The Electric Slide: Song Meaning And Dance History

what is the electric slide singing about

Electric Boogie, also known as The Electric Slide, is a song written by Bunny Wailer and performed by Marcia Griffiths. The song was written in 1982 and released in December of the same year. It has been rumoured that the song is about a vibrator, with sources claiming that Bunny Wailer was inspired to write the song after a girlfriend told him she didn't need him because she had a vibrator nicknamed the Electric Slide. However, this rumour has been dispelled by Bunny Wailer himself, who stated that the song was inspired by Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue.

Characteristics Values
Name of the song Electric Boogie (also known as The Electric Slide)
Artists Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer
Year of release 1982
Genre Dance song with hints of disco and a Caribbean influence
Lyrics It's electric!/You can't see it/It's electric!/You gotta feel it/It's electric!/Ooh, it's shakin'/It's electric!/Jiggle-a-mesa-cara/She's a pumpin' like a matic/She's a movin' like electric/She sure got the boogie/You gotta know it/It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie!/Now you can't hold it/It's electric Boogie woogie, woogie!/But you know it's there, here, there and everywhere/I've got to move, I'm going on a party ride/I've got to groove, groove, groove/And from this music I just can't hide/Are you comin' with me?
Rumours The song is rumoured to be about a vibrator
Choreographer Richard L. "Ric" Silver
Number of steps in the original choreography 22 steps
Variations Freeze (16-step), Cowboy Motion (24-step), Cowboy Boogie (24-step), and the Electric Slide 2 (18-step)

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The song's writer

Bunny Wailer, also known as Livingston or Neville Livingston, wrote the song "Electric Boogie" (also known as "The Electric Slide") in 1982. The song was inspired by Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue", which was also released that year.

Wailer collaborated with singer Marcia Griffiths on the song, which was written for her. Griffiths has refuted the rumour that the song is about a vibrator, stating that it is about "positive vibrations, not vibrators". She also denied any sexual connotations, saying that the song was made out of innocent fun.

The rumour that the song is about a vibrator is based on an interpretation of the lyrics. According to sources, Wailer was inspired to write the song after a girlfriend told him she didn't need him because she had a vibrator nicknamed the "Electric Slide". However, this story is unconfirmed and has been denied by Wailer.

In an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner in 2009, Wailer did not mention anything about vibrators. Griffiths, who performed on the song, also denied the rumour, stating that she "sing [s] to teach, educate and uplift".

The Electric Slide is a four-wall line dance that was created by choreographer and dancer Richard L. "Ric" Silver in 1976. The dance was set to the song "Electric Boogie" and gained popularity in the 1980s. Silver has been protective of his choreography, threatening to sue people who posted videos of themselves performing the dance with missteps.

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The song's inspiration

"Electric Boogie", also known as "The Electric Slide", is a song written by Bunny Wailer and performed by Marcia Griffiths. The song was written and recorded for the first time in December 1982, although there is some controversy regarding the creation year of the Electric Slide line dance, with some sources claiming it was created in 1976. The song is strongly associated with the Electric Slide line dance and has become a dance fad.

The song was inspired by Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue", which was also released in 1982. According to Griffiths, the song was made out of innocent fun and is about "positive vibrations, not vibrators". She denied that the song was related to anything sexual.

However, there have been rumours that the song is actually about a vibrator. This rumour is based on an interpretation of the song's lyrics, as well as an anonymous source who claimed that Wailer wrote the song after a girlfriend told him she didn't need him because she had a vibrator nicknamed the "Electric Slide". Wailer has specifically denied this rumour, stating that the song was inspired by "Electric Avenue" and that any other interpretation is false.

Despite the rumours and speculation, the song "Electric Boogie" remains a beloved and iconic dance song that has left an impact on popular culture.

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The Electric Slide dance

The Electric Slide is a four-wall line dance. Choreographer and dancer Richard L. "Ric" Silver claims to have created the dance in 1976. The dance was set to the song "Electric Boogie", written and recorded by Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer in 1982. The original choreography has 22 steps, but there are several variations, including 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 was listed as the number-one dance in the world by Linedancer Magazine for ten years.

