Browse Items (195 total)

Texas caller Red Warrick, on a rare recording on the Dude label, with music by Till's Square Dance Band. (See related materials here.) The tune is Golden Slippers, but this recording provides an excellent example of calls that are not phrased to the…

This is an excerpt; a complete recording can be found here.

Cal Golden was a prominent modern caller; another audio clip on this website shows him at the giant 1950 Santa Monica square dance, being introduced by Lloyd Shaw. He was a caller with deep Arkansas roots who called in all 50 states.See this entry on…

Talk given by Les Gotcher to Tri-State Callers Association (New England) in March of 1962. Les emphasizes the importance of callers understanding the action of each call and describes early forms of diagramming. He also talks about tempo, timing and…

A detailed cue sheet with complete calls and descriptions is available.Wikipedia: "Oh By Jingo!" is a 1919 novelty song by Albert Von Tilzer with lyrics by Lew Brown. The song was featured in the Broadway show "Linger Longer Letty", and became one of…

Founder of

Charley Thomas was a vendor of records and books for squares and contra dances. He founded American Squares magazine after World War II, and edited it until it was purchased by Frank Kaltman and Rickey Holden. Jim Mayo calls a MWSD tip to this tune…

This website offers animated diagrams illustrating all the calls in the various CALLERLAB programs from Mainstream through C-3A. If you're a traditional or MWSD dancer encountering an unfamiliar term, you can see it unfold here step-by-step. Each…

This is a 2005 presentation by Ralph Sweet to NECCA (New England Council of Callers Associations), a group of MWSD callers. Reviewing his own interest in this activity provided Ralph with an opportunity to examine trends and challenges faced by…

This article by Jim Mayo looks at the first ten years of what is usually called Modern Western Square Dancing. Jim traces the development of the activity in detail, citing specific callers and their influences, and illustrating his comments with…

This is a discussion with noted California caller Ed Gilmore, recorded October 21, 1962, at a meeting of the Tri-State Callers Association, an organization of professional MWSD callers from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Gilmore discusses…

This is a discussion with noted California caller Ed Gilmore, recorded October 21, 1962, at a meeting of the Tri-State Callers Association, an organization of professional MWSD callers from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Gilmore discusses…