The Mid-90s Swing Revival

Contributed by Michael Schwartz

Last week I went to see Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation, my first time in years. Midway through was a clip featuring the music of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, a band I'd long forgotten about. The clip was amusing, but I was distracted, reminiscing on my days as a swinger. (sorry ma, I just couldn't get enough.)

Inspired by the films Swing Kids and Swingers!, I joined in on the Swing revival of the early-mid 90s. How could you resist the charm of young Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale and crew dodging the gestapo (incl. Noah Wyle) in order to dance and furtively listen to American import LPs in the listening booths at the local record shop. Just try to deny the cool after seeing this clip:

Jeez, the fedoras, the suspenders, the hardwood floors - it still gets me all tingly. This guy is a total music nerd of another generation, rifling off the names of the trumpeteers at the 5 minute mark:

"Müller! This is not one of your dance clubs!" Ooo, busted! Of course one of their buddies has to be a wheelchair-bound guitar player, making the whole purification of the Aryan Race deal more personal. It really sucks when your talented pal gets disappeared and all.

We were 16 when Hayley suggested we should take swing-dance lessons down at the community centre. Great fun. I didn't get my driver's license until years later and at that time Hayley had her learner's, meaning an adult has to be in the car whenever she drove. Luckily for us, her grandpa had moved in with the family and had a lot of spare time. He came with us and sat through the lesson each week. At the end, he would shmooze with the teacher and show him how they really used to do it back in the day.

So at the time we were plagued with the likes of The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Cherry-Poppin Daddies, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I can't remember a notable track from the Zippers, but the Cherry-Poppers (I never noticed the sexual innuendo in that name until right now) had a hit with "Zoot Suit Riot":

Reminds you of this guy, right?

Not such a coincidence, as The Mask came out in 1994 and tapped into this hot Swing trend. It even features the Brian Setzer Orchestra on the soundtrack. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy also had some sountrack success with a couple of tracks on the Swingers! soundtrack.

But as fun as these bands were, the real highlights of all these films are the older tracks they feature from the original swing era. We all know Louis Prima's big hit, "Sing Sing Sing," but check out how funky this one is:

No need of oversized, brightly colored suits to prove how much fun they're having.

As a teen, I took a genealogical interest in this music, digging through my Grampa's old Artie Shaw and Glen Miller records to acquaint myself with the original swing music and finding again and again that these guys from the 1930s rocked much harder than their 1990s descendants. I went out and bought a CD of Louis Prima hits that can still get a party bouncing. It's full of songs that continue to pop into my head now & then as I'm wandering around the city.

As a coda, one swing-related film that actually is quite good (aside from the not-half bad Swing Kids) is Stanley Tucci's writing/directing debut, Big Night. In the 1950s, two brothers attempt to open a restaurant serving authentic Italian food, directly in competition with the red-checkered-tablecloth joint across the street. Rent it tonight. Then cook a feast for your sweetie-pie.