17 January 2008

"boogie woogie bugle boy" || company b || 1989


I find something intoxicating about swing music. It's got a very lighthearted spirit, and carries a tone of youthful jubilation that conjures images of 1940s youth cavorting wildly with one another in dancehalls.

One of my favorite songs from that era is the Andrews Sisters' 1941 track "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." The song tells the story of a young man drafted into the army who had a jazzy, funky way of blowing the morning reveille, which in turn forced his captain to "draft a band." Campy '40s humor indeed, but it has to make you smile.

Fast forward 45 years. A girl group called Company B, named after the song, releases the greatest dance song of all time: a single called "Fascinated." They have a mega-super-ultra club hit. After a few more freestyle-oriented releases, they decide to pay homage to the song from which they took their name.

Company B's cover of this song isn't really a genre crossover. If anything, it updates the '40s "swing" sound and brings it to more of an '80s "jazzdance" sound. The result is pleasing, and this one no doubt provided the soundtrack for many a young lady's dance recital in 1989.

It's a neato throwback and a respectful homage.

Listen to it here.

0 comments: