fosse]]'s distinctive [[choreography]] style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements. The evolution of Frug also signified maturation of theatricality in Fosse's choreography, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.<ref name="Stiehl2008">{{cite book |last=Stiehl |first=Pamyla Alayne |year=2008 |title=The 'Dansical': American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choreographer's Expression and Domain |isbn=978-0-549-50848-9 |pages=177– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1pvgGaHqBIC&pg=PA177}}</ref><ref name="Gottfried2003">{{cite book |last=Gottfried |first=Martin |year=2003 |title=All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81284-2 |pages=181– |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv4AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181}}</ref>
The Frug is mentioned prominently in [[Allan Sherman]]'s 1965 song "[[Crazy Downtown]]," a parody of [[Petula Clark]]'s "[[Downtown (Petula Clark song)|Downtown]]".

[[The B-52's]] 1978 song of 1960s [[beach party film]] references, "[[Rock Lobster]]", contains the line, "Everybody's rockin'; Everybody's fruggin' ".

In a song of the same name, "The Frug" is referenced by the band [[Rilo Kiley]]. It appeared on their debut album ''[[The Initial Friend E.P.]]'', the soundtrack to the movie ''[[Desert Blue]]'', and the compilation album ''[[Rkives]]''. It was performed on Season 1 Episode 9 of the television show ''[[Once and Again]]''.

The Frug is one of the dances demonstrated in ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'' movie during the "[[Shake a Tail Feather]]" segment featuring [[Ray Charles]].

==In recent years==
In his 2008 documentary [[American Idiot#Heart Like a Hand Grenade|''Heart Like A Hand Grenade'']] (officially released in 2015), independent filmmaker [[John Roecker]] spliced footage of "The Rich Man's Frug" (from [[Bob Fosse]]'s 1969 movie [[Sweet Charity (film)|''Sweet Charity'']]) in between 2004 footage of [[Green Day]] live in the studio. The choreography happens to sync up with audio of the band performing their nine-minute punk rock ballad "[[Jesus of Suburbia]]".

American indie rock band Rilo Kiley released a song called "Frug" in 1999.

Singer [[Beyoncé Knowles|Beyoncé]] uses the dance craze as inspiration for the music video "[[Get Me Bodied]]". The video was inspired by the "Rich Man's Frug" dance scene from the film ''Sweet Charity''.<ref name="sweet">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY94NLshj5Q|work=[[YouTube]]|title=Sweet Charity "Rich Man's Frug"|accessdate=2012-08-28}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2012|reason=doesn't mention Knowles or "Get Me Bodied".}}

Similarly, the music video for [[Emma Bunton]]'s 2004 single "[[Maybe (Emma Bunton song)|Maybe]]" was inspired by the "Rich Man's Frug" dance scene.

English [[dance music|dance]] band [[Freemasons (band)|Freemasons]]'s music video for their 2008 single "[[When You Touch Me]]" was also inspired by the frug dance scene from ''Sweet Charity''.

In 2008, Welsh singer [[Duffy (singer)|Duffy]] used this dance in her fourth international single, "[[Rain on Your Parade]]".

The Frug was the inspiration for the name of the band, "The Frug" in Huntsville, TX.


In 1964, in "In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention in 1964," published in the November 1964 issue of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', [[Norman Mailer]] wrote: "The American mind had gone from [[Nathaniel Hawthorne|Hawthorne]] and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]] to the Frug, the Bounce, and '[[Walking the Dog]]', from ''[[Van Wyck Brooks|The Flowering of New England]]'' to the cerebrality of professional football in which a quarterback must have not only heart, courage, strength and grace but a mind like an I.B.M. computer." The piece is collected in Mailer's ''Cannibals and Christians'' (1966).
In 1964, in "In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention in 1964," published in the November 1964 issue of ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', [[Norman Mailer]] wrote: "The American mind had gone from [[Nathaniel Hawthorne|Hawthorne]] and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson|Emerson]] to the Frug, the Bounce, and '[[Walking the Dog]]', from ''[[Van Wyck Brooks|The Flowering of New England]]'' to the cerebrality of professional football in which a quarterback must have not only heart, courage, strength and grace but a mind like an I.B.M. computer." The piece is collected in Mailer's ''Cannibals and Christians'' (1966).


