The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze

Dance Craze

Dance Craze is a 1981 British documentary film about the English 2 Tone music genre.The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness, who he met during their first US tour. Massot later changed his plans to include the whole 2 Tone movement...

 of 1962. It was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp

Dee Dee Sharp

Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.-Career:...

's "Mashed Potato Time". Also referred to as "mash potato" or "mashed potatoes", the move vaguely resembles that of the Twist

Twist (dance)

The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...

, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian, Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker

Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...

.

Dance movement

The dance begins by stepping backward with one foot with that heel tilted inward. The foot is positioned slightly behind the other (stationary) foot. With the weight on the ball of the starting foot, the heel is then swiveled outward. The same process is repeated with the other foot: step back and behind with heel inward, pivot heel out, and so on. The pattern is continued for as many repetitions as desired. The step may be incorporated in various dances either as a separate routine or as a styling of standard steps.

Versions

James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 had two Mashed Potato-related chart hits, "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes

(Do the) Mashed Potatoes

" Mashed Potatoes" is a hit R&B instrumental. It was recorded by James Brown with his band in 1959 and released as a two-part single in 1960...

" (1959; sung by King Coleman

King Coleman

Carlton "King" Coleman was an American rhythm and blues singer and musician, known for providing the vocals for the 1959 hit single, " Mashed Potatoes", recorded with James Brown's band...

 and performed by Brown's band under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 Nat Kendrick and the Swans) and "Mashed Potatoes U.S.A." (1962); Brown also featured the dance prominently in his live performances during the 1950s and '60s. The dance was also referred to in Connie Francis

Connie Francis

Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...

' 1962 hit "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N" ("...we'll Mashed Potato to a jukebox tune..."), "Do You Love Me

Do You Love Me

"Do You Love Me" is a 1962 hit single recorded by The Contours for Motown's Gordy Records label. Written and produced by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr., "Do You Love Me?" was the Contours' only Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Notably, the record achieved this feat...

" by The Contours

The Contours

The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....

, "Let's Dance

Let's Dance (Chris Montez song)

"Let's Dance" is rock band Slade's last single from 1988. The single was only released in the UK. The song was originally covered in 1985 and appeared on the Crackers – The Christmas Party Album the same year. The track was eventually released as a single after being dropped from RCA Records...

" by Chris Montez

Chris Montez

Chris Montez , is an American singer.-Early life:Montez grew up in Hawthorne, California, influenced by the Latino-flavored music of his community and the success of Ritchie Valens....

, "Harry the Hairy Ape" a 1963 Top-20 pop and R&B novelty hit by Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...

, and "Land of a Thousand Dances

Land of a Thousand Dances

"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which was added by Cannibal & the Headhunters in their version of the song in 1965, whose version peaked at number thirty...

", a song made popular by Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...

. Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...

 had a Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

n hit in 1963 with "Pure de Papas", a song based on the dance craze.

A variation on the Mashed Potato was danced to Bobby "Boris" Pickett's novelty hit "Monster Mash

Monster Mash

"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes...

," in which the footwork was the same, but monster gestures were made with the arms and hands.

The original Dee Dee Sharp recording featured in the film Hairspray (1988).

External links

• Dance Step Definitions