Boogie Woogie Style Overview
Boogie Woogie Music Description
Originally a piano based blues/jazz instrumental style. It was first recorded during the 1920s so should not be applied to any earlier recordings. There is some debate about which was the earlest boogie recording, but certainly Pine Top Smith was an early exponent of this style. His 1928 recording "Pinetop's Boogie Boogie" is generally regarded as the first use of the term. There was a boogie woogie "craze" during the late 1930s which saw the style become widely popular and many classic recordings were made at this time (notable performers include Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade "Lux" Lewis).
During the 1930s boogie woogie also started to influence other styles of music including big band and country, and many big band and country boogie instrumentals were recorded. During the 1940s the influence of boogie woogie extended further into rhythm & blues and gospel.
