By BRIAN DONOHUE
Ok, Red Bank, get ready to boogie.
redbankgreen wants to see your dance moves for a video we’re doing as part of an epic celebration of Red Bank’s favorite son, jazz icon William “Count” Basie planned by the Count Basie Center for the Arts, The T. Thomas Fortune House Cultural Center, and Red Bank RiverCenter this summer.
Here’s what to do: Send us a video clip between 10 and 60 seconds long of you, your children, your grandparents, your co-workers, your beer league softball team, your school class, your dog, your dance troupe – anyone! – dancing to Basie’s 1941 song “Red Bank Boogie.” Do it tipsy, do it sober, do it in the yard, at the beach, in the office. Just be sure to boogie and shoot some video.
You can find the song on Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube or your grandparents’ old 78’s.
There are multiple version out there. They’re all great. We recommend playing it loud.
The video clips you send will be compiled into a longer video to be posted to redbankgreen and shown at a soon-to-be announced event planned by the aforementioned organizations. That event, which will involve even more in-person boogieing, will occur on or near the celebration of Basie’s birth in August. Stay tuned.
In order to give people (especially schools) time to participate, we’re putting out the call now well before the end of the school year. (music and dance teachers are you listening?)
Oh, and want some background on this boogie plan?
Well, this all started last year when we at redbankgreen produced a video on Count Basie’s birthday in which we criss-crossed the town asking people to show us their moves along to the Basie song “Red Bank Boogie.” (see video at the top of this post)
In that video, we lamented that the entire town was not out dancing to celebrate this amazing point of pride. We vowed to fix it.
And now, it looks like it just might happen.
But it’s up to you now Red Bankers. You have to show us your boogie.
Heres how to get your video to us:
You can upload to a google documents folder here.
Or you can text a clip to 848-331-8331.
Also, in addition to sending us the file, feel free to upload whatever you shoot to social media using the hashtag #redbankboogie.
If you can, hold your smartphone horizontal, in landscape position, so we can keep things uniform.
We’re pretty sure no one will listen to that last one, but we’ll deal with it.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