Indie rock band [[Rilo Kiley]] have a song titled "Frug" (also about the dance) on their 1999 self-titled debut, ''[[The Initial Friend EP]]'', and was also the band's first music video. "Frug" was also included in the soundtrack to the [[Christina Ricci]] film ''[[Desert Blue]]'', which led to the band's heightened popularity and eventual signing to a record label. "Frug" was later included as the final song on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, ''[[Rkives]]''.
In ''[[The Crying of Lot 49]]'', author [[Thomas Pynchon]] includes a song that makes a direct lyrical reference to the dance ("I may be too fat to Frug,/But at least I ain't too slim to Swim.").

In 1967 UK Labour Deputy Prime Minister George Brown was photographed by Bryan Wharton dancing The Frug<ref>National Portrait Gallery website</ref>

In ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode #1007 ("Track of the Moon Beast"), Crow refers to the dance, while the moon beast is dying, by saying: "The arrow caused him to frug."

On the crime-drama ''[[Law & Order]]'', in the season-two opening episode "Confession," Detective Mike Logan states that his plans for the evening are to review case notes with his (soon to be killed) partner, Max Greevy, and then, he says, "I'm going frugging with Patsy Kelley."


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:1960s in the United States]]
[[Category:1960s in the United States]]
[[Category:Dances of the United States]]
[[Category:Dances of the United States]]
[[Category:1960s introductions]]
[[Category:1960s fads and trends]]

Latest revision as of 11:41, 7 October 2024

For other uses, see Frug (disambiguation).

The Frug (/frʌɡ/[1] or /frug/[2]) was a dance craze from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to pop music.[3] It evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing the Twist. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips while standing in place. They then started making up arm movements for the dance, which prompted the birth of the Swim, the Monkey, the Dog, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, and the Jerk. The Frug is sometimes referred to as the Surf, Big Bea, and the Thunderbird.[4][5]

[edit]

In The Andy Griffith Show episode "The Senior Play" (Season 7, Episode 9) the principal of the high school is appalled by a demonstration of the Frug dance and insists it must not be included in the senior play. But with the help of Helen Crump (who demonstrates the Jitterbug from her generation) and the kids demonstrating the Charleston from the principal's generation, he sees that the then contemporary dancing of young people is not much different from previous generations.

The movie Sweet Charity (1969) contains a number called "The Rich Man's Frug", a wildly energetic dance number comprising three "movements" ("The Aloof", "The Heavyweight" and "The Big Finish") that showcases director Bob Fosse's distinctive choreography style, particularly his creative use of unusual poses, gestures, and arm movements. The evolution of Frug also signified maturation of theatricality in Fosse's choreography, departing regimentation towards visual dissonance, where every dancer could perform their own moves.[6][7]

In 1964, in "In the Red Light: A History of the Republican Convention in 1964," published in the November 1964 issue of Esquire, Norman Mailer wrote: "The American mind had gone from Hawthorne and Emerson to the Frug, the Bounce, and 'Walking the Dog', from The Flowering of New England to the cerebrality of professional football in which a quarterback must have not only heart, courage, strength and grace but a mind like an I.B.M. computer." The piece is collected in Mailer's Cannibals and Christians (1966).

Indie rock band Rilo Kiley have a song titled "Frug" (also about the dance) on their 1999 self-titled debut, The Initial Friend EP, and was also the band's first music video. "Frug" was also included in the soundtrack to the Christina Ricci film Desert Blue, which led to the band's heightened popularity and eventual signing to a record label. "Frug" was later included as the final song on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, Rkives.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oxford dictionary
  2. ^ Dictionary.com
  3. ^ Stevenson, Angus; Waite, Maurice (18 August 2011). Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Book & CD-ROM Set. Oxford University Press. pp. 572–. ISBN 978-0-19-960110-3.
  4. ^ Kassing, Gayle (2007). History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach. Human Kinetics. pp. 236. ISBN 978-0-7360-6035-6.
  5. ^ Smith, Karen Lynn (2010). Popular Dance: From Ballroom to Hip-hop. Infobase Publishing. pp. 137–. ISBN 978-1-4381-3476-5.
  6. ^ Stiehl, Pamyla Alayne (2008). The 'Dansical': American Musical Theatre Reconfigured as a Choreographer's Expression and Domain. pp. 177–. ISBN 978-0-549-50848-9.
  7. ^ Gottfried, Martin (2003). All His Jazz: The Life & Death of Bob Fosse. Da Capo Press. pp. 181–. ISBN 978-0-306-81284-2.
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