Hi I am new here. The Bump is my favorite dance of all time from the 70s. I am a little curious though how did it start? The way it is it must have an interesting story. Was it something like two girls were dancing in a club a little too close bumped hips liked,kept going and it went on from there or ounce I heard it started on Soul Train. Anybody know?

:o

whoa!  i don't know the origin, but it's bringing back painful memories for me!  when i was in 7th grade and my boyfriend was in 8th grade, i would come home after a night of bumping the dance with majorly bruised hips because we were both so skinny!  also remember doing the hustle, but that one didn't hurt!!

Actually, it my great-grandfather that orginated the bump-when we were kids, he used to play a game with us called "bumpers". He would pick us up and bump our rumps against the wall.


Ok, ok, so it wasn't the origin of the bump but it does make for a good story.  ;)




Cat

From What I remember,there was a song called "Lady Bump".I forgot who sang it? ???


Howard

I remember at this family party in the 70s, my Mom, 5 foot 0 inches and about 105 lbs dancing with this 6 foot 6 - 275 lb guy named Jerry.  He would bump her and she would go flying accross the dance floor ;D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's also a song called"Ain't Gonna Bump No More(With No Big Fat Woman) ;D



Howard

I believe it started in 1975 and I vaguely remember someone one time mentioning how or where it started, but what I remember is so little there just ain't enough brain cells concerning it to come up with a complete thought. Sorry.
:)

The Bump was a primarily 1970s fad dance introduced by Johnny Spruce in which the main move is to lightly "bump" hips on every other beat of the music. As the dance (and the evening) progressed, the bumping could become more intimate, bumping hip to backside, low bending, etc. There were several songs that were inspired by the bump, such as "The Bump" by Kenny and "Lady Bump" by Penny McLean, but the song that is most remembered is "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" by George Clinton and Parliament, which was released in 1976. The lyric in the song is "we want the funk", but has been mistaken for "we want the bump". In the UK, possibly the most popular and evocative song used for this dance was "Nutbush City Limits" by "Ike & Tina Turner".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAfthQTqj24