HARVEST MOON BALL LINDY HOP CHAMPIONS

Leon James and Edith Matthews winners of the first Harvest Moon Ball

The premier dance contest in New York City from 1935 until 1974 was the annual "Harvest Moon Ball" held at Madison Square Gardens and sponsored by the 'Daily News Welfare Association'. This event was so popular that the 20,000 seats were usually sold within two days of going on sale. Until the ballroom closed in 1958, Savoy dancers virtually regarded the Lindy Hop prize as their own, despite its name being changed to Jitterbug Jive and then to Rock 'n' Roll. The fact that they failed to win it on a few occasions demonstrated that victory was far from automatic but the end result of seemingly endless training and hard fought battles. Entrants registered at various ballrooms in New York, the Savoy being one of them. Whereas the results of the usual Saturday night contests at the Savoy were decided by applause, at the Savoy preliminaries, which were usually held at the beginning of August, invited judges made the final decision. Even so the judges usually took notice of the reactions of the Savoy crowd who were well known for their usual fairness to newcomers and outsiders who entered their particular 'preliminary'. The same objectivity was not always on display downtown where the 'distinguished' panel of judges made the final decisions without such "advice".. Whatever happened backstage though, the championships were real enough for most of the contestants and the winners proud of their accomplishments.

The plan is to compile lists of each year's contestants in result order with any available explanations or further details along with biographical details including pictures of the winning couples. [Any information in this respect will be most welcome.] For instance in 1942 a Savoy regular "Killer Joe" Piro won the special wartime "servicemen's division" [think about it - how many times have you seen a Hollywood "war hero" swinging out on film? But the real ones did!]. "Killer Joe" - so named because of his ferocious dance stamina went on to be celebrated in the New York press as the local "King of the Twist" and was also a leading Mambo dancer. Further developments of this page will add more details to each year's victories, but for the present here are the winners, with their entrant organisations name in brackets and the band that played for their particular Lindy Hop competition.

The list of Harvest Moon winners that is usually cited is taken from the 1951 Savoy Ballroom 25th anniversary book and so obviously doesn't include the events after that date. It also omits the 'white' winning couples, one of whom had benefited considerably by Savoy training even though they personally didn't go there. In the interests of being inclusive all the finalists will be listed although with clear indications as to where they came from.

Perhaps the most important feature of the Harvest Moon was its amateur character. The winners became "professional" dancers automatically as a contract to appear at one or more Loews State Theatres was part of the prize and so they could not re-enter the competition. Thus every year saw a new championship struggle in the real sense of the term. According to the following list Theresa Mason seems to have won the Harvest Moon twice - in 1942 and 1950 - that's just one of the many aspects that we hope someone will be able to explain for us?

LINDY HOP

1935 Band: Fletcher Henderson
Leon James - Edith Matthews (Savoy Ballroom)
The First Harvest Moon Ball was due to be held in Central Park on August 15, but had to be postponed because a crowd of 100,000 gathered and the contestants couldn't get through. It was then decided to make it a ticket only event in Madison Square Gardens.

1936 Band: Clyde McCoy
George Grenidge - Ella Gibson (Savoy Ballroom)

1937 Band: Lucky Millinder
Eddie Davis - Gladys Crowder (Savoy Ballroom)

1938 Band: Artie Shaw
Albert Minns - Mildred Pollard (AKA Sandra Gibson) (Savoy Ballroom)

1939 Band: Jimmy Dorsey
Russell Williams - Connie Hill (Savoy Ballroom)

1940 Band: Woody Herman
Wilda Crawford - Thomas Lee "Tops & Wilda" (Savoy Ballroom)

1941 Band: Charlie Spivak
Rebecca Bruner - Bill Dotson (Savoy Ballroom)

JITTERBUG JIVE

The name was changed to "Jitterbug Jive" in preparation for the 1942 Harvest Moon Ball for no obvious or stated reason. The Daily News included the change in its reporting without comment.

1942 Band: Jerry Wald
Theresa Mason - Paul Chadwell (Herbert White)

Servicemen's Division:
Ann Milne - Frank "Killer Joe" Piro

1943 Band: Johnny Long
Rose Romon - James Riccardi (Roseland Ballroom ?)

Servicemen's Division:
Madeline Nacin - Ralph Duckworth

1944 Band: Cab Calloway
Pal Andrews - Johney McAfey (Herbert White)

Servicemen's Division:
Joan Jackson - Morris Ferguson

1945 Band: Randy Brooks
Connie Paulus - Claude Fleetwood (Savoy Ballroom)

Servicemen's Division:
Sally Coffina - F.S.Sanfillippo

1946 Band: Elliot Lawrence
Megue Veccehiarelli - Jo Jo Giairmo (Roseland Ballroom)

1947 Band: Ray McKinley
Nancy Price - Rudy Edwards (Savoy Ballroom)

1948 Band: Duke Ellington
Doris Jackson - Candy Carter (Savoy Ballroom)

1949 Band: Henry Busse
Jessyca Samuals - James "Blue" Outlaw (Savoy Ballroom)

1950 Band: Ralph Flanagan
Theresa Mason - Ambrose Bell (Savoy Ballroom)

1951 Band: Ray Bloch
Margaret Bethea - Delma "Big Nick" Nicholson (Savoy Ballroom)

1952 Band: Ray Bloch
Elizabeth Stewart - Theophilus Brown (Savoy Ballroom)

1953 Band: Ray Bloch
Beatrice Pierce - John Smith (Savoy Ballroom)

1954 Band: Ray Bloch
Ruth Hampton - Jerry Lawrence (Savoy Ballroom)

1955 Band: Ray Bloch
Ruth "Sugar" and George Sullivan (Savoy Ballroom)

ROCK'N'ROLL

Once again the name was changed without comment, but presumably they did so because of the eruption of enthusiasm for the new Rock'n'Roll music to which the new enthusiasts were dancing re-vamped versions of the Lindy and Jitterbug along with various other dances like the Chicken, Bop, Stroll and Madison. For 1956 at least the rules were changed to prohibit any air-steps, which accounts for the distinctive style of Jovada and Jimmy Ballard (a brother and sister team) who specialised in fast footwork. Unfortunately this was not shown in the "Don't Knock The Rock" clip where they can be seen dancing with Little Richard.

1956 Band: Ray Bloch
Jovada and Jimmy Ballard (Savoy Ballroom)

1957 Band: Mitchell Ayres
Edith Snipes - Ronnie Hayes (Savoy Ballroom)

1958 Band: Mitchell Ayres
Marcella Washington & McDonald Alleyne, Jr (AKA Sonny Allen)

The Savoy Ballroom closed in July of 1958 and the Harlem preliminary heat for the Lindy slot (called Rock'n'Roll) was held in the Apollo Theatre where the 1943 preliminary had taken place after the NY Police closed the Savoy for 6 months. The Savoy legacy carried on as former Savoy Lindy Hoppers trained successive entrants for the Harvest Moon Ball which carried on in the main auditorium of Madison Square Gardens until 1974. Click here to see the 'Continuation' section of this site for further information.