Jump, Jive and Fail: The ’90s Swing Craze

When we got multiple listener emails asking about the swing revival of the late 1990s, host Willa Paskin’s first, knee jerk reaction was just: no. She lived through it, and remembers it as being so incredibly corny and uncool. Insofar as the swing revival persists in the cultural memory, it’s usually as a punchline or as head-scratcher, a particularly odd-seeming fad.

But then we started talking to everyone who was anyone in the swing scene, from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to the dancers in the infamous Gap khakis commercial. It turns out the 90’s swing revival is more involved, more interesting and, OK, maybe cooler than we ever imagined. It’s about an underground scene that went above ground in a major way, and how that level of success can obscure what’s happening while it’s happening—but also long after it’s over.

This episode was written and produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, and Sofie Kodner with mix help from Max Freedman. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Max Freedman and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.

Thank you to listeners Lorraine Denman and Alex Friendly for originally asking us about the ‘90s swing revival.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Mando Dorame, Michael Moss, Scotty Morris, Tom Maxwell, Sylvia Skylar, Christian Perry, Steve Perry, John Bunkley, and Carl Byrd.

Thank you to Kerstin Emhoff, Tom Breihan, Stephanie Landwehr, and Ken Partridge, whose conversation and book Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing was extremely helpful.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com. Or you can also call us now at our new Decoder Ring hotline at 347-460-7281. We love to hear any and all of your ideas for the show.

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