Electric Slide
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The Electric (better known as The Electric Slide) is a four wall line dance set to Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer's song "Electric Boogie".[1]
Choreographer, pianist and Broadway performer Richard L. "Ric" Silver created the dance in 1976. The idea came about at the Vamps Disco Club, where Silver sought to create a line dance routine that was simple and accessible for all attendees.[citation needed]
The song "Electric Boogie" was originally released by Jamaican Bunny Wailer in 1980. It was re-recorded and released by Marcia Griffiths in 1983, achieving moderate success. In 1989, the song was remixed and re-released, this time gaining significant popularity. It reached number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming Griffiths' most successful single. The song also helped popularize the "electric slide" dance.[citation needed]
There are several variations of the dance. The original choreography has 22 steps,[2] but variants include the Freeze (16-step), Cowboy Motion (24-step), Cowboy Boogie (24 step), and the Electric Slide 2 (18-step). The 18-step variation became popular in 1989 and for ten years was listed by Linedancer Magazine as the number-one dance in the world.[citation needed]
The original dance was choreographed to be danced in two lines facing each other and in the course the opposite dancers circle each other.[3]
Controversy
[edit]In 2007, Silver filed DMCA-based take-down notices to YouTube users who posted videos of people performing the 18-step dance variation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit on behalf of videographer Kyle Machulis against Silver, asking the court to protect Machulis's free speech rights in recording a few steps of the dance in a documentary video posted to the Internet.[4] On May 22, 2007, the EFF came to an agreement to settle the lawsuit: the settlement states that Silver will license the Electric Slide under a Creative Commons noncommercial license[5] and to also post the new license on any of his current or future websites that mention the Electric Slide.
"Candy" (Cameo song)
[edit]The Electric Slide's popularity has seen a resurgence since the 2010s, paired with Cameo's 1986 song "Candy".[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ "Marcia Griffiths – Today's 1 Hit Wonder @ 1 [VIDEO]". 18 February 2013.
- ^ Silver, Ric. "This is 'The Electric' - The Complete Choreography". The-electricslidedance.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
- ^ LineDancer Magazine, June 2003, p. 9.
- ^ "'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use | Electronic Frontier Foundation". Eff.org. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- ^ "Electric Slide Creator Calls Off Online Take-down Campaign". EFF. 2007-05-22. Retrieved 2018-12-07.