I was writing about another topic, the memories I have of the year 1958 (link below). One of those memories, the ferries that trolled back and forth across the bay in the 1940's and the 1950's, came alive.
My first recollection is a vague remembrance of my mother and father taking me down to the Ferry Building to catch the ferry to Sweets Ballroom in Oakland, California, late in 1945 just after the war. They were out celebrating it's end and we were all very excited, although at the time, I didn't really understand what we were excited about. All I knew was that we were going DANCING! The clear part of the memory is kneeling on the seat (I was always tiny for my age, whatever age I was) in front of a huge window on the ferry looking out at the city as it slowly slid away; so does the memory . . .
San Francisco Ferry building & ferry
1940's
photographer unknown
.
. . the recollection fades back in to a jammed crowd of giants dancing
madly in front of me. The "mad dancing" was couples doing the jitterbug (coined by Harry Alexander White in 1934) with the couples (including my mother and father) wildly gyrating on the dance floor . . .
the Jitterbug 1938
photo by Alan Fisher
New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer
. . . as I jumped up and down at the foot of the bandstand in time to the music pounding loudly in my ears there in Sweets Ballroom. What a fantastic adventure for a five year old boy!
The bandstand at Sweets Ballroom
photographer unknown
Sweets,
called "The East Bay Home of the
Big Bands," was where people went to enjoy dancing to
swing music and Latin jazz. The night time was for the serious stuff but
in the afternoons whole families would be there to dance. My folks took
me there often and it's were I learned to dance.
There were house photographers who took photos of the dancers, then sold the prints to them. Somewhere (it got lost years ago) there is a photo of a five-year-old me dancing with a girl (she was taller than I was, of course. (However, here is a link to an update to this (Jitterbugging in the Forties photo).
There were house photographers who took photos of the dancers, then sold the prints to them. Somewhere (it got lost years ago) there is a photo of a five-year-old me dancing with a girl (she was taller than I was, of course. (However, here is a link to an update to this (Jitterbugging in the Forties photo).
Sweets Ballroom canopy
photographer unknown
The ballroom was opened by William Sweet sometime in the 1920's at 1933 Broadway
in Oakland, California.
a Sweets ad
The Sweets Ballroom had a house band that played in the afternoon and in the evening when special gigs featuring famous bands were not being presented.
left to right, back row:
Squire Girsback, Gordon "Gramps" Edwards, Bob Scobey,
Lu Watters, Bill Yeaman & Hiram "Hi" Gates
left to right, front row:
Russ Bennett, Bob Helm, Henry Abrahamson
& Ken "Buss" Greene.
Squire Girsback, Gordon "Gramps" Edwards, Bob Scobey,
Lu Watters, Bill Yeaman & Hiram "Hi" Gates
left to right, front row:
Russ Bennett, Bob Helm, Henry Abrahamson
& Ken "Buss" Greene.
photographer unknown
In the 1930s, the music of Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico (the precursor of Afro-Cuban and salsa
music) were popular in New York and it spread to the rest of the
country, including Oakland; there, Sweets showcased the best of the
best.
Xavier Cugat popularized Latin jazz for American audiences. He opened the door for a generation of Mambo Kings including Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Machito, Willy Bobo, and Cal Tjader; all of them played the Sweets at one time or another.
Sweets Poster with Count Basie
Duke Ellington appeared at Sweets
Xavier Cugat popularized Latin jazz for American audiences. He opened the door for a generation of Mambo Kings including Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Machito, Willy Bobo, and Cal Tjader; all of them played the Sweets at one time or another.
Xavier Cugat and his orchestra perform at
Oakland's Sweets Ballroom. September 26, 1944
E.F. Joseph, photographer
Gelatin silver print
Collection of Oakland Museum of California
Gift of Charles Hector Carlossome shots of the wild stuff
photographer unknown
Jitterbugging in a Negro juke joint
Saturday evening, Clarksdale, Mississippi
November 1939
photo by Marion Post Wolcott
for the Farm Security Administration
photographer unknown
photo by Sid Grossman
Sweets was abandoned at some point in
the 1960's. There was a limp revival with the advent of disco in the late 1970's and some off-the-wall events after that.
Viewfinder links:
There are three other related Viewfinder articles:
Net links:
There are two great blogs about Sweet's Ballroom that are really terrific with some GREAT photos. Check them out:
No Pattern Required ~ My Grandmother's Glasses,
Oakland History Murals ~ A Bitter Sweet History
YouTube links:
° Xavier Cugat on YouTube.
° Machito on YouTube.
° Willy Bobo on YouTube.
° Cal Tjader YouTube.
° There's a wacky but fun instructional video, Groovie Movie (1944), on YouTube.
° Ferry boats in operation video on YouTube.
° Perez Prado on YouTube.
° Tito Puente on YouTube.° Machito on YouTube.
° Willy Bobo on YouTube.
° Cal Tjader YouTube.
° There's a wacky but fun instructional video, Groovie Movie (1944), on YouTube.
° Ferry boats in operation video on YouTube.
I had a terrific time riding those old ferries and dancing at Sweets Ballroom when I was a little kid . . .
Styrous ~ March 2, 2013
. . . and I've been dancing ever since!
Styrous ~ March 2, 2013
~
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