Origins of Go-Go Dance
Go-go music has been holding the stage for quite some time but as yet there are some who are not yet acquainted with it. The steps drum on in Washington D.C. So we went out there to find out what is it that makes it tick.
Go-go is very popular. Why? The latest to join the scene are The Huckabucks. They say it has more hype and puff in it than any other. “It’s like a blend of Rapp, Jazz and Reggae, a little bit of blues and R&B, Congas, Drums and Tambourines.” It is plain and simple fun with a lot of thrills and excitement thrown in. It makes one feel great. At least that is what the people of USA’s capital city opine. Go-go has been gyrating for the last 15 years or so. It has also been spreading to the eastern coast sites like Virginia, Maryland and New York. But the core – its heart and soul is in Washington.
Ken More, who is a producer of Go-go, says that it is an adaptation of African rhythmic music where the dancers chant back and forth just like they used to do long long ago on the Dark Continent. The music centres round the drum and percussion. It is continuous and the flow does not cease. Thus it is not like a record which grinds to a halt. “It goes on from one transition to the next. That’s how we came up with the name Go-go.” Here Go-go clubs are all night affairs and Washington is thus the place to hear Go-go nearly every night. In the capital there is at least one club that will be swinging to it. Some clubs do it solely. A club goer told us that a Go-go club is always jam packed. The music goes on without a break. Another enthusiast says that it is one of its kind and in Washington “it is the hypest thing in town.
Some record shops deal exclusively in Go-go. The names of some of the bands are Rare Essence, Groovers, Junkyard and Backyard. The Godfather of Go-go is Chuck Brown. Go-go music has crossed generation barriers.
Rob Folsom is the key board artist of the Huckabucks. He says that they have been with it everyday for they grew up with it. It has been in the city for a pretty long time but it does not get as much publicity as is due to it. “It’s kind of like a culture, like a part of our life”.
