Browse Items (1926 total)

Between Those Ladies (clip) - Ray Smith

This 1953 clip features Texas caller Raymond Smith introducing the seeds of modern Western square dance style at Camp Becket in Massachusetts. He's calling "Between Those Ladies" by… View item

Ends Turn In (clip) - Raymond Smith

Dance created by Ed Gilmore, with many versions available on this site. Music here is played by Jack Barbour's band. View item

Red Bates 1961, Patter

By the time of our first clip from a 1961 dance at the Newton Pavilion in Newton, NH, Bates was a busy caller working dances throughout New England. The choreography is very representative of MWSD at… View item

Woman in Love - Red Bates, 1961

The singing call, Woman In Love, is a classic and Red uses the figure as it was recorded by Dick Leger on Grenn record #12128. Tempo is a characteristic of calling that underwent considerable change.… View item

Gentle On My Mind, Red Bates, 1968

In the 1968 singing call, Gentle On My Mind, the interesting and unusual figure was called by Red just as it was recorded on the Wagon Wheel label #113 by Don Franklin View item

Red Bates, 1973 Patter

Our 1973 clip is from a dance at the Longmeadow, MA, square dance club a short distance from where Red lived at that time. He starts with a Scoot Back and Circulate combination and in the second half… View item

Pussy Cat -Red Bates - 1973

The 1973 singing call, Pussy Cat, Windsor Records #4173, was recorded by Bruce Johnson; it is one that became a Red Bates trademark. The figure was difficult in a unique way. The challenge was the… View item

Red Bates, 1982 Patter

The examples we have for the 1980’s also were recorded at the Longmeadow club and this was the opening patter call for a dance on February 16, 1982. The choreography is very different from his earlier… View item

Red Bates, 1982 Pecos Promenade

The singing call, Pecos Promenade, was recorded by Beryl Main on Chaparral label #406. At 120 beats per minute (bpm) it is the first indication in this collection of a trend toward slower tempo that… View item

Red Bates, 1990 Patter

The 1990 dance was again for the Longmeadow club. The most striking thing to notice is the much slower tempo. In 1980 Red’s tempo for the opening patter call was 128 beats per minute (bpm). By 1990… View item

Red Bates, 1990 From A Jack To A King

In the singing call Red uses the Introduction/Break/Closer as it was recorded on the Red Boot Star label #1320 by Bill Anderson and continues the practice, now very common among MWSD callers, of using… View item