Silver claimed that he received a demo of the song "Electric Boogie" in 1976, which he used to create his dance steps. The dance was originally choreographed to be performed by two lines of dancers facing each other, with the opposite dancers circling each other.

In recent years, there has been some controversy regarding the creation year of the Electric Slide, with some disputing Silver's claim that he created the dance in 1976. In 2007, Silver filed DMCA-based takedown notices to YouTube users who posted videos of people performing the 18-step variation of the dance, asserting his copyright over the choreography. This led to a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of videographer Kyle Machulis, arguing for Machulis's free speech rights in recording a few steps of the dance in a documentary video posted online. The lawsuit was settled, with Silver agreeing to license the Electric Slide under a Creative Commons noncommercial license.

The Electric Slide has become one of the most popular and widely performed line dances, crossing style boundaries and being danced to various music genres, including pop, disco, swing, and blues.

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The song's meaning

"Electric Boogie", also known as "The Electric Slide", is a dance song written by Bunny Wailer and performed by Marcia Griffiths. The song was written in 1982 after Wailer heard the Eddy Grant song "Electric Avenue".

There are various interpretations of the song's meaning. Some sources claim that the song is about a vibrator. This interpretation is based on rumours that Bunny Wailer wrote the song after a girlfriend told him she didn't need him because she had a vibrator nicknamed the "Electric Slide". However, this rumour has been discredited by Snopes, which points out that the alleged confirmation came from an anonymous third party, not Wailer himself, and that the story may have been invented to take advantage of a viral rumour. Wailer specifically denied the rumour, stating that the song was inspired by "Electric Avenue" and that any other interpretation is false and offensive.

Marcia Griffiths, who performed the song, also denied the vibrator rumour, stating that the song was about "positive vibrations, not vibrators". She said that she called Wailer to find out what was going on and that he had no idea about the rumour.

The Electric Slide is also a line dance that was created by choreographer and dancer Richard L. "Ric" Silver in 1976. The dance was set to the song "Electric Boogie" and gained popularity in the 1980s. Silver has been involved in several lawsuits to protect the artistic integrity of his dance, claiming that many people perform the steps incorrectly.

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The song's release

"Electric Boogie", also known as "The Electric Slide", is a song written by Bunny Wailer and performed by Marcia Griffiths. The song was written in 1982, inspired by Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue", and released in December of the same year. The song was a hit in Jamaica, holding the Christmas Number One spot in the country.

The song was originally recorded in 1976, then recorded by Griffiths in 1983, and remixed in its most well-known form in 1989. Despite its popularity at events like school dances, weddings, and cruise ships, the song never broke the top 40 in the United States.

In 2007, choreographer Richard L. "Ric" Silver, who claims to have created the dance in 1976, filed DMCA-based takedown notices to YouTube users who posted videos of people performing the 18-step variation of the dance. Silver was seeking to protect the artistic integrity of his dance creation, arguing that people were performing the wrong version of the Electric Slide.

In 2018, a rumour began circulating that the song was actually about a vibrator. This rumour was based on an interpretation of the song's lyrics and an anonymous source claiming that Bunny Wailer had confirmed this subtext. However, Wailer denied this rumour, stating that the song was inspired by "Electric Avenue" and that any other interpretation was false. Griffiths also denied the rumour, stating that the song was about "positive vibrations, not vibrators".

Frequently asked questions

The Electric Slide is a four-wall line dance. Choreographer and dancer Richard L. "Ric" Silver claims to have created the dance in 1976.

The Electric Slide is danced to the song "Electric Boogie" (also known as "The Electric Slide") by Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer.

"Electric Boogie" was written by Bunny Wailer in response to hearing the Eddy Grant song "Electric Avenue" in 1982. The song is about "positive vibrations, not vibrators", according to singer Marcia Griffiths.

"Electric Boogie" is associated with vibrators due to a rumour that the song was written about a sex toy. This rumour is based on an interpretation of the song's lyrics and has been denied by both Bunny Wailer and Marcia Griffiths.

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